În ediția de vară a revistei academice Romanian Journal of European Affairs sunt aduse în atenția cititorilor o serie de subiecte relevante pentru domeniul afacerilor europene. Cercetători din diferite state europene prezintă și analizează subiecte precum: perspectiva de aderare a Republicii Moldova la Uniunea Europeană raportată la respectarea egalității de gen; abordări europene și transatlantice privind efectele atacurilor cibernetice; specificul Mecanismului de redresare și reziliență (MRR) în relație cu politica de coeziune a Uniunii Europene; sprijinul acordat de guverne în timpul pandemiei de COVID-19 pentru susținerea activității economice, în special a întreprinderilor mici și mijlocii; posibilele consecințe ale tranziției verzi asupra politicii industriale cu o analiză comparativă a abordărilor din SUA, UE și China; transformarea diplomației ca urmare a impactului tehnologiei; și, nu în ultimul rând, o analiză a formatelor regionale de cooperare: Grupul de la Visegrád, București 9, respectiv Inițiativa celor Trei Mări.
Measuring up for Membership. What Can We Learn by Applying a Gender Lens to Relations between the Republic of Moldova and the EU?
Kerry Longhurst
Abstract
The Republic of Moldova became an EU accession candidate in December 2023 and is currently busy laying the foundations for future membership negotiations. If the ambitious goal of entering the European Union in 2030 is maintained, much has to be done within a short space of time to ensure that the country meets all the membership criteria and achieves alignment with the EU’s acquis communautaire. The aim of the current article is to deploy a novel ‘gender lens’ through which to consider the Republic of Moldova’s evolving EU perspectives and, in so doing, capture fresh and nuanced findings that traditional, political, economic, security scholarly, and policy approaches to EU enlargement tend to discount. Findings suggest that Moldova performs significantly better on multiple gender-indicators than its country peers in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region. However, despite palpable improvements and examples of alignment with EU gender norms and international best practice, the article ascertains notable shortcomings and disparities with relevance for Moldova’s EU accession. The article adopts a mixed method qualitative approach, intersecting content analysis of key documents, social and economic data and civil society reporting with stakeholder interviews. The added-value of the research derives from its use of a gender lens aligned with the specificity of the Republic of Moldova, which represents a novel contribution to EU enlargement studies.
Keywords: EU, Republic of Moldova, gender, EU enlargement, Europeanisation.
JEL classification: B54, F50, O52, P3.
Can a Cyberattack Become an Act of War? European and Trans-Atlantic Perspectives
Sorin Ducaru, Mihail Caradaică, Ana Maria Costea
Abstract
In the last two decades, along with the process of digitalisation of businesses and state apparatuses, the world has faced a new major issue that can produce physical / non-physical damage, and equally threaten individual security and the state’s sovereignty: cyberattacks. Confronted with the strategic competition – within a multipolar world – coupled with this new challenge that can redefine the nature of war, NATO member states have tried to find a common answer by linking cyberattacks to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, NATO’s collective defence principle. Understandably, Article 5 was drafted while having in mind the aspects of deterrence and defence related to conventional wars. However, it has been invoked by the Allies only once, i.e., after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the USA, which represented quite an unconventional scenario, certainly unanticipated by the Alliance’s Founding Fathers. Given the current trend, and reflecting on the increase in the complexity, intensity and persistence of the known cyberattacks, it is important to study the potential game-changing circumstances of such unconventional attacks, which might trigger Article 5 and its collective defence principle. The present paper seeks to depict the complexities and consequences of cyberattacks within the framework of the collective defence principle.
Keywords: Article 5, cybersecurity strategies, cyberwar, deterrence, NATO.
The Path-Breaking Potential of the Recovery and Resilience Facility: An Analysis of the Shifts in EU’s Distributional Policy Mode with Insights from Romania’s Experience
Nicolae Toderaș
Abstract
In May 2020, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was presented as a unique instrument, due to its ambition, form, and the mechanisms with which it is equipped. Both the EU institutions and the epistemic and administrative communities in the field of European affairs saw it as a path-breaking instrument in the implementation of EU policies. This article analyses this hypothesis, and whether the RRF has the potential to generate a new path dependency in the EU’s distributional policy mode. It looks at the elements of the EU’s coordination mechanism through the RRF, as well as the aspects that set it apart from other EU policies, especially the EU Cohesion Policy. Also, primary evidence relating to Romania’s experience in drafting the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and in implementing it, is presented and discussed from the perspective of the adjustments required by the specific approach of the RRF.
