Name: Stalin Tayupanta Class: International Foreign Policy Date: 27/11/2012 Topic: Romania and the Euro-Atlantic Structures

Romania is a country located at the intersection of Central and Southeastern Europe; it constitutes the largest Balkan country and is watered by the Black Sea. Throughout its modern history, it has repeatedly faced dilemmas deriving from its self-identification with Europe and its energy dependency on Russia; however, since 1996 the country adopted new rapprochement policies towards the Euro-Atlantic institutions as the European Union and NATO that began a series of internal adaption reforms that changed radically the objectives of its international foreign policy1. The Second World War caused the rise of a military dictatorship in Romania, leading it to fight on the side of the Axis powers from 1941 to 1944. It then switched sides in 1944 and joined the Allies. By the end of the war, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact2. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the 1989 Revolution that ended the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania began its transition towards democracy and a capitalist market economy. After a decade of post-revolution economic problems and living standards decline, extensive reforms fostered economic recovery3. As part of the return to Europe policy, Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 January 2007. The acceptance in both institutions was the result of the geostrategically importance that the country has and the interest of the members for acquiring a foothold in the oil transiting Black Sea while they minimize the Russian sphere of influence in the region. Romanias inclusion in Western institutions was further undermined by the countrys open issues in her foreign affairs. Nevertheless, Bucharest during the 1990s, applying a highly realistic and conciliatory foreign policy agenda, reached settlements on long lasting disputes with Hungary and Ukraine, closed the issue of reunifications with Moldova and refrained from assertive policies for Russia4.
1

INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS, Romanian Foreign Policy Post Euro-Atlantic Accession, So Far so Good, http://idec.gr/iier/new/PAPAKOSTAS%20REPORT-%20ROMANIA%20-%20FINAL-%2013-52009.pdf, pag. 1,2 2 Cfr., ROMANIAN PRESIDENCY, General Data, http://translate.google.com.ec/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.presidency.ro%2F%3F_R ID%3Dhtm%26id%3D15 3 Cfr., Id. 4 INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS, Romanian Foreign Policy Post Euro-Atlantic Accession, So Far so Good, http://idec.gr/iier/new/PAPAKOSTAS%20REPORT-%20ROMANIA%20-%20FINAL-%2013-52009.pdf, pag. 1,2

For instance, Romanias entry into the EU was largely perceived as a huge success for its foreign policy and for the population. It was a success above expectations, however, internally as well externally, the years since the enlargement have been marked by the effort to adjust to his new surprising position and to articulate a distinctive foreign policy role for the country in the European Union5. Joining the EU has provided new resources and opportunities for the professionalization and improvement of the diplomatic agenda that has increased the participation in multilateral organizations and has helped to establish a clear and common foreign policy to Romania. Since the membership in the European Union and NATO, the objectives of the international foreign policy of Romania are focused on the use of the international influence of these institutions in order to develop and exploit the following potential issues of the country: Natural resources of the Territory (Danube Delta) The geographical position as a pathway of energy sources The proximity to the potentially dynamic emerging markets of the Balkans International Security6

Actually, Romania is recovering from a recent economic crisis, as we have seen, the international relations of the country between the Euro-Atlantic institutions is based on the mutual interests-aid. Romania seeks to foster its economic growth and influence in the region through the material resources of NATO and European Union while the country collaborates with the US intervention in Afghanistan and allows the Great Powers to use its geographic location in order to gain control over resources. The first US base in the country was opened in 2006, near the Black Sea port of Constanta and by now the most ambitious project for the US interests is the first NATO Anti-Misile Shield that would be functioning in 2015. Among Romania, EU and NATO, the most important shared objective is the energy dependency from Russia, these three actors have been applying different policies that in the future will be useful to facilitate and destroy the Russian monopoly of the transport of energy sources from the Caspian Sea to Europe, like the plans to create direct pipeline from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Central Europe. The international policy of Romania responds directly to the acquisition of power and influence in the international field that (according to theory) every country has to seek by any means even if it costs to cede its national sovereignty. In fact, Bucharest is trying to be less dependent from
5

POP Liliana, Institute for the Study of European Transformations, Romanias foreign policy after EU enlargement: A country in search of a role, http://www.uaces.org/pdf/CRNs/ForeignPolicy_July_Pop.pdf, pag. 3 6 Cfr., Id.

the Russian economy and cooperation (heritage of the communist regime) by diversifying its diplomatic and economic relations with Western Europe. This approach to the European Union and NATO has been useful to Romania in order to achieve relative power and reduce the weaknesses that the dependency on Russia had produced in the country. Romanias regional policy is largely defined by a strongly competitive attitude towards Russia which is primarily expressed through its alignment with United States positions. This alignment with the US is utterly derived from their common long-term aspiration for marginalizing Russia through blocking its access to Europe7. In that respect, Bucharest has repeatedly utilized its political influence for bringing both the Western Balkans and the Black Sea countries closer to Euro Atlantic accession while promoting energy supplies diversification8. This international behavior not only responds to the different interests-relations that the country has established, it is also important to take into consideration the vision that the government of Rumania has from its country. The Head of State sees Romania as a linking bridge between the European Union and the non-member states in the region, the more so as they have the vocation to become part of the European construction 9 . Certainly, this Romanian doctrine legitimates the rapprochement to Western Europe and to the United States (through NATO); although there is an increasing Anti-Americanism throughout the continent. In this sense, Romania wants to be essentially the bearer of democracy, human rights and peace in the Balkans region. It has supported various initiatives to promote the cooperation in the Black Sea, the acceptance of Moldova and Ukraine in the European Union and the creation of a Euroregion in the Southern shore of the Black Sea in an effort to indulge the participants pursue democratic consolidation and the establishment of functional market economies that would bring them closer to Euro-Atlantic accession. This self identification has been recognized by policy-makers in the country as appropriate and honorable. Because of this trend, the actual material conditions (that could be improved by far in the future) are leading to an increase of confidence and a greater ability to carry out the actual policies effectively. This is allowing the country to play a hegemonic role in the Western Balkans and Moldova. As a basis for the hegemony intentions of Bucharest in the Balkans, it is necessary to consider the United States relations focused on the security agenda of the region. Due to the fact that the
7

