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Agriculture was and remains the support of human existence, representing the backbone of the Romanian rural economy. The gross domestic product represents a macroeconomic indicator of results, being the consequence of the efficient use of resources. In this context, the authors analyze the place that agriculture holds in achieving the gross domestic product in Romania compared to the European Union, as well as its dynamics. In this sense, the share of resources in the formation of the gross domestic product in the period 2000-2022 is presented. The main research methods used for this work are: analysis, synthesis, comparison and mathematical analysis. From the analysis carried out, conclusive ideas emerge, and the article becomes even more suggestive, in that it is accompanied by tables synthesized by the authors and relevant graphics that highlight and support the assessments that the authors make in the content of this article. At the end of the paper, the authors emphasize the fact that the GDP is the most complex indicator that reflects the transformations that the Romanian economy has gone through in recent years. From the point of view of the use of resources, it can be seen that the share of the agricultural sector has registered a downward evolution, which can be largely explained by the increase in the importance of industry and the service sector in the overall national economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly led to a severe deterioration of the global economic environment and a sharp worsening in the international financial market sentiment. Hence, the European governments adopted extraordinary monetary and state aid policies to mitigate the economic collapse and stabilise the financial markets. Romania was no exception, being significantly affected by the pandemic. Against this background, the paper aims to analyse the peculiarities of the monetary support and state aid adopted by Romania and by other EU Member States in the context of the pandemic crisis to increase the resilience of their national economies. Our main findings reveal that the monetary support provided in Romania consisted in significant liquidity injections into the financial system, and in the purchase of state securities from the secondary market. In Romania, the largest part of the total state aid was directed to SMEs from the processing industry, constructions, wholesale and retail trade, transport, and the storage sector, especially through guarantees and direct grants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the European Union, the advancement of renewable energy is a priority primarily due to climate change mitigation measures, but also because it can be easily identified and exploited while assuring the sustainable development across EU. Under the Green Deal ambitions UE aims to gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, to limit climate change and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Renewable energy plays a key role in this regard. In 2022, Romania had a significant share of energy from renewable sources. Also, forecasts indicate that Romania has onshore wind capacity that could generate twice as much electricity as current consumption. The following paper aims to carry out an analysis of Romania's progress in the field of renewables. The research is based on the challenges and opportunities for the development of renewable energy while also highlighting, the particularities of Romania in terms of the adoption of renewable energy practices and emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses that Romania has in this domain. Our main finding shows that while in Romania has been significant progress in terms of renewable energy, there is still untapped capacity in the field requiring for more actions from the Romanian authorities and business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper analyses the manner in which the implementation of the measures assumed by Romania during the pre-accession period (NATO and EU) has influenced Romania's economic development in recent years. In this regard, the topic is approached from the point of view that the costs requested by "partners" and supported by Romania were justified by subsequent results (such as economic development, improved national security, institutional reforms or improving Romania's external image). To this effect, a custom analysis is developed to assess the extent to which Romania's integration processes into the Euro-Atlantic structures have affected the further economic development of the country in terms of costs for securing the Romanian state, with effects that can be witnessed to this day. In the research undertaken in this paper, the social, economic and political conditions existing in Romania and in the states in its immediate vicinity during the pre-accession period are also taken into account in order to highlight the positive effects generated by NATO and EU accession on all levels (especially economic and security/geopolitical). Thus, it is demonstrated that Romania, as a member of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, acting in a security space based on common values, interests and objectives, on the principles and norms of democracy, the rule of law, and the market economy, has enjoyed favourable conditions for its accelerated economic and social development. From a security viewpoint, the terrorist