“ROMANIA – DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY” CONFERENCE Climate transition – obstacle or opportunity for our country? – 25.04.2024

The regulations of the European Union in the field of climate and energy can lead to a contraction of the economy and trade of our country, but, at the same time, Romania has several assets that can bring changes in the structure of some economic branches and support the development of the country, according to the opinions expressed on Tuesday, during the “Romania – Development Strategy” conference, organized by the BURSA newspaper.

Development needs adequate financing tools, and automation incorporating artificial intelligence solutions can bring great gains not only for private actors in the economy, but also for public institutions and the beneficiaries of their services, the speakers of the conference said.

Lawyer Gheorghe Piperea emphasized that climate regulations and European directives regarding CO2 emissions present challenges especially in the area of ​​the chemical industry, where companies bear very high costs to meet climate objectives. According to his lordship, EU directives regarding the climate and programs regarding carbon emissions should be adapted to the needs of our country and not imposed by the European Union.

Cristian Nacu, Senior Country Officer for Romania within the International Finance Corporation (WBG), is of the opinion that our country has a combination of energy production sources that is almost unique in Europe, so that it can become an exporter of green energy throughout the continent.

In the opinion of Irina Siminenco, Corporate Affairs Manager at Nestle Romania, we must take responsibility for the development of a circular economy. Also, we must give special importance to resistance to change, this being the only constant and the only certainty in our life.

Tudor Cosăceanu, Regional Vice President Romania & Moldova at UiPath, emphasized that there is a major difference between the commercial and the public sector in terms of automation, but that public institutions are easily starting to experiment and implement such solutions.

According to the General Director of FNGCIMM, Dumitru Nancu, around 85,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have benefited, until now, from the IMM Invest program, a fact that produced a fiscal impact both directly and indirectly in the Romanian economy, but this year will carry out the last edition of this program, because the state aid framework for SMEs will end.

Last but not least, Adrian Coman, Senior Managing Associate, Reff & Asociaţii | Deloitte Legal has shown that a paradigm shift is necessary in terms of ensuring complementary sources of investment financing, given that our country will move from the position of net beneficiary of European funds to that of net contributor.