announced<\/a> by USR and launched under the slogan \u201c20 Years at Home in Europe,\u201d calls for Romania to reach the EU average in living standards, join the eurozone, strengthen its position within the European Union\u2019s decision-making core, and make use of opportunities linked to the EU\u2019s 2028\u20132034 multiannual financial framework.<\/p>\nAccording to the initiators, the EU membership has been Romania\u2019s main driver of modernization over the past two decades through access to European funds, the single market, infrastructure investments, educational programs, and reforms tied to the rule of law.<\/p>\n
USR cited official figures showing that Romania received approximately EUR 108.3 billion in non-repayable EU funds since joining the bloc, while contributing around EUR 35.9 billion to the EU budget, resulting in a positive balance of roughly EUR 72.4 billion.<\/p>\n
Ovidiu C\u00eempean, PNL lawmaker and vice-chair of the European Affairs Committee, said: \u201cAfter 20 years in which we narrowed gaps with the support of the European Union, the next decade must be about increasing Romania\u2019s influence within the European Union. We need a strategic discussion about our role at the European level. Joining the eurozone is not a technical matter, but a strategic decision to anchor Romania in the European core. At the same time, we have a duty to stand alongside the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Western Balkan states on the European path that we ourselves have followed. EU enlargement is a direct investment in Romania\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal also highlighted the role played by civil society, independent media, academia, local authorities, and the business community in supporting Romania\u2019s European trajectory.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn active civil society is one of the most important elements of an authentic democratic society. Civil society is what pushed Romania forward, defended fundamental values, and reacted to attempts to turn Romania into an illiberal state. We must celebrate the courage and resilience of civil society and encourage civic education so that future generations clearly understand its important role in maintaining a healthy democracy,\u201d said Alin Stoica, USR lawmaker and co-initiator of the project.<\/p>\n
The lawmakers also noted that the initiative comes amid a difficult geopolitical context marked by Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, hybrid threats, disinformation campaigns, and growing polarization across Europe.<\/p>\n
irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n
(Photo source: Ruletkka\/Dreamstime.com<\/a>)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lawmakers from Romania\u2019s Save Romania Union (USR) and National Liberal Party (PNL) have submitted a legislative proposal to designate 2027 as the \u201cYear of European Romania\u201d and the 2027-2037 period as the \u201cDecade of European Consolidation.\u201d The initiative aims to turn the 20th anniversary of Romania\u2019s accession to the European Union into the starting point […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}