actions/attacks carried out in recent years in European countries were not critical to Romania, but only aimed at the material destruction, political destabilization, and damage to European markets. However, the measures implemented by Romania are accompanied by a low level of trust in public institutions, meaning that all future actions of the Romanian state must take into account this vulnerability. At the same time, Romanian authorities need to understand that transparency and consultation with the public and partners are important in order to find the best ways to address threats and implement international measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzed the status of Sorghum crop worldwide, in the EU and Romania regarding the cultivated area, production, yield and trade pointing out the main trends. The data provided by the Data bases of NIS and Faostat have been processed using usual methods such as fixed index and comparison. In 2017, the world Sorghum production reached 63.9 million tonnes, and the average yield 1,427 kg/ha. The main producers of Sorghum are the USA, Nigeria, Sudan, Mexico, Ethiopia and India. In 2017, the EU represented just 0.12% of the world area cultivated with Sorghum. and produced 755 thousand tonnes of grains,i.e.1.18% of the world output. But, the EU average yield is 5,580 kg/ha, being 3.81 times higher than the world mean. In main EU producers of Sorghum are: Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Austria, Hungary, and Bulgaria. In 2017, Romania cultivated 13,833 ha, representing 25.2% of the EU area and produced 54,282 tonnes Sorghum grains, i.e.7.18% to the EU output. Per surface unit, Romania carried out 3,879 kg/ha, 2.71 times more than the world mean and by 30% less than in the EU. Romania is also an important exporter of sorghum grains and the trade balance is positive. Due to the advantages of this crop and taking into account the need to mitigate the effects of climate change, the EU policy provides a new perspective to grow the cultivated surface and production. Romanian farmers must use new technologies, paying attention to high value hybrids, fertilization and plant protection to improve yield, and production. Romania has to keep its position as an important producer and exporter of Sorghum in the EU by developing this agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper was to analyze the main aspects and trends in the EU an Romania's egg market based on the Eurostat and National Institute of Statistics data. The dynamics of laying hens, egg production, consumption, price and trade have been the main indicators analyzed in this study pointing out the problems in the Romanian egg market and the differences compared to the EU market mainly regarding egg price. The EU egg market is facing with a relatively stable egg production, 90% intra-EU export, 20% extra-EU imports, a slight decline of the egg price, but large variations from a country to another. The egg sector is subsidized in almost all the EU countries, except Romania. This helps the breeders from the subsidized countries to have a smaller production cost and a high economic efficiency selling at a higher price. The EU egg trade balance is a positive one, the EU being one of the most important egg producer and exporter in the world. In Romania, the laying hen number and egg production declined because of high price for farm inputs, the movement from the cage system to the barn and free range systems. to reduce production cost. Egg price has increased, but it is not at the average EU level, being influenced by seasonality of production and offer/demand ratio. Egg price declines in the warm season when production is higher, and increases in the fall-winter season when production is lower but the demand is higher. The inflow of imports determine Romanian producers to reduce the selling price. Romania's egg trade balance is still a positive one, but the imports have an increasing trend. This situation imposes a new strategy at the EU level to assure a loyal competition among all the producers, and to export more eggs to the extra-EU countries and assure a better consumer protection. In Romania, the Government must allot subsidies to support the egg sector, and the breeders must pay attention to egg quality, production cost and intensify export. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a European army or not? Do we need a EU army or not? A controversial subject, supported by some and criticized by others, the European army is a desired goal by France, which could thus strengthen its position in Europe and gain advantages from militarization. But what are Romania's interests, how open are the officials from Bucharest on the topic of the creation of the European army and what are the chances of our country participating in it? The present paper represents a theoretical and analytical research on the possibility of Romania's participation in the European Army. Its purpose is to analyze the internal and external factors that can influence both the existence of such an organization and Romania's possibility of being included in it. Thus, the article brings to attention the factors that influence Romania's participation in the European Army and its implications. Also, this paper takes into account the need for a quick intervention of an armed force in the context of the increasing risks to which EU states are exposed, the most recent example being the threat of Russia.

