European Institute of Romania CONFERENCE European Union and its Neighbourhood Annual Conference of the European Institute of Romania and the Fourth Edition of EIR Excellence Awards 12 December 2013, Bucharest Contents Welcome address 5 Agenda 7 Speakers 9 Background document 17 EIR Excellence Awards 19 Promo EIR Newsletter Promo Romanian Journal of European Affairs Notes Partners Welcome address Thank you for being with us at the European Union and its Neighbourhood conference, organized by the European Institute of Romania (EIR) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The first session of the event will touch upon subjects such as: the recent Summit of Eastern Partnership in Vilnius, its consequences in the context of political and economic evolutions of the Eastern partners, the future of this EU cooperation initiative, possible roadmaps for the Republic of Moldova and Georgia following the initialling of the Association Agreements, visa liberalisation in the region, steps to take in preparing the future Summit in 2015. The second session of the conference will focus on the role of regional cooperation in promoting stability, security and economic prosperity, as well as European values in the Western Balkans. Considering the emphasis of EU’s enlargement strategy on good neighbourhood relations as an essential element of the Stabilisation and Association Process, a current subject is represented by the Romanian Presidency of the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) and the coordination of its working agenda with the rotating Presidency of the EU Council. The debates will be followed by the granting of the EIR Excellence Awards, the fourth edition of this event being dedicated to distinguished personalities within the field of European affairs. Therefore, we are most honoured to grant the EIR Excellence Award for promoting the European spirit and values to: Ms. Natalia Gherman, Vice-Prime-Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Republic of Moldova; Mr. Leonard Orban, former European Commissioner and Minister of European Affairs and to Mr. Vasile Puşcaş, University Professor, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, former Minister-Delegate and Chief Negotiator with the European Union. Our appreciation goes not only to the nominated personalities, but also to all those who have contributed or continue to contribute, through their activity, to Romania’s process of European integration, as well as to a better understanding and dissemination of the European reality within the Romanian society. Professor Gabriela Drăgan, PhD Director General of the European Institute of Romania Agenda CONFERENCE European Union and its Neighbourhood Annual Conference of the European Institute of Romania and the Fourth Edition of EIR Excellence Awards Bucharest, 12 December 2013 Hotel Intercontinental, Fortuna Hall (21st floor) − Agenda − 9:00 — 9:30 Registration of participants 9:30 — 10:15 Opening session: Gheorghe Magheru, Ambassador, Political Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luminița Odobescu, State Counsellor, Government of Romania The message of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Valeriu Zgonea Ana Birchall, Deputy, Secretary of the Committee for European Affairs, Chamber of Deputies, Romanian Parliament Leonard Orban, former European Commissioner and Minister of European Affairs Moderator: Gabriela Drăgan, PhD, Professor, Director General of the European Institute of Romania 10:15 — 10:30 Break 10:30 – 12:00 First session: Eastern Partnership: from Vilnius to Riga Moderator: Agnes Nicolescu, Acting Head of the Studies and Analyses Unit, European Institute of Romania Speeches: Iulia Matei, Deputy Director general, EU Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mihnea Constantinescu, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs E.S. Marek Szczygieł, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Romania Carlos Puente Martin, PhD, Professor, Member of Team Europe (Spain), European Commission Oana Popescu, Director, Global Focus Center Anita Sobják, Analyst, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw Remarks, comments, debates 7 Agenda 12:00 — 12:15 Coffee break 12:15 — 13:45 Session II: The role of regional cooperation in promoting European values in Western Balkans; Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office of SEECP Moderator: Ovidiu Nahoi, Journalist, Money TV Speeches: Iulian Fota, Presidential Advisor, Presidential Administration Gheorghe Magheru, Ambassador, Political Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs E.S. Grigorios Vassiloconstandakis, Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic in Romania Vasile Puşcaş, PhD, Professor, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca Liviu Mureşan, Executive President, Eurisc Foundation Dariusz