Publisher: Institutul European din România

Romanian Journal of European Affairs (RJEA)

Romanian Journal of European Affairs

Frequency: 2 issues / Country: Romania

Romanian Journal of European Affairs (RJEA) is the first Romanian academic publication to display the research on current European topics, hosting papers written by renowned authors (Romanian and international professionals). 

The editorial policy is based on the analysis pursued in areas such as: economic and monetary affairs, migration, security, energy, EU institutional design, single market, EU foreign policy, etc.

Considering the recognition of the RJEA’s added-value in the European debates, the journal was indexed in various international scientific databases, such as: Clarivate Analytics (former Thomson Reuters) – Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), ProQuest, SCOPUS, EBSCO, HeinOnline, Cabell’s Directory, DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals, SSRN – Social Science Research Network, World Affairs Online (WAO) – IREON, INFOBASE INDEX and Scimago Journal and Country Rank.

Starting with 2017, due to several updates in the editorial policy, the journal is issued on a semi-annual basis (June and December), being published exclusively in English.

The journal applies the BOAI definition of open access: users have the right to “read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles”.

Romanian Journal of European Affairs applies, as by 2017, the Creative Commons License “Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY-ND” to all published material. This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to Romanian Journal of European Affairs (RJEA), as initial publication source.

The Marvel of Social Market Economy – Things We Do Not Talk About

The Marvel of Social Market Economy – Things We Do Not Talk About

Author(s): Iulian Oneașcă / Language(s): English

Keywords: social market economy; economy of effort; change; European Union;

The paper promotes the performance of the European market as a measure of the efficiency of its societies. The social market economy and the international standards of the social sciences and disciplines are essential to providing prosperity for all. The economic perspective comes naturally. A multi-methodological approach is employed. It involves a modified and generalized theory of social systems, heuristics, and casuistry. The general objective is translated into specific objectives that condition its approach: reassessing the understanding of the single market, outlining an adequate framework for promoting societal efficiency, and some positive, normative, and policy contributions. The research highlights the nurtured limits of the single market, introduces the social market economy and its constructed barriers, analyses its specifics, and presents things that are not talked about. It finishes by discussing, concluding, and making relevant recommendations, attempting to provide real-world advice to scientists and policymakers.

From Synergy to Strategy in the Black Sea Region. Assessing Opportunities and Challenges

From Synergy to Strategy in the Black Sea Region. Assessing Opportunities and Challenges

Author(s): / Language(s): English

This collective report on the Black Sea aims to present a clear image of the region in terms of security and economic dynamics, and to propose several specific policy steps. These steps will certainly enhance the efforts to provide security, stability and development for this area, as they come with original and accurate views on the different processes taking place nowadays. Our initiative responds to the unabated need for fresh analysis on the topics related to the challenges we encounter in the Black Sea Region. The contributions evaluate the most recent developments in the region, and sometimes present potential scenarios. For greater clarity, we chose to structure the paper in three main sections. Firstly, we have the national perspectives (other than Romania’s) of the states from the Black Sea region, and secondly, regional perspectives based on the viewpoints of other state actors. The last section displays the Romanian experts’ contributions.

The dynamics of cooperation and conflict in the Black Sea area. From the region’s history to current security challenges

The dynamics of cooperation and conflict in the Black Sea area. From the region’s history to current security challenges

Author(s): Ioana Elena Secu / Language(s): English

Keywords: Black Sea; European Union; NATO; Ukraine; security; war; geopolitics;

This paper aims to analyse the cooperation and security dynamics that characterise the Black Sea Region (BSR) since the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, while also considering the major historical developments in the area. The study examines the interests and actions of various actors in the region, focusing on the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Turkey, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Romania. By using qualitative research and analysis of archival discoveries, governmental documents, official speeches, media news, and scientific papers, this working paper seeks to shed light on the complex political and security considerations that shape the future prospects of the Black Sea region.