This paper challenges approaches that expect unavoidable decline in developmental state capacities as a result of European market integration. Using Romania's automotive industry as its case study, the paper shows that deep integration with the EU forecloses protectionist strategies and builds state capacities for FDI-based development instead. While Romania was initially a weak state, deep integration with the EU helped develop its core state institutions and sectoral developmental state capacities. The EU strengthened state autonomy vis-à-vis domestic actors and increased its ability to broker win-win deals among these actors and multinational corporations. It also helped create elementary state institutions that could foster industrial upgrading. The Romanian state used these capacities to enable the initial investment of multinational corporations and to incentivize them to engage in further expansion and upgrading, rather than merely to use Romania as an assembly platform. However, the state has, to date, made little effort and little use of the EU funds to broaden the scope of the beneficiaries from market integration, thereby contributing to an MNC-led exclusionary developmental pathway. While weak states might not fully use the opportunities offered by deep integration with the EU, this integration still provides more opportunities than threats for their developmental agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has played out in Romania in a similar way to that in many other European countries. The government implemented decisive early measures which were able to keep the infection and mortality rates relatively low. This paper considers three distinctive aspects of the situation in Romania. First, the situation was complicated by the influence of transnational migrant workers, large numbers of whom returned to Romania when the pandemic started, accounting for distinct geographical variations in the rates of infection. At the same time, large numbers were able to leave the country at the height of the pandemic because they were "needed" for low-paid agricultural/social care work in western European countries. Second, the pandemic placed tension on Romania's relationship with the EU, whilst highlighting a number of existing issues between Romania and its neighbors. Third, Romania's strict lockdown measures exacerbated long-standing internal tensions, particularly with regard to the large and marginalized Roma community. The paper concludes by considering some of the possible longer-term implications for Romania of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain products have been introduced in the EU supplemented with governing regulations to mainstream the products originating from mountain areas with adequate market facilities and use as a differentiating tool compared with conventional products. Since its formalisation and adoption of relevant laws in the national context in Romania, the adoption of the optional quality term Mountain Label among the producers has been astonishing. Considering the good market in Romania for quality and locally sourced products, mountain labels and their use among the producers were regarded as having a better impact on the economic and market status. The research intended to pursue an answer in the same direction to see if producers were able to fully exploit the EU optional quality term Mountain Label scheme at the national level in Romania or if there was dissatisfaction among the producers with the rules of utilizing the label. A general producer survey with questionnaires was planned, organized, and implemented on the three mountain massifs surrounding Brașov city to elicit the necessary findings. Due to continuous support from the relevant authorities in the registration of the label, the producers were interested in enlisting themselves in the quality scheme; however, poor marketing and promotional assistance were some of the problems identified as general problems that caused the producers to be disappointed in the labelling scheme. Although most of the producers had a good idea of the benefits associated with the label, only 50% of them were engaged in some way in highlighting the mountain label in their promotional activities. Different statistical tests like the U-test, correlation analysis, and chi-square tests were used in conjunction with the different findings visualisations to derive insightful findings. The findings of the research can be beneficial to comprehend existing scenarios of mountain labels and producers' perceptions of mountain labels post-registration, propose different systematic reformations for better efficiency of operations of mountain labels, and realize its initial objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to identify the market potential for products produced and processed according to the EU quality schemes (organic products, PDO, PGI and TSG) on Romanian market. It provides a description of EU and national policies related to development of new markets like organic, PDO, PGI and TSG products, in particular PGI market. The structure of the paper contains an analysis of the organic products and, separately, the analysis of PGI products in Romania, with examples of products under EU quality schemes. During the analysis, we focused on the following aspects: legal frame, institutions and implementation of the quality schemes, supply side, demand side, trade, investments in the field, problems identified and tendencies. It puts in evidence the main characteristics of the country, tendencies, challenges and particularities, which define the groups of products analysed. The example given in text tries to show practical aspects and ways of implementation of the EU quality schemes, for Romania. The paper provides general conclusions resulted from the EU quality schemes implementations in Romania. In the same time, we identify a few difficulties regarding the expansion of the market. By present paper we open new discussions about trends in the field, future developments and models for a good standard of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging of technology and research & development sector is