Cfr., ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, Changes in Romanias Foreign Policy from the Perspective of NATO and EU Membership, http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol10_no1/RJEA_2010_vol_10_no_1_Changes_in_Romania%E2%80%99s_F oreign_Policy_from_the_Perspective_of_NATO_and_EU_Membership.pdf, pag. 4-6 8 Cfr., Id. 9 Cfr., Id.

economic cooperation between the two countries has not shown any major progress and that Romania needs the support of Major Powers to accomplish its foreign policy objectives, the only way to obtain the attention of the United States in order to include economic cooperation in the bilateral relations, is by accepting their geopolitical interests. During the presidency of George W. Bush, Romania actively supported the US purposes in the Black Sea Region, but it did not understand that the region has only a peripheral role in Americas grand strategy for the Greater Middle East. Overestimating the importance of the Black Sea to the United States, Romania launched a series of initiatives in the region that failed because the US involvement was not as expected10. Although the Romanias efforts to foster the economic cooperation, the most important project between the two countries is the creation of the Transylvania Highway with a slow advance of the motorway construction. This project is considered by the public opinion as the price of Romanias accession into NATO.11 This continued pattern from Romania following the international policies and giving privileges to the United States without receiving the same treatment in exchange, has caused a negative public opinion among the population. In addition, the government of Romania has to deal with the public antipathy caused by its support to President Bush actions and the political disagreement about the US legitimacy of the invasion in Iraq. By now Bucharest will have to reassess and redefine its approach to the US because on the adaptability of its international policy will depend the capacity to maintain, promote and develop a favorable relation with this state in order to achieve the countrys objectives. However, the active foreign policy and geo-strategically importance of Romania could be undermined by the accession of Georgia and Ukraine to NATO. These countries that have a greater geopolitical importance than Romania will be more important for the United States and by consequence Bucharest will play a secondary role in the dominance strategy of the Balkans and the Caspian Sea resources. In conclusion, Romanias foreign policy has passed through many changes in order to adapt to the international demands of the European Union and NATO. The rapprochement to these institutions shows the determination of the government to play a major role in the region taking in advantage the geopolitical position in the country. However, it is necessary for the government to take into account that they have to manage their foreign policy in a way that maintains or increases the international relative power that they have built while keeping the internal public opinion in good standards. This means that the government must not
10 11

Cfr., Id. Cfr., CENTER OF EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSIS, US Central European Relations in the Age of Obama, http://www.google.com.ec/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQFjAD&url=http %3A%2F%2Fcepa.org%2Ffile_manager%2Fpdfstorage%2Fstreamfile.aspx%3Fname%3DU%2BS%2BCentral%2BEuropean%2BRelations%2Bin%2Bthe%2BAge%2Bof%2BObama.pdf&ei=v2iyULPwO4P28gT7pICwBQ &usg=AFQjCNHcE4Adpf-ZC-lomnEPLNT7K0zP8w, pag. 26

implement all their international policies that suit the Great Powers interests in the world and the region, it must be careful choosing the type of actions that will benefit Romania and the measures that benefit only other countries. BIBLIOGRAPHY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS Romanian Foreign Policy Post Euro-Atlantic Accession, So Far so Good,
http://idec.gr/iier/new/PAPAKOSTAS%20REPORT-%20ROMANIA%20-%20FINAL-%2013-5-2009.pdf,

ROMANIAN PRESIDENCY General Data http://translate.google.com.ec/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.presidency.ro %2F%3F_RID%3Dhtm%26id%3D15 POP Liliana Institute for the Study of European Transformations, Romanias foreign policy after EU enlargement: A country in search of a role http://www.uaces.org/pdf/CRNs/ForeignPolicy_July_Pop.pdf ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS Changes in Romanias Foreign Policy from the Perspective of NATO and EU Membership http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol10_no1/RJEA_2010_vol_10_no_1_Changes_in_Romania%E2% 80%99s_Foreign_Policy_from_the_Perspective_of_NATO_and_EU_Membership.pdf CENTER OF EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSIS US Central European Relations in the Age of Obama http://www.google.com.ec/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQFjAD &url=http%3A%2F%2Fcepa.org%2Ffile_manager%2Fpdfstorage%2Fstreamfile.aspx%3Fname%3DU%2 BS%2BCentral%2BEuropean%2BRelations%2Bin%2Bthe%2BAge%2Bof%2BObama.pdf&ei=v2iyULPwO4P28gT 7pICwBQ&usg=AFQjCNHcE4Adpf-ZC-lomnEPLNT7K0zP8w