THE WEEK IN REVIEW
March 25-29, 2024
Leyla Cheamil, 30.03.2024, 13:26
20 years since Romania joined NATO
Several public institutions mark the celebration, on March 29, of two decades since Romania became a member of NATO, by submitting the accession instruments in Washington. A series of events are scheduled throughout the year, and one of them took place on Thursday, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense launched the ‘Born in NATO’ campaign. Dedicated to those born after 2004, it aims to promote the role and values of the North Atlantic Alliance among young people. At the launch of the campaign, the head of diplomacy from Bucharest, Luminiţa Odobescu, spoke about Romania’s involvement in the Alliance and about the country’s contribution to strengthening security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region. The strategic partnership with the United States, concluded during President Emil Constantinescu’s term, 8 years after the fall of communism, and the cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance during the war in Yugoslavia, are considered important stages in the political process of Romania’s accession to NATO.
Economic Forum Romania – Republic of Moldova in Bucharest
The capital of Romania hosted, on Wednesday, the Economic Forum Romania – Republic of Moldova. The heads of the governments in Bucharest and Chisinau, Marcel Ciolacu and Dorin Recean respectively, stated that the two neighboring states intend to interconnect their capital markets. This approach would allow the companies on the left of the Prut River to expand, and the Moldovan state to take a new step towards joining the EU. The Romanian Prime Minister declared that, in the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, it is time for investments and projects with economic impact. He encouraged companies from the neighboring state to use the Bucharest Stock Exchange, until the Chisinau Stock Exchange has sufficient liquidity. For his part, the head of the Moldovan government, Dorin Recean, stated that the project of interconnecting the two capital markets is not easy to implement, but that it represents an opportunity for companies from the Republic of Moldova to expand and become regional.
The forecasts of the European Commission for Romania’s economy
Romania is among the six states for which the European Commission published, on Monday, in-depth analyses, the aim being to assess whether the respective states face macroeconomic imbalances in the context of the European Semester. The analysis for Romania shows that the country continues to face vulnerabilities related to public finance and external balance accounts. The European Commission warns that large public and current account deficits, as well as high inflation, which are all above pre-pandemic levels, make the economy potentially vulnerable to shocks. There was some progress in narrowing the current account deficit in 2023, mainly on the back of monetary policy tightening and weaker private consumption. In the document it is opined that the pursuit of a credible fiscal consolidation strategy is the key priority of the policies aimed at mitigating the risks to the stability of the economy. The Commission also appreciates that Romania’s macroeconomic vulnerabilities have expanded following the pandemic, in a context in which an extremely solid growth was recorded.
Economic Forum for Francophonie in Bucharest
Romania hosted, this week, the Economic Mission of the International Organization of Francophonie. On this occasion, the Economic Forum for Francophonie, the most important platform dedicated to business communities in Francophone countries, took place in Bucharest. Participating were entrepreneurs and government officials from the 88 member countries of the organization. During the three days of meetings and workshops, Romanian companies had the opportunity to discuss concrete issues with potential business partners from Africa, Asia, North America, the Caribbean, or Europe. The agri-food industry, IT, green energy or the medical industry were just some of the sectors in focus at the Economic Forum for Francophonie.
Brâncusi in an exceptional exhibition in Paris
The Romanian Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, had a meeting in Paris with her French counterpart, Rachida Dati, with whom she discussed joint projects in the field. On this occasion, the strong commitment of both sides to continue the development of collaboration and the support of several joint cultural events was emphasized. One of these events is Brancusi: L’art ne fait que commencer, hosted until July 1 by the Pompidou Center. The largest retrospective dedicated to Brâncuşi in the last three decades, the exhibition brings to the public over 200 sculptures, photographs, drawings, films, and archival documents from the artist’s Parisian workshop, important works from Romania, from the Romanian Academy, the National Art Museum of Romania, and the Craiova Art Museum, but also from important international institutions, such as Tate Modern, MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, an the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