revolutionizing how markets and local economies continuously evolve. Even if there are still wide gaps between European countries in technology, the digital literacy is spread throughout all business in EU market. This paper is aiming to analyze overall technology indicators in CEE region trying to find patterns of R&D areas by using principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering techniques. Twenty eight European countries are analyzed based on Eurostat data regarding digital literacy, high tech areas and research and development investment and engagement. Two main patterns like High Tech foreign trade and R&D focus have been discovered based on these data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern enlargement had tested the EU’s capacity of integration of former communist states. The role of EU in Romania`s democratization is fully acknowledged by literature, but Romania still has problems in reforming its judicial system and eradicating corruption. This article aims to investigate how discourses refect the political relations of Romania and EU between 2014 and 2019. In doing so, this paper analysis 20 formal public discourses of Romanian and European politicians and uses newspapers and official sites as sources. The results indicate that Romania faces another political crisis in 2017 consisting in passing of new justice law and Emergency Ordinance 13 that creates impunity for highlevel officials who have been convicted for corruption. The UE responds with the CVM reports that shows Romania still has a long way to go in order to become a fully integrated EU member state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to identify initiatives to reduce food waste (FW) in Romania is quite limited, and existing studies at the European and international level have highlighted the need to promote models of good practice that can be multiplied on a large scale. In this context, the aim of the paper is to highlight good practices for preventing and reducing food waste in the EU and in Romania, so that different organizations and decision makers can develop better interventions in this regard. The best practices for preventing and reducing FW identified and presented in the paper refer to: the use of digital technology, projects and platforms, organizations involved in volunteering, food banks, mobile applications, social innovation, corporate social entrepreneurship, education, and public awareness. The paper also identified the determinants of food waste, encountered at the end of the food supply chain FSC (Food Supply Chain), as well as good practices to prevent and reduce it, to make it available to organizations, authorities, and households a wide range of models that can be implemented internationally and in Romania as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly led to a severe deterioration of the global economic environment and a sharp worsening in the international financial market sentiment. Hence, the European governments adopted extraordinary monetary and state aid policies to mitigate the economic collapse and stabilise the financial markets. Romania was no exception, being significantly affected by the pandemic. Against this background, the paper aims to analyse the peculiarities of the monetary support and state aid adopted by Romania and by other EU Member States in the context of the pandemic crisis to increase the resilience of their national economies. Our main findings reveal that the monetary support provided in Romania consisted in significant liquidity injections into the financial system, and in the purchase of state securities from the secondary market. In Romania, the largest part of the total state aid was directed to SMEs from the processing industry, constructions, wholesale and retail trade, transport, and the storage sector, especially through guarantees and direct grants.

The paper aimed to analyze the development of organic agriculture in the world, the EU and Romania, based on the statistical data for the period 2006-2010 and the index, share and comparison methods. Organic agriculture covers 34.04 Million ha at world level, of which 26.99 % in Europe and 32.08 % in Oceania. The largest areas in organic agriculture are in Australia, Argentina, the USA, Brazil, Spain, China and Italy. At world level, there are 1.6 million organic producers, over 63 % operating in Africa and Asia, especially in India, Uganda and Mexico. In 2010, organic food sales accounted for Euro 44.5 Billions of which 50 % in Europe. In the same year, the organic agriculture area increased by 20 % in the EU-27 and reached 9.01 million ha and continues to grow, representing 5.10 % of agricultural land. The larges areas in organic agriculture are in Spain, Italy, Germany and France. In the EU-27 there are 219,290 organic producers of which 40 % in Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria. In 2010, Romania's area in organic agriculture was 300,205 ha, 2 times higher than in 2006. A number of 10,253 organic operators were registered in 2010, representing 4.67 %, of the EU number. The main organic products are cereals, vegetables, wine, honey, dairy products, representing a chance for Romania's export on the EU market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concomitantly with the expansion of the use of information and communication technologies in all areas of social life, including military, organizations and states across Europe have noted the need to raise awareness of cyberspace risks and to act in order to prevent and combat them. For example, on the one hand, NATO - a political-military organization - has included cyberspace among its operational areas, considering it a space of battle, besides the three already traditional - air, land and naval. On the other hand, the European Union - a political and economic organization - is more concerned with cyber security and cybercrime, being aware that networking is essential to maintaining the online economy and ensuring the prosperity of its states and citizens. Also, at the level of Romania, a series of initiatives have been launched that target the so sensitive digital space. In the present