EIRP Proceedings, Vol 7 (2012)

Abstract

Romania, has always been an interesting country and disputed over by western and eastern powers, also due to its geographical position. This did not change even when Romania was an independent state. Although at one time an autarkic development was pursued under communism, this was practically impossible. Necessary was to develop relations with various partners, mostly important economic forces: the West, China, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). After 1990, Romania was the most uncertain country in the former communist bloc regarding its way to building a better social and economic future. In 1991, Romania was the only one that concluded an agreement with Moscow by which it practically accepteda position of subordination, while the other states firmly required the European structures to specify the conditions for their accession and integration. With a delay of several years Romania as well started the accession process trying hard to make up for the lost time. This paper analyzes the positions taken by the Romanian authorities of those times for the development of diplomatic relations with these economic powers.