- Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, "Europeanisation without Decommunization: a case of elite conversion", in: David Phinnemore (ed), The EU & Romania. Accession and Beyond, Federal Trust for Education and Research, 2006, pp. 17-28. Working paper version published by the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Role of Law / Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies of Stanford University.
- Geoffrey Pridham, "Unfinished Business? Eastern Enlargement and Democratic Conditionality", Fride, Working paper 36, April 2007.
The major agreements between Romania and the EU during the accession process, from the Europe Agreement and the Accession Partnerships to the Accession Treaty:
- Accession Treaty (2005)
- EC, Report on the Results of the Negotiations on the Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union (February 2005)
- Accession Partnership 2003
- Accession Partnership 2001
- Accession Partnership 1999
- Europe Agreement (signed 1 February 1993)
Key European Council conclusions
Three European Council decisions were crucial for Romania. The 1997 Luxembourg summit launched the accession process for the ten East European former communist countries, including Romania (although the country was considered – together with Bulgaria – as lagging considerably behind the other post-communist states). The Helsinki European Council, held in 1999, opened accession negotiations with Romania, along with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia. The December 2004 Brussels European Council confirmed the conclusion of negotiations with Romania.
- Brussels European Council conclusions on the closing of accession negotiations with Romania (17 December 2004)
- Helsinki European Council conclusions on opening accession negotiations with Romania, along with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia (10-11 December 1999)
- Luxembourg European Council conclusions, launching the accession process with 10 CEE countries, including Romania (effectively granting it candidate status) (12-13 December 1997)
The strategy documents on the enlargement process produced by the European Commission relevant for Romania. While most cover all accession countries of the 5th enlargement round, a few Commission strategy documents are related specifically to Romania and Bulgaria (after it become clear that the two would not join the EU alongside the other accession countries in 2004).
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2004 (6 October 2004)
- EC, A financial package for the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania (10 February 2004)
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2003 (5 November 2003)
- EC, Roadmap for Bulgaria and Romania (13 November 2002)
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2003 (5 November 2003)
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2002 (9 October 2002)
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2001
- EC, Enlargement Strategy Paper 2000
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1999 (incl. Annex 1)
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1999 – Annex 2
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1999 – Annex 3
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1999 – Annex 4
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1999 – Annex 5
- EC, Composite paper on the regular reports 1998
A collection of all official reports on Romania prepared by DG Enlargement, including the "opinion" on Romania's application in 1997; all regular reports; the monitoring reports after the closing of negotiations; and the reports prepared under the co-operation and verification mechanism after accession:
- EC, Report from the Commission on Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (23 July 2008)
- EC, Report from the Commission on Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism – Technical update (23 July 2008)
- EC, Interim Report from the Commission on Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (14 February 2008)
- EC, Report on Romania's progress on accompanying measures following Accession (27 June 2007)
- EC, Monitoring Report on the state of preparedness for EU membership of Bulgaria and Romania (26 September 2006)
- EC, Romania – 2006 Monitoring Report (16 May 2006)
- EC, Romania – 2005 Comprehensive Monitoring Report (25 October 2005)
- EC, Regular Report Romania 2004
- EC, Regular Report Romania 2003
- EC, Regular Report Romania 2002
- EC, Regular Report Romania 2001
- EC, Regular Report Romania 2000
- EC, Regular Report Romania 1999
- EC, Regular Report Romania 1998
- EC, Commission Opinion on Romania's Application for Membership of the EU (15 July 1997)
- EC, Commission Opinion on Romania – Annex
- EC, Commission Opinion on Romania – Corrigendum
Pre-accession funds and EU funds
EU funds are a crucial component of the EU's soft power in the accession process. For a comprehensive collection of annual reports on the EU's pre-accession funds, click here; and for annual reports on structural funds and cohesion funds prepared by the European Commission, click here. A short list of articles on EU funds follows below.
- Romanian Academic Society (SAR), "The Absorption of EU Funds. A Measure of Capacity in the Administration and the Private Sector", in: Policy Warning Report/Annual Report and Forecast 2006.
- Guillaume Durand and Antonio Missiroli, Absorption capacity: old wine in new bottles?, European Policy Centre (EPC), Policy Brief, September 2006.
- David Allen, "Cohesion and the Structural Funds. Competing Pressures for Reform?", in: Helen Wallace, William Wallace, and Mark A. Pollack (eds), Policy-Making in the European Union. Fifth Edition, Oxford Univ. Press, 2005, pp. 213-241.
- Yves Hervé and Robert Holzmann, Fiscal Transfers and Economic Convergence in the EU: An Analysis of Absorption Problems and an Evaluation of the Literature, Nomos, 1998.
Romania's communist regime was arguably the most brutal of the Soviet satellite states. The notorious Securitate kept dissenters in permanent fear and undermined the emergence of organised opposition groups better and more ruthlessly than most of their analogues across the Soviet bloc. While a new generation of Romanians no longer bears the scars of the pre-1989 regime, the shadows of the communist legacy are still visible.
- Craig S. Smith, "Eastern Europe Struggles to Purge Security Services", New York Times, 12 December 2006.
- Dennis Deletant and Mihail Ionescu, Romania and the Warsaw Pact: 1955-1989, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, working paper #43, April 2004.
- Suzanne Travers and Edward Kanerian, Casting light on the long shadow of Romania's Securitate, Echinox magazine, Vol. 1, 2001.
- Denis Deletant, "The Successors to the Securitate: Old Habits Die Hard", in: Kieran Williams and Dennis Deletant (eds.), Security Intelligence Services in New Democracies, Macmillan, 2000.
- Denis Deletant. Ceausescu and the Securitate. Coertion and Dissent in Romania 1965-89, Hurst, 1995.
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