paper, without pretending to have an exhaustive approach, we wish to present the current conceptual framework of cyber security at the Euro-Atlantic, European and national levels and, very briefly, some converging initiatives in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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With Romania's accession to the great family of European countries and the European Union, its Europeanization has become a reality. It can be said that, in 2017, Romania, in terms of institutional, administrative, and legislative terms, has almost aligned with the European countries. Regarding the Romanian economy as a whole, it should be mentioned that the European Union has put its mark on it, an aspect which is highlighted in the present paper by carrying out an analysis of the Romanian economy in the last decade, starting with 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new economy, the knowledge-based society, brings to the forefront a new segment of national economies: ecommerce. Its prerequisites have been globalisation and the unprecedented development of information and communication technology. This paper focuses on the evolution of e-commerce in Romania at enterprises level in the EU context, in the period 2010-2020. In this regard, three indicators published by EUROSTAT were analysed: the share of the enterprises with e-commerce sales, the share of the enterprises purchasing online, the share of the enterprises' total turnover sales from e-commerce. From this perspective, the EU average, the maximum and minimum values reached by the Member States and the disparity indices were monitored. As expected, the results of the analysis revealed the existence of Community differences for all the indicators studied. The gaps between maximum and minimum values were significant. The indicator where the best situation of our country was noted was the share of the enterprises' total turnover sales from e-commerce. Also, at the level of the three indicators studied, Romania performed best for large companies. The year 2020 was the best for Romania due to the acceleration of electronic transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aimed to analyze the development of organic agriculture in the world, the EU and Romania, based on the statistical data for the period 2006-2010 and the index, share and comparison methods. Organic agriculture covers 34.04 Million ha at world level, of which 26.99 % in Europe and 32.08 % in Oceania. The largest areas in organic agriculture are in Australia, Argentina, the USA, Brazil, Spain, China and Italy. At world level, there are 1.6 million organic producers, over 63 % operating in Africa and Asia, especially in India, Uganda and Mexico. In 2010, organic food sales accounted for Euro 44.5 Billions of which 50 % in Europe. In the same year, the organic agriculture area increased by 20 % in the EU-27 and reached 9.01 million ha and continues to grow, representing 5.10 % of agricultural land. The larges areas in organic agriculture are in Spain, Italy, Germany and France. In the EU-27 there are 219,290 organic producers of which 40 % in Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria. In 2010, Romania’s area in organic agriculture was 300,205 ha, 2 times higher than in 2006. A number of 10,253 organic operators were registered in 2010, representing 4.67 %, of the EU number. The main organic products are cereals, vegetables, wine, honey, dairy products, representing a chance for Romania’s export on the EU market.

Our research paper is part of the larger-scale theme regarding the Romania's readiness for accession to the Euro Area in terms of the real convergence. Our analysis extends the real economic convergence to the sphere of social convergence. The purpose of the extended analysis is a) to verify findings on the trend of real economic convergence, measured by the GDP/capita (PPP), b) to compare the living standards in Romania and other European Union member states (EU-28) and c) to draw conclusions on the social convergence as a complement to real economic convergence. For the first time in Romania and the EU we have used in our analysis a new global composite indicator, the Social Progress Index 2015 (SPI 2015, USA). Intended contribution of our SWOT analysis is focused on identifying the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in the social development of Romania, which could be used as a benchmark by the policy makers in addressing the economic and social policies to eliminate the weaknesses and to transform the threats into opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper will explore the evolution of Romanian migration phenomenon and the influence of migration policy of European countries, in order to understand the mechanism of choosing the destination country for Romanian emigrants. What type of evolution knows the migration phenomenon from Romania? Which are the most important factors that influence the emigration from Romania? How does the mechanism of choosing the work destination country for the Romanian emigrants? We expect that during the pre-joining period the European countries with tolerant attitude towards immigrants, and frequent naturalization, or regularization procedures, to be mainly preferred by Romanian immigrants. The empirical support for these hypotheses is examined based on statistical analysis of data provided by the official organisms for statistics in Romania, the Public Opinion Barometer. Official statistics of other European countries on immigration affecting their country, including Romanian immigration, will also be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pricing policy of intra-group transactions can have significant effects on competitive advantage and profitability in terms of fiscal costs of companies with international activity. The trend in transfer pricing developments in many countries reveals a growing interest of the national tax authorities towards transfer pricing, which is one of the main areas of tax investigation. The paper deals with issues of increasing interest of companies to transfer pricing, and tax measures taken by the authorities towards