The Attitudes and Perceptions of young Romanians towards the European Union

Atitudinile și percepțiile tinerilor români față de Uniunea Europeană

Author(s): Alexandru Cicală / Language(s): Romanian

Keywords: European Union; Euroscepticism; Populism; Youth; Romania;

The present research aims to identify the forms of manifestation of attitudes of contestation towards the European Union (e.g. euroscepticism) among young Romanians, from the urban environment, aged between 18 and 25 years. In this sense, the research hypothesis is formulated as follows: although there is a predominantly pro-European position among the young generation in Romania, certain behaviors and collective perceptions oriented towards Euroscepticism can be detected. Euroscepticism is defined, in the context of this paper, as the contestation of European institutions, but the central attitude thus presented includes a varied series of diverse behavioral characteristics. The paper briefly presents the theories of European integration, as well as the development of anti-European and populist dynamics, with the aim of interpreting the empirical results obtained. As such, a research questionnaire addressed to the aforementioned target group was operationalized. The data, including questions likely to capture the position of the target audience towards the European community bloc, were collected through the prism of an opinion poll based on a questionnaire disseminated online among young Romanians. The answers were thus coded numerically and coherently transposed on a quantitative scale from 1 to 5, thereby quantifying the intensity of preferences displayed by the respondents, from nuanced Euroscepticism (1) to profound Euroenthusiasm (5). Based on the descriptive and inferential statistical analyzes carried out with the help of the STATA 17SE/18MP package, the study offers a series of recommendations and conclusions regarding combating the potentially Eurosceptic behaviors found among current young Romanian voters.

The European Political Community: Opportunities and Challenges

Comunitatea Politică Europeană: oportunități și provocări

Author(s): Caroline Raluca Ghețu / Language(s): Romanian

Keywords: European Political Community; Pan-European Forum; resiliency; Security; Flexibility;

The European Political Community (EPC) is a new format of cooperation at the European level that evokes, either by its name or by its scope, two previous projects: one from the 1950s, and another from the end of the Cold War. There have been a number of controversies regarding the need for this new political coordination platform. Do its goals overlap with the goals of international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What distinguishes CPE from other cooperation formats initiated at European level? What are the opportunities and challenges associated with CPE? These are the research questions pursued in this paper in order to carry out a SWOT analysis of the European Political Community. Qualitative research methods were used in this study: analysis, synthesis and interpretation of primary and secondary documentation sources.

The Eastern Partnership in the context of Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Perspectives on the new geopolitics of the European Union

Parteneriatul Estic în contextul agresiunii militare ruse împotriva Ucrainei. Perspective asupra noii geopolitici a Uniunii Europene

Author(s): Ioana Elena Secu / Language(s): Romanian

Keywords: The Eastern Partnership; the European Union; Russian military aggression against Ukraine; the new geopolitics of the European Union; resilience; hybrid threats;

In the current international context determined by the unprovoked and illegal Russian military aggression against Ukraine, triggered on February 24, 2022, the geopolitical and security situation of the member states of the Eastern Partnership (Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) has undergone significant changes. Today, two of these, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, are candidate countries for joining the European Union, while Georgia benefits from a European integration perspective. The new geopolitics of the European Union, presented at the highest level of the European institutions, aims to protect not only the borders of the EU, but also the states that share European values. In the current research, we set out to show if, and to what extent, the European Union could identify a new strategy regarding the Eastern Partnership, in order to strengthen it and keep the partner states connected to the Western sphere. For this we will use several types of sources, such as the method of analyzing primary sources (official documents, speeches of political figures, etc.) and the method of secondary sources (studies, articles, academic books, etc.). In order to understand the current situation of the Eastern Partnership, as well as the application of the Union's new geopolitics with regard to the EaP, we made a brief presentation of the evolution of these countries within the Eastern Partnership, in order to create a picture of international realities. In conclusion, we will present the conclusions of the research undertaken, as well as possible perspectives of the European Union on the improvement of the format of the Eastern Partnership, as a result of its adoption of a new geopolitics, in order to respond to the current security challenges.

Anticipating the 2023 Three Seas Initiative Bucharest Summit. Advancing the common agenda

Anticipating the 2023 Three Seas Initiative Bucharest Summit. Advancing the common agenda

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Keywords: Three Seas Initiative;

In September 2023, Romania will be the first member state to host again a 3SI summit, assuming a leading role in taking the cooperation to the next stage. In this context, the collective report “Anticipating the 2023 Three Seas Initiative Bucharest Summit. Advancing the common agenda” was designed as a comprehensive platform for experts from the 3SI member countries, partners and potential future participants to present their views on the future of the framework, and their expectations regarding the 2023 Bucharest Summit. The views expressed in this report converge on the usefulness of such a regional coordination effort, while proposing concrete steps to further increase the national commitments. To conduct this study, we gathered the contributions of 14 experts from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia. Additionally, we included the views of 5 experts from partner and potential future member states: Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. All the contributors provide their personal perspectives based on their experience in think tanks, academia, consultancy or public offices.