Implementation and monitoring of sustainable economic development policies in Romania within the EU and Brexit

Introduction

Romania is a member state of EU. The Romanians view the Brexit as both an opportunity and a crisis. For example, Brexit has low influence on the Romanian economy because it confers small threat to the national currency and the political parties in Romania favor European Union despite the Britain’s exit. The major strategy has been to improve and promote management of resources, which can lead to efficient economy. To be economically sustained, the country through its leaders has recognized the need to fill the competitive gaps to overcome threat from other competitors in the globe (Romanian National News Agency, 2016). For the country to establish economic targets in its many fields like education, energy and development, there is a need to adopt the strategy set by the European Union by 2020. The European Union has set economic development objectives that should be reflected in the policies that each member state comes up with (Government of Romania, 2008). Brexit can strengthen the potential of the European from the challenges it is currently facing and Romania can grab this opportunity to undertake a constructive and active part, especially in implementing and monitoring sustainable economic development policies in the country.  This is both a qualitative and a quantitative research paper that discusses effective implementation of sustainable economic development policies by Romania within the context of EU and Brexit.

Review of Literature

Romania in European and Brexit Context

Romania needs to implement sustainable economic development policies through the adaptation of the European context of economic sustainability. The country is focused on developing its economics, which has made the nation to launch the sustainable competitive project after Brexit. This is aimed at addressing the challenges that face the country. The country is learning from Brexit and countries like the United Kingdom, which has already implemented the competitive project in the European context (Purgaru, 2016). The competitive Romania project is best suited in achieving the sustainable economic development of Romania through trade and relationship of the government of Romania with the business environment ministry. It is important for the country to review its policies in relation to economic growth and have them revised in conformity to the European dimension to suit the context. The implemented policies are those that encourage green economy through the use of available resources in addition to industrial policy as well as those promoting new jobs and innovations. The nation should also plan ecologically with an aim of minimizing energy cost utilization. This policy is very important in reducing the consumption of energy by around 340 TWh by 2020. A policy that supports the performance of energy to reduce cost by 2020 should also be implemented. Moreover, economic development of the country will be sustained with effective implementation of the national reform program.

Implementation of the economic development policies guarantees the alignment of Romania with the EU efforts to environmental friendly activities that include reduction of green house gas emissions.  A policy of integrated measures is necessary to support the transition to an economy that is more efficient in the usage of resources as well as the development of new technologies that boost economic growth.  In this case, Romania needs to implement a policy for sharing energy from sources that are renewable as a way of minimizing its gross consumption. It is also a way of achieving the target set by the national government to reduce the primary consumption of energy by nineteen percent. 

Currently, Romania has a variety of potential sources of renewable energy including wind energy, solar energy and hydro-energy. The country is using forty-eight percent of hydrotechnic energy and 500MW of wind power. The uses of modern technologies that are based on green solutions will assist Romania attain the 2020 renewable energy sources potential. It requires Romania to implement the national target pledge of renewable sources of energy and direct its actions to align with the general objective of the Romania Energy Strategy 2007-2020 (Government of Romania, 2008).

Romania has low risk in relation to Brexit, which means that it is not among the countries that enjoyed strong trade, financial links and investments with the United Kingdom. Following Brexit, Romania is keen to implementing sustainable economic development policies with the support of the Business Environment Ministry, the National Bank of Romania and the Romanian Academy. Since Romania remains an EU member state that is least affected by the migration of the United Kingdom from the union, the implementation of the economic policies have to be done in conformity to the current context of EU by capitalizing on its competitive advantages and other national opportunities available within the geographical area (Casarejos, Frota, Rocha, da Silva & Barreto, 2016).   The country has to learn from Brexit and combine its economic policies to suit those of the European context. A new model is therefore, required to guarantee the economic development policies are implemented effectively. Romania must adopt a post-EU accession country project like Brexit by implementing a sound economic vision for the country in the long-term. There is also the need for responsible and realistic governance to policy implementation because responsible governance is crucial in achieving economic reforms, fiscal simplification and increasing transparency by reducing corruption and bureaucracy. Concerning Brexit, Romania has a favorable macroeconomic picture as it has a promising forecasts of economic growth of four percent per annum regarding the country’s’ financial and monetary stability. However, there is the need for expanding the sustainability prospects to achieve a lasting and healthy economic growth. Relating to Brexit, Romania is required to achieve its prospects through implementation of economic policies that reduce the public debt and discourage a budget deficit (Government of Romani, 2016). 