the regulatory framework for transfer pricing. In this context, are presented aspects about transfer pricing, the implications of their use, specific legal rules and procedures applicable in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing war from Ukraine (started by the Russian Federations' unprovoked military aggression on Ukraine in February 2022) has created a tense geopolitical situation with widespread economic repercussions, affecting not only the directly involved parties but also their economic partners. The European Union (EU) has been significantly impacted by this event, particularly through the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation, which have disrupted the bilateral trade. Against this background, the European authorities have utilized the State aid policy to mitigate the adverse effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the economies of the Member States. Our research focuses on identifying the main instruments used in the field of State aid and on examining how the Member States, particularly Romania, have leveraged these tools to lessen the war's negative impact on their national economies. To achieve this, we will conduct a comparative analysis of the State aid provided since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, using the latest data published by the European Commission in the State Aid Scoreboard. Additionally, we will present a case study on how Romania has utilized the Temporary Crisis Framework (TCF) and the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) to support its national economy amid the war's consequences. Our primary finding reveals that, similar to the pandemic crisis, the State aid policy has proved its effectiveness and adaptability in promptly supporting the economies of the Member States affected by the Ukrainian war. Furthermore, our second finding shows that Romania has successfully taken advantage of the new opportunities presented by TCF and TCTF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The objective of our working paper is to analyzethe renewable energy development policy in Romania, in the larger European context, and to reveal its impact in recent years and in the prospects of policy changes. Renewable energy sources (RES) have a great potential in Romania, especially the wind and solar ones, so that investment projects can be developed to ensure a green energy production, for a sustainable development. Under the legislation enforced in 2005 and implemented in 2011, Romania was able to meet its target of covering 24% of its final energy consumption from renewable sources much in advance (2013) of the 2020 deadline. Romania became an investor's “paradise”, placed by the international consulting firm (Ernst & Young 2013)at No. 13 on a list of 40 nations ranked by their attractiveness for investment in renewables (February 2013) The paper asses the main determinants of the RES sector development in Romania and the outcomes of the generous policy implemented in the field as compared to other EU member states. Based on a comparative analysis, the study presents some scenarios regarding a possible change of paradigm .in Renewable Energy Sources policy in Romania and in other EU member states and assesses its consequences on the medium and long term investment on domestic markets [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper deals with several of the issues induced by the present day crisis, as seen from an EU academic perspective. It draws on the fact that the triggering point was easily located by most European sources in the USA and tries to depict objectively this exogenous/endogenous situation that was distorted in so many ways by partisan views. Further on, it browses through the potential ways out of the crisis, analyzing schemes that could be interpreted as either global, European or/and Romanian ones. The whole approach has objectively embedded micro/macroeconomics content, as well as of economic policies within this negative juncture, but beyond this the focus would be on how these themes should be taught to Romanian undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I investigate, from an ethical perspective, the legal prospects of unrelated living donors from Romania. In the present-day shortage of organs necessary for transplantation, the organs from living donors represent an alternative to the organs from deceased ones. Worldwide, unrelated living donors begin to be considered as a promising category among overall living donors. However, their situation raises many ethical questions that need to be addressed by adequate regulations and protections. The paper analyzes the case of non-related living donors applied to the Romanian present situation, in an attempt to underline the ethical limitations their situation presents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to identify the market potential for products produced and processed according to the EU quality schemes (organic products, PDO, PGI and TSG) on Romanian market. It provides a description of EU and national policies related to development of new markets like organic, PDO, PGI and TSG products, in particular PGI market. The structure of the paper contains an analysis of the organic products and, separately, the analysis of PGI products in Romania, with examples of products under EU quality schemes. During the analysis, we focused on the following aspects: legal frame, institutions and implementation of the quality schemes, supply side, demand side, trade, investments in the field, problems identified and tendencies. It puts in evidence the main characteristics of the country, tendencies, challenges and particularities, which define the groups of products analysed. The example given in text tries to show practical aspects and ways of implementation of the EU quality schemes, for Romania. The paper provides general conclusions resulted from the EU quality schemes implementations in Romania. In the same time, we identify a few difficulties regarding the expansion of the market. By present paper we open new discussions about trends in the field, future developments and models for a good standard of life.

