Potential Impacts of the Scenarios Concerning the Future of Europe on Romania

The European Commission presented in 2017 the "White Paper on the Future of Europe" which, starting from the identified drivers of change, listed five scenarios for the potential state of the European Union in 2025. The identified challenges along with the EU's collective response to them are likely to have a positive, negative or a neutral impact on each of the Member States. It is therefore crucial for the member states to thoroughly prepare in advance the positions they intend to take during the negotiations regarding the restructuring of the EU. In this paper we present the results of a qualitative impact assessment of the scenarios on Romania, relative to its goal, to effectively, efficiently and sustainably advance on the social and economic development path. We find that a "doing much more together" scenario would best support Romania's catching up process at the EU level, and that a more likely "doing less more efficiently" scenario would also be beneficial, although to a lesser extent.