Kalan, Analyst, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw Remarks, comments, debates 13:45 — 14:30 EIR Excellence Awards, the fourth edition, 2013 for promoting the European spirit and values Speeches: Gabriela Drăgan, PhD, Professor, Director General of the European Institute of Romania Excellence Awards: Natalia Gherman, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Republic of Moldova represented by H.E. Iurie Reniţă, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in Romania Leonard Orban, former European Commissioner and Minister of European Affairs Vasile Puşcaş, PhD, Professor, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca 8 Speakers Ana Birchall Licensed in Juridical Sciences, Ana Birchall is a deputy, secretary of the European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, in the Romanian Parliament. Having graduated with magna cum laude a Master’s course in Law (L.L.M.) within the Yale Law School, Yale University USA, Mrs. Birchall also gained a doctoral degree in Law at the same university, with the thesis “Bankruptcy Law Applied to Banking Systems in Central and Eastern Europe countries”- a comparative analysis of Bankruptcy legislation in the US, UK, France, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic banking system. Between June and December 2012, H.E. acted as Advisor to the Prime Minister, in the Romanian Government. Before that, she was a lawyer (Of Counsel) at Muşat and Associates- Restructuring & Insolvency, White & Case LLP Bucharest. Between 2005 - November 2006 she was an Advisor with the Foreign Policy Commission, in the Romanian Senate, and between 2003 and 2004 she acted as Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Relations. As for the academic career, Mrs. Birchall is a university lecturer at “Dimitrie Cantemir” University of Bucharest and at the “Ovidiu” University of Constanţa (2011-2012). Mihnea Constantinescu Mihnea Constantinescu is Ambassador at Large, Special representative for Energy Security. Previously, he served for different Governments as Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, State Counsellor or Diplomatic Counsellor to the Prime Minister, State Secretary and General Director for political affairs in the MFA. In 2001 he acted as Personal Representative of the CiO-OSCE for South Eastern Europe during Romanian Chairmanship and in 2003 he was the Romanian representative to the Provisional Authority in Baghdad and advisor to the Iraqi MFA. Before joining the diplomatic service he was a faculty member at UPB in Nuclear Power Engineering and obtained the doctorate in this field. 9 Speakers Gabriela Drăgan Gabriela Drăgan is Director General of the European Institute of Romania, dean of the Faculty of European Economic Studies within Romanian-American University and university professor at the Faculty of International Business and Economics, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. Mrs. Drăgan is also a Jean Monnet professor and an expert in European Integration. She has published, as author or co-author, a significant number of books and articles (indexed in international databases, published in scientific volumes or conference proceedings), she is a member of the Romanian Association for European Integration Studies, the European Regional Studies Association (ERSA), the Romanian Association of Regional Studies, and, as of January 2008, Director of the Romanian Journal of European Affairs, edited by the European Institute of Romania, member of the Editorial Board of the Romanian Economic Journal – Faculty of International Business and Economics, member of the Editorial Board of the Bulletin of the Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti, Economic Studies Series etc. H.E. has participated as a speaker or moderator in many national and international debates, workshops, conferences (organized by the Romanian Academy, Vienna University, Institute for World Economics - Budapest, European Institute of Japan, Kobe and Tokyo, Centre for Security Cooperation in Croatia, European Forum Wachau - Austria, Hebrew University – Tel Aviv, Economic Forum Krynica, Republic of Poland etc). In November 2013, Mrs. Drăgan received the high-rank decoration the Knight’s Cross of the Order for Merit of the Republic of Poland, conferred by the President of the Republic of Poland, in recognition of her contribution to promoting Polish-Romanian cooperation in European affairs. Iulian Fota Holding a Phd in Political Science, Iulian Fota is Presidential Advisor and the Head of the National Security Department within the Presidential Administration. In the past, H.E. held key positions such as: Director of the National Defense College, Ministry Advisor in the Euro-Atlantic Integration and Defense Policy Department, Head of the “Defense” Section for Romania’s Mission to NATO and WEU (Brussels, Belgium), Assistant to the State Secretary for European