The paper offers an overview of the evolution of the Eastern-Partnership, viewed from the main conclusions of each Summit dedicated to the EaP. I tried to analyse separately each summit, and the evolution of political discourse is significant. If in 2009 they spoke in Prague about an ambitious project, which encouraged good governance and development of new economic partnerships, the last summit at Riga in 2015, drew a real alarm on the worrying developments around Romania. The Eastern Partnership was intended to provide within the EU a tangible support and comprehensive democratic transformation, and an oriented market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the non-cash payment methods used in Romania against other European Union countries to stress the main differences of the latest developments in this specific area since the crisis errupted up to present. In Romania, the most common payment method is transfer credit, because of its simplicity and because it is less risky than the other non-cash payment methods, while in EU direct debit and credit cards are more common. However, the value per transaction for any type of non-cash instruments (except for cheques) is smaller in Romania than in other EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author considers that the topic of this article is of interest to active politicians and military of all ranks. In the context of the Russian Federation’s unreasoned and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine (on 24.02.2022), the concerns of Romania and other countries, historically unlucky to found themselves in what the Russians call their “close vicinity”, have increased dramatically. The concerns get bigger as no one knows where this „vicinity” ends, in Berlin or in the Atlantic!? The paper presents some events and facts of the war’s preliminaries and outgoing, which could be used by those with responsibilities in the field of defence in Romania to draw some conclusions and generate accordingly measures. Let’s hope that NATO and the EU have gain some terms with reality and have finally understood who Putin’s Russia is and what it wants. Urgent and firm measures are needed to counter the aggressor.

The aim of this study is to achieve a comparative analysis of the cow livestock number, production of milk and of main dairy products in Romania and European Union. The work is an extensive bibliographic documentation with the application of statistical tests for the period 2017-2021. At European Union level the herd of dairy cows is in decreasing with 5.63% and in Romania with 7.95%, from 1175.4 thousand heads in 2017 to 1081.9 thousand heads in 2021. The largest amount of raw milk available on the farm in 2021 belongs to Germany which records 32531.56 thousand tons, approx. 21% of the total quantity at EU level. In 2021 compared with 2017, the Europeans consumed with 3.91% less fresh dairy products and with approx. 5% more cheese. In the future, will be exploit more productive animals, making cow rearing a part of solutions in food crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy, the economic model that aims to maximize the use of resources and minimize the impact on the environment by reusing, recycling and encouraging regeneration. Through the SPSS statistical program, estimates are made regarding 3 indicators, the final energy consumption by agriculture and forestry per hectare of used agricultural area, The share of renewable energy in the final gross energy consumption per sector, The recycling rate of municipal waste are needed to be able to identify the direction Romania is heading in the next 10 years. Thus, the final energy consumption by agriculture and forestry per hectare of surface increases from 43.32% in 2021 to 43.32% in 2030, being necessary to adopt new sustainable agricultural practices in order to achieve efficient agriculture by reducing the consumption of energy. According to estimates, the share of recycled municipal waste has increased significantly over the last 20 years, from 1.6% in 2001 to 11.3% in 2021, with Romania expecting to reach 27% by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new economy, the knowledge-based society, brings to the forefront a new segment of national economies: ecommerce. Its prerequisites have been globalisation and the unprecedented development of information and communication technology. This paper focuses on the evolution of e-commerce in Romania at enterprises level in the EU context, in the period 2010-2020. In this regard, three indicators published by EUROSTAT were analysed: the share of the enterprises with e-commerce sales, the share of the enterprises purchasing online, the share of the enterprises' total turnover sales from e-commerce. From this perspective, the EU average, the maximum and minimum values reached by the Member States and the disparity indices were monitored. As expected, the results of the analysis revealed the existence of Community differences for all the indicators studied. The gaps between maximum and minimum values were significant. The indicator where the best situation of our country was noted was the share of the enterprises' total turnover sales from e-commerce. Also, at the level of the three indicators studied, Romania performed best for large companies. The year 2020 was the best for Romania due to