Keywords: Recovery and Resilience Facility, EU’s Cohesion Policy, EU’s distributional policy mode, the European Semester, new institutionalism.
JEL classification: B52, E60, H11, H60, P11.
Monetary Support and State Aid under the Pandemic Challenges in Romania: A Comparative Approach
Dorina Clichici, Andreea – Emanuela Drăgoi, Angela Timuș
Abstract
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.
Keywords: EU, Romania, monetary policy, State Aid Temporary Framework, COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery.
JEL classification: E52, E58, H51, H81.
The Policies of the Green Industrial Transition from Geopolitical Viewpoints and their Potential Implications for Geoeconomic Fragmentation. A Comparative Approach of EU, USA, and China
Bogdan Munteanu
Abstract
The paper tackles the impact of the national economic policies designed to address the challenges related to climate change. The research hypothesis is that divergent policies have significant effects on the economy, leading to potential disruptions, economic fragmentation, and geopolitical tensions. The analysis reveals that, globally, 165 jurisdictions reported having updated the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to reduce carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement. However, only 39 jurisdictions implemented a form of carbon emissions pricing system. The NDCs and the sectoral policies, rather than the aggregate policies (mainly, carbon taxation) seem to be the cornerstone of the climate objectives. In addition, the analysis highlights the increased endeavours to ensure open strategic autonomy and the security of global value chains and supply sources. The article concludes that, in major jurisdictions (EU, USA, and China),
the green transition policies differ in terms of approach and stance. Thus, they become sources for geoeconomic fragmentation and geopolitical tensions provoked by harsh competitiveness and security concerns in the quest for strategic resources and critical minerals necessary to the green transition. Furthermore, the EU resorts to a regulatory approach, while the USA pursues a supportive fiscal stance, and China maintains the political guidance characteristic of a centralised state.
Keywords: Green transition policies, geoeconomic fragmentation, industrial policies, carbon taxation, recovery and resilience plans.
JEL classification: D78, D81, F12, F51, Q58.
Digital Diplomacy: The Impact of Technology on Modern Diplomacy and Foreign Policy. Current Realities and Future Prospects
Carola Frey
Abstract
The paper examines how digital technologies are changing the field of diplomacy. It looks at how diplomacy has evolved from traditional practices to a modern form where technology is essential. The paper covers various digital tools, such as social media, artificial intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies, and discusses their impact on foreign policy and diplomatic practices. It considers both the challenges and the benefits of this shift. Furthermore, the article emphasises the role of technological advancements as core elements of modern international relations and statecraft. As tech diplomacy and cyber diplomacy ascend to priority status for states and key international bodies like the European Union, their importance is increasingly recognised as being fundamental and prominent on political agendas.
Keywords: foreign policy, technology, digital diplomacy, AI, emerging and disruptive technologies.
Different Forms of Summit Diplomacy. Case Study Analysis of the Visegrád Group, the Bucharest Nine, and the Three Seas Initiative
Jędrzej Błaszczak
Abstract
This article delves into the nuances of summit diplomacy in regional formats within Central Europe, with a particular emphasis on the Visegrád Group (V4), the Bucharest Nine (B9), and the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) from 2015 to 2023. Though each format functions differently, all rely on summit diplomacy to achieve their objectives. The article aims to explore the reasons why informal regional formats are frequently implemented in this region. The study conducts a thorough review of existing literature. It systematically analyses past instances of the selected formats, considering variables such as meeting frequency, location, and the level of representation. Based on the adopted definition of summit diplomacy, this article classifies the meetings of the highest level during the specified period as personal meetings between political leaders from at least two countries with official, state roles, such as presidents, prime ministers, or ministers. These leaders
hold significant power to shape their country’s foreign policy and influence the legal and political order through summit decisions, while engaging with counterparts from other nations. The paper also highlights the variations between the above-mentioned formats in Central Europe, including the differences in meeting frequency, level of representation, and the number of participating states.
Keywords: diplomacy, summit diplomacy, Central Europe, regional cooperation, Three Seas Initiative, Visegrád Group, Bucharest Nine.