The order in which various policies are implemented has an impact on the economic development. By understanding the impact of policy sequencing, then policies would be implemented and monitored in a more effective manner with no additional implementation of unused and probably high public cost policies. By structuring policies in a particular manner, the effectiveness of other policies can be achieved (Krasko & Doris, 2012).

Framework of the Implementation Analysis

This analysis examines the implementation of sustainable economic development policies by Romania in EU and Brexit context as a tool to support economic growth of the country amidst strong competition from other EU member states. This paper uses both qualitative and quantitative data from the existing literature to show how Romania can implement its sustainable economic development policies within the context of EU and Brexit. It builds on studies that focus on economic development policies for Romania. The analysis is intended to show the lessons Romania learn from Brexit and as a member of EU that enable it to implement successful economic policies that are sustainable. A comparative analysis has been carried out to establish the relevant policies in different economic sectors that require adoption and implementation with a focus of achieving economic sustainability.

The main objective of this study is to determine the staging of the different policies by the Romanian government for the nation to grow economically. The research question is whether there is any particular order that the Romanian government should stage the sustainability economic development policies. The hypothesis that this research tests is; if the government can stage the policies in a particular order, then Romania can grow economically in a cost effective manner. A correlation of the chosen information that suits sustainable economic development policies in Romania will be summarized. Economic analysis will be done to highlight the relationship among factors that determine the implementation of sustainable economic development policies in Romania.

Methodology

Other than analyzing qualitative data, both primary and secondary data from literature, this is also a quantitative research where questionnaires were administered to different relevant players in government concerned in policy decisions to gather data that was analyzed in order to test the research hypothesis. 30 key participants were involved in this study. Policies relating to development of rural areas, education, energy, the business environment and innovation and development were subjected to the analysis. The participants were required to order the policy areas based on their level of significant and showing in what order they felt that their implementation would lead to increased economic development of the country. This meant that they had to score each of the policy areas on a scale of 1-5, where 1 indicated the first area where policies needed to be implemented, and 5 was the last area of policy implementation.  The dependent variable in this study was economic growth while the various policy areas were the independent variables. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis where descriptive analysis was first conducted to get the means of each area from the 30 participants. In addition, based on the reasons provided by each of the participants to support the decision, correlation was performed to determine the relatedness of a given area to the provided degree of economic growth.

Results

Policy area	Number of Participants	Percentage	Staging based on the correlation results (CI=95%)
Development of rural areas	15	50%	1
Education	6	20%	2
Energy	5	17%	3
The business environment	3	10%	4
Innovation and development	1	3%	5

Discussion

Implementation of the sustainable economic development policies in Romania should be based on the lessons learned from EU and Brexit. The policies should be communicated to the relevant bodies that govern them so that they are effectively enacted. Today, Romania has an economic status that is rich and valuable, which favors sustainable development of economic policies, but there is no framework that is clearly defined for the new guidelines. It is for this reason that key government officials (50%) strongly believe that the rural regions of the nation are the pillars of the national economy because they ensure economic development due to the different resources they hold for Romania. Romania should move to a sustainable economic development by valuing the fundamental elements of its economy in the rural and urban areas including development, increasing employment, providing a better business environment, energy, innovation and education. In relation to the impact The EU has on Romania, the country has to adhere to the set strategy in rural areas. Studies show that the rural areas in Romania play a crucial role in the development of the country’s economy (Bozra & Gribincea, 2015). The EU strategy 2020 stipulates that economic sustainability is achievable in European countries when the rural regions have been considered. Romania has a lot to learn from the EU context and develop the rural areas economically. Statistics show that the rural areas in Romania cover 87.1% and include 44.9% of the country’s population (National Institute of Statistics, 2013). Sustainable economic development in the rural Romania is still a topical issue that remains unresolved (Chiritescu, 2011). The unfavorable conditions do not support an improved quality of life that promotes sustainable economic development. There is the need for implementing policies on how to manage human resources to achieve sustainability in the economy (Tofan, 2004).

Moreover, the EU recognizes that education is significant in achieving sustainable mobilization of the economy. 56.7 percent of the rural population in Romania has low levels of education when compared to the urban population (Bozra & Gribincea, 2015). The high inconsistencies of University graduates in Romania reveal its need for revising development policies for the rural areas. The urban areas are seven times educated than rural areas. Economic sustainability can only be achieved when Romania achieves a balance in education levels at the urban and rural areas. Lack of education and training has increased poverty levels in the rural areas with a 15% synthetic index when compared to the national average of 35.6% (Bozra & Gribincea, 2015). Romania needs to follow the EU recommendations and implement policies that promote education in all areas of the country. Improving on the quality of human resources is the first priority that the Romanian government can do to achieve sustainability as they are essential infrastructure components in developing sustainable economic policies.

