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Romania makes it mark as a regional player
Type of media: Online magazine
Author: Dan Alexe
URL: http://waz.euobserver.com/887/31218
Full Article:
European diplomats have not been accustomed to Romania taking its own initiative on political issues, but the situation has begun to change over the last few months.
This was clear when Bucharest became one of the most vocal EU governments to advocate forwarding Serbia's accession application at the foreign ministers meeting in October.
Romanian president Traian Basescu has publicly criticised parts of Europe's security strategies and repeated his concerns to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary general, on a visit to the Brussels headquarters on 28 October.
After decades of mutual indifference, Bucharest is also now lobbying the EU on Moldova's behalf. Mr Basescu has even publicly supported Turkey‘s bid to join the EU, which France and, to a lesser degree, Germany want to stop.
In the two decades following the fall of Communism, Romanian diplomacy was characterised by passivity and a lack of initiative; relations with its sister country Moldova were the most obvious example. Under former president Ion Iliescu, an ex-Communist leader who re-converted after 1989 into a social democrat, Romania shunned all possibility of influencing politics in Moldova.
Moldova rapidly fell under Russian influence again, culminating in a mini-cold war between the two countries that ended only after the current pro-European coalition came to power last year in Chisinau.
With 22 million inhabitants, Romania is the second largest Eastern European EU member in terms of both population and surface. But until recently it has practiced an extremely low-key foreign policy within the union, trying to strike a balance with the US at the same time. In 2004, Mr Basescu famously spoke of his plans for an "axis Washington-London-Bucharest."
Romania joined nearly all the recent controversial US initiatives, including sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, and agreeing to host an American anti-missile shield (currently on hold) on its territory.
Its European partners got so used to Romania's inconspicuous attitude that it came as a surprise when, one year ago, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso chose a Romanian, Dacian Ciolos, to head the hugely important EU agriculture portfolio.
Romania is slowly raising its regional status. During the Balkan wars and the Western embargo, the country assumed the role of a helpful neighbour in dealing with Serbia; it had a porous border and was the source of extremely lucrative traffic in petrol and other commodities.
Today, Romania is one of five EU countries (together with Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia) that do not recognise the independence of Kosovo, and it will apparently stick to this course as long as Belgrade itself does not change its position.
As for Moldova, some Romanian politicians and the general public keep alive the hope of a reunification of the two sister countries. That dream got a boost last year, when Mr Basescu announced his readiness to offer Romanian citizenship to any Moldovan who would ask for it. He said that up to 1 million Moldovans – 25 percent of the population – had already applied for citizenship and tens of thousands had received it.
Finally, Romania might want to position itself as the route of any potential pipeline that would bring oil and gas from the Caucasus region to Europe. People may just be beginning to notice, but it seems that Romania is finally trying to become a key regional player.
Author: Dan Alexe
URL: http://waz.euobserver.com/887/31218
Full Article:
European diplomats have not been accustomed to Romania taking its own initiative on political issues, but the situation has begun to change over the last few months.
This was clear when Bucharest became one of the most vocal EU governments to advocate forwarding Serbia's accession application at the foreign ministers meeting in October.
Romanian president Traian Basescu has publicly criticised parts of Europe's security strategies and repeated his concerns to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary general, on a visit to the Brussels headquarters on 28 October.
After decades of mutual indifference, Bucharest is also now lobbying the EU on Moldova's behalf. Mr Basescu has even publicly supported Turkey‘s bid to join the EU, which France and, to a lesser degree, Germany want to stop.
In the two decades following the fall of Communism, Romanian diplomacy was characterised by passivity and a lack of initiative; relations with its sister country Moldova were the most obvious example. Under former president Ion Iliescu, an ex-Communist leader who re-converted after 1989 into a social democrat, Romania shunned all possibility of influencing politics in Moldova.
Moldova rapidly fell under Russian influence again, culminating in a mini-cold war between the two countries that ended only after the current pro-European coalition came to power last year in Chisinau.
With 22 million inhabitants, Romania is the second largest Eastern European EU member in terms of both population and surface. But until recently it has practiced an extremely low-key foreign policy within the union, trying to strike a balance with the US at the same time. In 2004, Mr Basescu famously spoke of his plans for an "axis Washington-London-Bucharest."
Romania joined nearly all the recent controversial US initiatives, including sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, and agreeing to host an American anti-missile shield (currently on hold) on its territory.
Its European partners got so used to Romania's inconspicuous attitude that it came as a surprise when, one year ago, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso chose a Romanian, Dacian Ciolos, to head the hugely important EU agriculture portfolio.
Romania is slowly raising its regional status. During the Balkan wars and the Western embargo, the country assumed the role of a helpful neighbour in dealing with Serbia; it had a porous border and was the source of extremely lucrative traffic in petrol and other commodities.
Today, Romania is one of five EU countries (together with Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia) that do not recognise the independence of Kosovo, and it will apparently stick to this course as long as Belgrade itself does not change its position.
As for Moldova, some Romanian politicians and the general public keep alive the hope of a reunification of the two sister countries. That dream got a boost last year, when Mr Basescu announced his readiness to offer Romanian citizenship to any Moldovan who would ask for it. He said that up to 1 million Moldovans – 25 percent of the population – had already applied for citizenship and tens of thousands had received it.
Finally, Romania might want to position itself as the route of any potential pipeline that would bring oil and gas from the Caucasus region to Europe. People may just be beginning to notice, but it seems that Romania is finally trying to become a key regional player.
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