Romania has great opportunities for development due to its geography (location and resources) and geopolitical context, but also because it has a diversified energy mix. Its further development, in line with the energy transition, can attract large energy consuming industries from other countries. This was the message conveyed by the participants in the debate “Geopolitical changes in South-East Europe – the significance for business”, organised by AHK Romania.
As a special guest, Mircea Geoană, NATO Deputy Secretary General, noted in his opening speech that the German notion of “Zeitenwende” (moment of change) is as relevant as ever in Romania. “Romania’s economic model based on cheap labour with relatively low added value tends to be outdated,” he said, pointing in context to a statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Europe’s centre of gravity is shifting eastwards. “This is a reality. The question is whether this shift can be translated into economic growth. Based on the AHK’s motto, ‘Your partner for successful business’, we are considering whether the time has come for Romania to have an equivalent of the German Mittelstand (SME), to turn to our main ally and to make a new-style Bruderschaft (brotherhood) together,” he continued.
The NATO Deputy Secretary General mentioned the need to train the workforce for current and future jobs and invited German companies to participate in this endeavour and even more, to look for partners in Romania in order to create a Romanian industrial model together. “If I had to propose something, I would go for a strong privilege, with tax incentives, for partnerships on everything that means R&D, innovation and IT”, he added.
For his part, the General Manager of BASF Romania and President of AHK Romania, Andreas Lier spoke about the complex challenges and opportunities facing companies investing in the region and in Romania. “There are security concerns, including energy security, there is volatility in energy prices, but supply chains are resilient and there are many new projects.
Participants in the debate argued that many foreign companies are considering relocating business to Romania because of the energy available. However, they stressed that Romania needs to integrate more into the European energy network and this requires investment and appropriate legislation.
Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON, explained that Romania has all the necessary resources to generate electricity. “A big strategic mistake would be not to invest in the distribution networks, investments necessary for the integration of energy from renewable sources. Given that energy consumption will be increasing in the future, Europe needs all energy sources, including gas and nuclear, to be independent in this respect.”
Daniel Barciuc, CEO of Siemens Romania, said that Siemens has continuously invested in both Romania and the Republic of Moldova. He described Siemens solutions for digital transformation and cybersecurity, highlighting the contribution of its R&D team to the development of these solutions, in collaboration with technical universities.
Answering a question launched by Energynomics, the speakers insisted on the fact that the development of the Romanian economy in the context of geopolitical changes in the region should not target simple industrial manufacturing, but rather high value-added areas. From this perspective, investments in local research and development centres as well as in service and support units at regional level have already attracted thousands of employees.
About AHK România
AHK Romania is the official representative of the German economy. Founded in 2002, AHK has more than 600 member companies and offers companies an important platform for networking, exchange of information and experiences. Through the services it offers and the events it organizes, AHK Romania actively supports German companies entering the Romanian market and is also a partner of Romanian companies interested in the German market. From 1 January 2020, AHK Romania will also operate the Competence Centre for the Republic of Moldova. Thus, we want to intensify business relations between companies from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Germany and contribute significantly to the economic development of the Republic of Moldova.