TRENDS AND ACTUAL ISSUES CONCERNING SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA, STUDY CASE: THE NORTH EAST REGION OF DEVELOPMENT.

The European Union Regions of Development are characterized by substantial social, economic, and territorial disparities. There also recorded large economic disparities between rural and urban areas. The Romanian rural areas includes: 2860 communes, 12,956 villages, representing around 90% of the Romanian territory and 45 % of its population. It has the main agricultural and forestry resources and over 9.6 million inhabitants. Of these, 506 communes and 2414 villages are located in the 6 counties of The North East Region of Development, one of the poorest regions of development within European Union. This paper is focused on the regional development issues in the rural areas of this region and is aimed to evaluate the resources that haven't been enough capitalized in this region and to indentify solutions to improve the socio- economic situation in the next years, through a balanced development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]