Anchoring
European countries in the community structure requires a lot of specialists,
active both in Brussels and in the capitals. The European construction has
mainly an institutional dimension, but civil society and particularly the
business sector are actively involved in recent developments.
Experts
say there is a very pronounced corporate lobby in Brussels, as well as a big
NGO activists lobby. The most powerful lobby, however, is the lobby of the
Member States. How can Romania put itself on the map?
Here
are some conclusions of a conference which was recently held "What is the
Romanian influence in EU-Brussels?", organized in Brussels, at the
premises of the EPP Group in the European Parliament (MEP Ramona Manescu hosted
the meeting) by SNSPA, the Centre for EU Communication Studies, and GrupRomania
Brussels.
The
debate was focused on two key themes: Romanian human resources allocated to
European policies, and mechanisms of interaction of Romania to the European
Union. Experts gathered at the European Parliament to discuss concrete
projects, and to reflect on how other EU countries optimize their mechanism.
Referring
to the human resources needed in this process there is a first list of measures
that can be shared with input from the participants:
-
To cope with the workload, Romania must quickly improve and double their
institutional human resources involved in the mechanism of connecting the
country to the EU. This can be done only by launching a new government program,
similar to the one launched in 2002 for the EU pre-accession period
(Euro-experts programme). Through this mechanism the expertise in the different
ministries can be strengthened, but one should also think about the regional
institutions.
-
Romania must strengthen the representation of the Romanian private sector in
Brussels, Europe’s legislator. Given the particularities of the Romanian
economy, the Romanian government should be involved in finding co-financing
schemes. A solution that seems convenient is the French model that works
perfectly as support for French corporations.
-
We need a coherent strategy for Romanians to reach the secretariats of the EU
federations, as well as thematic working groups specific to each federation in
order to have a stronger presence in the flowcharts of these structures.
-
It is imperative that there is an annual meeting of the members of the Romanian
government with senior officials of the European institutions (from Head of
Unit upwards), in an informal setting and preferably in Bucharest. This will
facilitate a direct exchange of views on priorities and positions of the two
systems.
Participants
also established a concrete mechanism to address European issues in Romania:
-
Return to the profound meaning of accession to the EU: "to extract the
strengths and this is not just European funds";
-
Identifying real issues that Romania has in the European context;
-
Pair Romanian experts on these topics;
-
Establishing an appropriate strategy to promote these issues in the European
sphere.
Other
ideas expressed by the participants:
-
The whole algorithm of Romania's influence in EU starts with Romanian
performance in the Council. You must clearly know the rules. 85% of decisions
are taken by the working groups.
-
Isolation is not good in the EU. We must find alliances in order to develop
applications or to block hostile initiatives.
-
The Council works in terms of policy, with clear objectives.
-
The Council has a consensual approach.
-
The Permanent Representation of Romania to the EU plays a decisive role.
-
One of Romania’s problems is that there are no ministers at the Council meetings.
-
2015 is the time to identify Romanian themes to promote during the EU Presidency
in 2019.
-
In Germany, the Foreign Ministry supports specific organizations, such as European
Movement to consolidate stakeholder positions in European policies.
-
Romania does not have a critical mass of lobbyists in Brussels.
-
There is still a need for human resource specialists in European policies from
Romania in the Community institutions.
-
There is an initiative to introduce a code of occupation in Romania for
"experts in the EU".
-
Romania does not know what the current priorities are of the European policy
experts.
-
In Romania there is a temporary legislative framework for the involvement of
stakeholders, but the mechanism of consultation should be permanent.
-
It is difficult to compare the economic profile of the Romanian corporations
with the German ones, but in certain sectors Romania can and should do more and
better.
The
event in Brussels is only a starting point in developing ideas for a more
connected and influential Romanian Europe.
Dan
LUCA / Brussels
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