Romania's assertion to the EU
 

Principles:
· the principle of the democracy and the rule of law, as well as the establishment of an uniform law system and the assurance of the protection of rights deriving from Community regulations; 
· the principle of respect of fundamental human rights - a juridical norm having an universal value; 
· the principle of the social-state; 
· the principle of cultural pluralism; 
· the principle of subsidiarity

Objectives:
· the stability of the institutions that guarantee the democracy, the rule of law, the human rights, the respect towards minorities and their protection; 
· the existence of a functioning market economy, as well as the capacity to face competitional pressures and market forces forthcoming from within the Union; 
· the capacity to assume the obligations deriving from the statute of EU member, including the adherence to common political, economic and monetary goals.
· the consolidation of the political system and of the democratic institutions; 
· the creation of an economic and social climate that would offer a maximum of satisfaction and benefits to its citizens; 
· the improving of the efficiency of market economy structures and mechanisms; 
· the strengthening of political, economic and social co-operation with the European Union member states and the candidate countries; 
· the consolidation of Romania's statute on the European and international scene, in terms of stability and security.
 

Priorities:
- The structural adjustment to the requests of the Internal Market of the European Union and to EU common policies
· the achievement and consolidation of the macro-economic stability in order to create the frame for the durable economic development; 
· the acceleration of economy's structural adjustment in order to catch-up the delays in the field of social and economic transformation; 
· the application of a firm monetary policy, able to avoid inflation, and of a financial policy, that is capable to correct the budget deficit and to give an impulse to the economic activity, mainly directed towards the export; 
· regional and local development, the increase of the solidarity and cohesion in the political and social domain; 
· the diminution of the unfavorable consequences, at social level, of the economic reforms, mainly in regard to the vulnerable categories; 
· the re-launching of the social dialogue, at central and local level; the further stimulation of civil society; 
· the legislative harmonization (taking over and implementation of the "acquis communautaire"); 
· the gradual fulfillment of the convergence criteria required for the future participation to the Economic and Monetary Union.
- The alignment to the principles, norms and actions of the Common Foreign and Security Policy;
- The institutional and operational adjustment and the strengthening of the co-operation with the member and candidate states in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs;
- A structural and functional reform of the public administration, in order to increase the flexibility, the efficiency and the coherence of the administrative activities, to diminish the bureaucracy, to eliminate the malfunctions and superposition of attributions and to increase the degree of compatibility with the administrations of the EU members.
 

The EU accession's main advantages will be:
· a stable political and economic climate, able to promote a sustainable development 
· a greater predictability and stability of the economic environment 
· the improvement of the competitiveness on the internal market, that will lead to stimulation of the national companies in the spirit of increasing their productivity and efficiency by developing new products and services, the implementation of modern technologies and the diminution of production prices 
· trade development, an important stimulus for national economy and labor market 
· an increased access to European capital and investment markets, to new equipment and informational technologies, to "know-how" management and organizational techniques of developed countries 
· the presence of Romanian companies on a huge and significant single market 
· special opportunities induced by the implementation of Economic and Monetary Union 
· the increasing of national security through the integration in CFSP mechanisms 
· the ability to fully participate at the decision-making processes concerning the future structure of Europe 
· increasing the prestige and consolidating Romania's statute in its relations with other states, both political and economic 
· granting to Romanian citizens several rights deriving from "European citizenship" 
· the perspectives of further professional specialization and increased access on European labor market for Romanian nationals
 

These direct advantages have to be evaluated, as a correlative, also in terms of "lost opportunities" that would be generated by Romania's non-integration into the EU:
· isolation and lack of participation at the decision-making processes, at the CFSP mechanisms, that would involve increased difficulties and expenses for an autonomous presentation on the political and economic arena 
· Romania's economic isolation, as the EU is a major partner(60% of Romanian external trade) 
· the diminution of Romanian goods' access on community market 
· increasing of Romanian merchandise's vulnerability in front of protection measures and technical obstacles that are to be found in EU's policy vis-à-vis third countries 
· increasing the economic gap between Romania and the EU acceding countries, mainly due to the impossibility of taking advantage from the community development funds 
· the diminution of further chances of alignment at the "acquis", taking into account the permanent evolution of intra-community integration 
· new difficulties in obtaining the consensus at EU level for a new round of accession, as there will be substantially more member states 
· lack of agricultural competitiveness, due to non-participation at Common Agricultural Policy.