Romania, as well as other EU countries, is currently facing several economic challenges: high inflation, the energy market crisis, as well as macroeconomic imbalances (current account and budget deficit). The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) believes that the responses to aid recovery should not only be based on solving problems in the short term but should also help prepare the economy of the future.
In 2016, the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) started an ambitious project called Va Urma, which advances an economic model that can lead Romania into becoming one of the top 10 economies in Europe by 2040. As early as 2016, the FIC identified that the acceleration of economic development requires the establishment of main directions based on demography and human capital, modern infrastructure and efficiency in both the public and private sectors.
“This year, we bring to the public’s attention the same project for our country, with a vision for the next 20 years, updated to take account of the latest events at global level. A key element of our programme is sustainable growth through which the development of Romanian society will be aligned with European objectives in terms of climate neutrality,” FIC says.
The objectives and recommendations of Va Urma overlap with and also complement some of the measures announced by the Romanian Government. They are intended to be pursued alongside the targets assumed through the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR). At the same time, they converge with recommendations for Romania from the European Union.
“Achieving these objectives is conditional on a change in societal behaviour and requires a significant initial financial effort. The Va Urma economic model provides an estimate of the investment needed to achieve climate targets and ensure economic growth. The scenarios we have considered highlight the need for annual investments of between 161.3 and 170.8 billion RON,” FIC adds.
Va Urma emphasises the multiple advantages of combining private (foreign and domestic) and public investments together with measures aiming to stimulate digitisation and innovation. The key elements of the programme comprise: improving institutional capacity and the efficiency of state-owned companies; protecting human capital by facilitating access to jobs, education, and health; transforming the energy mix in the directions established by the Green Deal at European level and the development of energy infrastructure. For each of the four strategic pillars, Va Urma proposes a series of measures to boost economic growth and offset the adjustment effort through the Green Deal.
“Romania will mitigate regional disparities and stimulate investments, production and trade only if we make these four directions a national, long-term priority,” FIC underlines.
Va Urma represents a new opportunity for citizens, civil society, business and academia to engage in a constructive dialogue that results in a long-term country plan for Romania, supported by all decision[1]makers, through which the country will achieve strong, sustainable economic growth, as well as meeting EU climate targets.
“This is the right time to turn disadvantages into advantages: We believe that with the right policies, our economy can grow another 4.5 times over the next two decades. On 7 September 2022, the FIC launched the 2022 edition of Va Urma with the participation of the Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae Ciuca, together with members of the Government and Parliament, international institutions, and economic leaders. The presence at the reunion was at high-level representation: https://vaurma.ro/lansare-va-urma-2022,” FIC concludes.