The Lisbon Treaty and Romania's role in deepening the European Integration Process

- series of conferences -

The conferences about The Lisbon Treaty and Romania's role in deepening the European integration process were organized by the Department of European Affairs (Romanian Government) in partnership with the European Integration and International Relations Department (NSPSPA) and the Academic Club of European Studies. The series of conferences was launched on June 24, 2010 in Bucharest (for the Bucharest-Ilfov region). Conferences followed in Oradea (30 June for the North-West Development Region), Galati (30 September for South-East Development Region), Timisoara (October 7 for the Western Development Region), Craiova (October 21 for the South-West Development Region), Piatra Neamt (28 October for the North-East Development Region), Alba Iulia (November 4 for „Centre” Development Region) and Calarasi (18 November for the South Development Region). The series of conferences was concluded in Bucharest on 10 December 2010.   

These conferences were designed to present to various target groups the main information regarding the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty concerning the EU institutions and policies. Thus, the conferences tackled topics such as:

• the perspectives opened by the Lisbon Treaty on the Union’s future (constitutional process);
• changes in the EU institutional architecture, and in the decision-making process;
• the newest EU development directions in common policies area, 2020 EU Strategy, strengthening the European security space, freedom and justice;
• the role of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and the building of a Europe closer to its citizens;
• increasing position of the social actors in developing and implementing community policies.

The topics selected for the conferences were innovative compared with the existing offer because they met the demand of different public segments, and the needs identified in the various development regions of Romania. Organizing the agenda on thematic sections provided the context to pursue fruitful debates among participants, which led to a deeper understanding of EU functioning, especially after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The conference series was innovative also because it established a dialogue platform between governmental structures from central and local level and the academia, but also because it has opened this partnership benefits to other co-participant actors in the development and implementation process of EU policies.

Conferences gathered political and academic personalities:

• Bogdan Manoiu – Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• University Professor Iordan Gheorghe Barbulescu Ph.D.;
• Andrei Popescu – Under State Secretary.

"Education smiles at us all!" - project financed within Youth in Action programme

The Academic Club of European Studies implemented the project “Education smiles to us all”, between July 2010 and January 2011, financed by the European Commission through Youth in Action Programme.

The project started from the necessity to integrate a larger number of Roma young people in the higher education system. The starting hypothesis was that “Graduating a higher education institution’s courses by a larger number of young Roma people influences the economical and social development of different communities and contributes to achieving the objectives of the European cohesion policy”.

The central activity of the project was the national seminar “Education smiles o us all”, where representatives of different NGOs that activate in the area of the project, representatives of the Romanian Parliament and experts in the fields of the politics targeted by the project participated. They discussed having as a starting point the researches done by the 21 participants that represent six university centers – Bucharest, Cluj, Craiova, Iasi, Oradea and Timisoara.

Because the project aimed at encouraging the cooperation between Romanian and Roma young people, the participants have worked together, also with the facilitators, in order to find solutions to solve the problematic aspects of the policy that provides places for the Roma young people in universities. The purpose of this activity was to increase the participation of the Roma young people at the university level, in order to facilitate through this the achievement of the cohesion policy’s objectives and to make a report regarding the affirmative policy of the places designated for the Roma youngsters.

The results obtained during the seminar were presented in every city that participated at the project in different high schools in order to increase the visibility of this policy. Also, the report obtained during the seminar was forwarded to the NGOs that participated and not only, to be used as a support material in their lobby and advocacy actions in order to improve the young people’s access at the university level.

More information regarding the results of the project can be found at the “Research” section and on the project’s website www.educatiazambeste.eu.

Adopting Romanian universities’ experience in teaching European integration courses

- study visit -

 
The study visit  "Adopting Romanian universities’ experience in teaching European integration courses” was a project implemented by the Soros Foundation through European Initiatives Programme – Moldova in collaboration with the Department of International Relations and European Integration within the NSPSPA and with the Academic Club of European Studies. The project aimed to transfer knowledge and experience in the field of European studies from the Romanian academic community to the Moldovan one.

The objectives of the study visit were:            

• Acquiring good teaching and training practices in order to develop the university curriculum in European studies from Moldova;
• Strengthening the relations between the Moldovan – Romanian academics in the field of European studies;
• Exchanges between academic representatives from Moldova and Romania;
• Establishing contracts and stimulating the creation of partnerships between the academia from the two countries;
• Capacity building of university representatives from Moldova in teaching subjects related to European integration and EU.

The study visit took place in 2010 from 10 to 16^th of May, during which the following institutions of higher education had been visited: "Alexandru Ioan Cuza University” in Iasi, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Babes Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, University of Oradea, Romania.

More details about the project: http://www.soros.md/news/783.html

Regional development and territorial cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the COR White Paper on Multi-level governance

21-22 May 2010, Oradea

Organizers

• European Commission - EACEA Jean Monnet Action
• Committee of the Regions
• University of Oradea (Institute for Euroregional Studies Oradea-Debrecen-Jean Monnet Excellence Centre)
• Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca (CASSOE Centre-Jean Monnet Chair Governance and Community Policies)
• National School for Political Studies and Public Administration Bucharest (Academic Club of European Studies)

Outline

Regional development is the main challenge for the states from Central and Eastern Europe after their accession to the European Union and territorial cooperation is an efficient means for the harmonious and balanced integration of the EU’s territories, with a view to modernize the regions lacking economic and social development.

With the major goal of promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion, the EU’s economic development policy supports the efforts by each Member State of mitigating the interregional disparities through transfers of financial resources to the backward regions. Multi-level governance engages, at the highest level, the participation of the regional and local authorities to the elaboration and implementation of the development programs and plans; hence, the initiative of the Committee of the Regions to open up a large debate forum on the subject of the involvement of the subnational authorities was well received by the entire spectrum of stakeholders, from the regional and local levels to the business community, civil society and academic field.

Our proposals, expressed on the CoR’s debate forum, were intended not only for the increase in the quality of community legislation through a more consistent participation of the CoR and the promotion of crossborder and international cooperation, aimed at developing and enhancing territorial cohesion; they were also directed towards the adoption of new procedures aimed at enhancing the participation of the regional and local authorities in the decision-making process. 

This conference brought together, by means of the interesting topic put forward, high representatives of the European institutions (EACEA, CoR, IIAS), academic staff, academic researchers, representatives of the central and subnational authorities, professionals and civil society representatives, in order to explore new ways to increase the participation of subnational and private stakeholders in the public policies of the EU.