the acceleration of electronic transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Romania’s main foreign policy objectives since the EU’s accession were to join Schengen Area and Eurozone. However, after more than ten years, Romania has not achieved any of these objectives. This article aims to investigate how discourses of politicians reflect the economic relations between EU and Romania and why Romania is not yet part of Schengen Area and Eurozone. In doing so, I collected 13 formal public discourses of Romanian and European leaders using as sources official sites and newspapers. This paper analyzes discourses of politicians between 2014 and 2019. The relevance of the period lies in representative political events for EU-Romania relations such as the election of a pro-European president Klaus Iohannis in 2014 and the fact Romania assumed the Presidency of the European Union Council in the first six months of 2019. The results show Romania faces difficulties in europeanisation of its policies and in the negotiation process, which is why it does not become a member of the Schengen Area and Eurozone. Other dimensions of relations such as security and human rights as well as Romania and the EU during the coronavirus pandemic can be subject to further research.

Eastern enlargement had tested the EU’s capacity of integration of former communist states. The role of EU in Romania`s democratization is fully acknowledged by literature, but Romania still has problems in reforming its judicial system and eradicating corruption. This article aims to investigate how discourses refect the political relations of Romania and EU between 2014 and 2019. In doing so, this paper analysis 20 formal public discourses of Romanian and European politicians and uses newspapers and official sites as sources. The results indicate that Romania faces another political crisis in 2017 consisting in passing of new justice law and Emergency Ordinance 13 that creates impunity for high-level officials who have been convicted for corruption. The UE responds with the CVM reports that shows Romania still has a long way to go in order to become a fully integrated EU member state.

The competitiveness of the SME sector is one of the key factors of development in the current context. The primary aim of our research is to analyse the strengths of the SMEs in the EU from the perspective of their competitiveness and to formulate some practices and strategies to be applied by Romanian SMEs to reach an improved level of competitiveness. A theoretical perspective of competitiveness of SME is presented as well as several proofs for a set of three directions for gaining and enhancing SMEs competitiveness: the adoption of e-business, the internationalisation process and the adoption of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many significant changes have occurred in European border regimes (e.g. visa and customs regulations) during recent years that have considerable consequences for people dealing with "the" border in their daily routines. The article discusses how far small-scale trade activities of petty traders and small entrepreneurs at the Romanian-Ukrainian border have changed and how these changes are related to an enforced EU external border regime and the preparation for fully joining the Schengen space. The aim of our paper is to demonstrate that this border, which is regulated as a uniform and common one, is not always enforced in the intended homogenous way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the relatively scarce scholarly literature regarding the democratisation of the intelligence sector in post-communist Europe, with a focus on the experience and lessons that can be learned from the case of Romania. Essentially, the article addresses the impact of external pressure (derived from international cooperation, both at the national and agency level) on the reforms undertaken by Romania after 1989 and in preparation for its accession to NATO and the EU. I build upon literature in intelligence studies and civil-military relations and I analyse the two waves of legislative and institutional changes reflected in official documents, legislation, and public interviews by prominent members of the intelligence community. I also highlight the importance as well as the limits of international cooperation of Romanian agencies with their Western counterparts (NATO/EU institutions as well as agencies in member states) as a factor of democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year, for the first time in the history of its membership in the European Union, Romania exercises the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. As far as the Council is concerned, it is undoubtedly one of the most important decision-making factors, part of what the specialized doctrine calls the "bicameral legislative of the European Union". The manner of exercising the presidency, the role of the Presidency in the proper functioning of the Council, the challenges and opportunities related to it are, in our opinion, topics of interest for the Romanian public and their approach can bring more clarity to the debates held in this honorable, but the difficult period. That's exactly why the aforementioned subjects are the research topic of the research paper that we submit to your attention in the lines below.