Energy is another area where the EU strategy 2020 is focusing on and Romania needs to implement policies that will support the reduction of its costs so as to achieve sustainable economic development (Csata, 2014). The policies should include implementation of measure to reduce green emissions by 30 percent by 2020, increase the utilization of renewable energy by 20 percent of the total energy usage in the country and 10 percent use of renewable bio-fuels for the entire utilization in transport (European Commission, 2010). There is the need for setting a framework that supports the reduction of energy usage to achieve the set energy objectives within the EU context. Through promotion of highly efficient co-generation of energy, Romania can reduce energy usage, and thereby its cost based on thermal energy demand. This will make the nation enjoy various benefits such as saving primary energy sources and reduction of greenhouse emission of gases such as CO2 just like China is trying to do (Lo, 2015).

The reason why energy might not have been chosen as the most significant area (20%) could be because Romania has already achieved the national target of 24% required in the year 2020. This has been achieved through the implementation of the green energy policy to produce 24% of the needed energy requirements. Romania has already enabled end-users to obtain green certificates which encourage investors in green energy. It has made the energy sector promising in attracting achievement of sustainability in economic development (Csata, 2014). Romania faces a problem of connecting and harmonizing to EU economic framework. Its framework does have a proper account of the EU economic changes. There is the need for implementing a framework that will allow for changes in the agreements between Romania and other EU countries. Statistics show that Romania is yet to achieve the EU competitive scorecard in energy because it lags behind the EU average. There is a need for continued use of biomass as fuel in the energy co-generation process so that the effectiveness of the implemented policies will be great. In addition, policies that encourage eco efficient and eco-design need to be advocated in the legislations of the country (UN, 2009).

More importantly, Romania needs to implement policies that support the EU regional policy. In meeting the regional cohesion policy of enhancing the business environment, Romania has taken the initiative to develop various sectors including industrial sites, and promoting tourism among other growth poles (Dodescu & Chririla, 2014). Developing the tourism sector is achievable by creating more tourist destinations that enhance the creation of job opportunities as a way of promoting sustainable economic development (Patrichi, 2011). The table below shows efforts that Romania has made in adopting and implementing the regional policy.

Another area that implementation of related policies is required in that of innovation and employment. The domestic market in Romania presents promising innovation technologies that increase the employability of the educated workforce. Among the various objectives of the EU 2020 strategy, providing employment opportunities to all populations in the EU region is a priority. To achieve this goal, Romania needs to work towards implementing a reliable domestic market that encourages the employability of the population. Better policies regarding loan accessibility are necessary for Romania in achieving economic recovery through improved financing of investments. To achieve this, there is a need to target industry development and utilization of technological opportunities that are available to achieve efficiency in production and creation of high-skilled job openings.  

Even though Brexit would alter the relative strength of member states within the EU, it will definitely have less negative impacts on Romania as the nation did not draw on UK’s support. Sustainable economic development in Brexit values green business as a way of promoting sustainable development of economic policies. Hackenesch (2016) says that Brexit plays a big role in defining the economic development policy of other countries in the world. Romania should learn from the cohesion and economic policies of Brexit whose focus is on single market as well as providing subsidies for agriculture, and trade agreements. The economic development policy in Brexit aims at reducing poverty as well as utilizing the comparative advantages of specific factors to achieve economic sustainability (Environmental Data Interactive Exchange, 2016).

Business might be disrupted by the migration of United Kingdom from EU. The primary focus of achieving sustainable economic development policies is energy security and independence. It threatens business in the international arena and that countries associated with the EU may face challenges when doing business with others in United Kingdom. Romania needs to learn from this mistake and remain in the EU, work together with other member states and implement successful economic development policies that benefit the country. If Romania makes a mistake of isolating itself from EU then it will be less efficient and effective in implementing relevant economic development policies. These are the proposed solutions that the country should enact.

Conclusion

As a member of European Union, Romania has a lot to learn from the union and other member states including Brexit. This is a research paper, whose main aim was to discuses ho the country can implement economic development policies in the context of EU and Brexit.  Adaptation of best economic practices is crucial to the achievement of a sustainable economic development through implementation of the already set policies. Policies that require implementation include those that encourage the economic development of the country in cost of energy reduction, education enhancement, and promotion of innovation and business environment to guarantee employment. The EU strategy towards sustainable economic development and lessons learnt from Brexit should be the main focus for Romania as it implements its own policies to have a sustained economic growth and remain competitive economically with other EU member states by staging policies based on their level of significance.