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Chairman of the Aspen Institute of Romania Mircea Geoana said in reference to the way in which Romania could promote projects of interest in the new European Parliament, that our country does not have a problem in outlining a profile for itself in the European Union, but rather a consistency and method one.
"We naturally have a country profile that we do not have to invent. We rather have to consolidate it in a multi-party conversation - business, NGOs, public decision-makers, ruling side, the opposition, but I think it is obvious that Romania has a vital interest revolving around energy. Romania has a vital interest in agro-industry. We have a fundamental interest in technology and digitization transformations, because the business model changes at European level and we are the least prepared country for the 4.0 industrial revolution. (...) Connectivity, nature, bio-economy, circular economy, enlargement ... I do not think we have an issue in relation to the country profile, but we have an issue of consistency and method. And I think we should start form here," he said, in a debate organized by the Aspen Institute of Romania and the Bucharest Bureau of the German Marshall Fund of the US.
In this regard, the former Foreign Affairs Minister spoke of an "elite of the high Romanian public administration", which has accumulated a rich experience in the context in which Romania holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, and stressed that it is good to keep these people and to continue investing in them.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the way European money is allocated changes in the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial framework and advocated for cooperation with Romania's neighbors in the use of these funds.
He also spoke of a 'complex of the lonely wolf' that our country suffers from.
"We work with difficulty with our neighbors. We have a problem with ambition, we have a problem in relating exclusively to the big decision centers in Washington, Berlin, Paris, but we have to learn that our region is our region and we need to work with the people around us," said Mircea Geoana.
