2021 - NINTH EDITION - EUROPE IS THE FUTURE

Europuls - Centre of European Expertise, the initiator and organizer of the EUROSFAT forum, is a non-governmental organization founded in 2010 in Brussels by a group of young Romanian experts in European affairs. The purpose of the organization is to promote European integration in Romania, but also to contribute to the development of a European public space through articles and studies and by organizing debates, workshops, and high-level conferences.

The EUROSFAT 2021 Forum, organized under the auspices of the Conference on the Future of Europe, aims at providing the optimal framework for an open dialogue between key representatives at European level, who can and must influence the future of Europe. Europe is strong, supportive, ambitious and visionary, and women in key positions at the European level are the living proof of that - a proof that they can be successful in political leadership, can have results with significant impact for citizens and, above all, are role models for young women who do not have the courage to speak up. We invite you to find out how Europuls pictures the future of women leading Europe.

Ramona Chiriac

Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Romania

Iulia Matei

Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania

Doina Gherman

Member of the Parliament, Republic of Moldova

Connecting Romania to Europe's digital future

The European Union set an ambitious agenda on shaping Europe’s digital future, incentivizing Member States to enhance digital transformation processes. In this regard, this panel aims at addressing the strategy and key reforms needed and the vision of Romania for following the EU digital agenda in shaping its digital future. In addition, the following topics are proposed for discussion:
- Romania’s digital transformation - challenges and opportunities;
- Key reforms to Romania’s resilient recovery through digital transformation and innovation;
- Knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices;
- Priorities for digital transformation of the Romanian public administration;
- Bridging the digital skills gap;
- Involving different stakeholders with a common goal in achieving Romania’s digital transformation targets.

Dragoș Tudorache

Member of the European Parliament

Alina Ujupan

Member of the Cabinet of Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for Europe fit for the Digital Age

Răzvan Atim

General Manager Eastern Europe, UiPath

Oleg Roibu

Group General Counsel, eMAG

Denisa Avram

Public Affairs Manager, Central and Eastern Europe, Glovo

The coming years will be decisive for Europe and for Romania, in particular, to ensure the right policy decisions are taken to reach a green transition. The energy sector is the one emitting most of GHG, and thus the one that will have to undergo the most significant challenges. Through the NextGenerationEU mechanism and National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR), the Romanian Government has proposed a set of measures to achieve the European goal for climate neutrality by 2050. In addition to legislative changes, Romania has committed to massive investments in infrastructure, research, and development for alternative energy sources to ensure the total decarbonization of the energy system.
How can Romania achieve this green recovery in the best way possible? What are the key areas that first need to be decarbonized? What will be the role of the energy industry in accelerating the transition to net-zero and what set of business-friendly policy frameworks is required? To answer these questions and more, Eurosfat's goal is to bring together key stakeholders in the field, such as policymakers, national and international companies, NGOs, and experts, to debate and discuss the issues of green transition and energy sustainability.

The work field is continuously adapting to the needs of the general population, not standing by in regards to the level of competencies. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the shaping of the Future of Work by disrupting the usual standards of work infrastructure, workload, quality of jobs, the competences that are needed, etc. While the pandemic has indeed accelerated the digitalization of education and the workload trends (such as work from home), it has created gaps not only between countries but also between the socio-economic groups. The markets are looking forward to a flexible, resilient, youth-adapted work field for future generations. In this regard, this panel aims at addressing the strategy, key reforms needed and the vision of Romania for following the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) in enhancing the digital skills of the future ability to provide the young generation quality and innovative jobs.

Transatlantic cooperation is a key point on the European Union's agenda, as both the European Union and the United States share the same set of democratic values. This debate aims to find solutions to the day-to-day challenges that can be tackled more easily through transatlantic cooperation. Therefore, issues such as these will be discussed in the debate:
- Return to multilateralism and consolidation of the alliance between democratic states.
- Developing the role of NATO as a political institution.
- Collaboration in the field of technology and commerce.
- The transition to a green and prosperous economy. The European Union and the United States together represent the world's largest economy and can therefore have a common aim in ensuring a green future.

The Conference on the Future of Europe, launched in May this year, aims to give citizens a greater role in shaping the policies and priorities of the European Union, with a view of increasing the level of resilience to future crises. Under the auspices of the Conference, Europuls aims to contribute to the development of a solid dialogue with leading representatives of civil society, in order to outline a series of priorities that will be forwarded to Romanian and European decision makers.

Digitalisation already improves the safety, productivity, accessibility and sustainability of energy systems. But digitalisation also increases new security and privacy risks. It also changes markets, business models and labor market dynamics. Policy makers, business executives and other stakeholders are increasingly confronted with new and complex decisions, often with incomplete or imperfect information. This challenge is compounded by the highly dynamic nature of energy systems, which are often built on large, long-term infrastructure and physical assets. Digitalisation: A new era in the transition to sustainability?

The necessity of reforming the judiciary, the fight against corruption and the relevance of respecting the rule of law remain, to this day, major issues, raising many questions among Romanian citizens. Therefore, this year represents the ideal opportunity to take a step back and look retrospectively at the path of justice reforms, while also analyzing the situation we find ourselves in at the moment.
What had to be achieved for Romania to become a member of the EU in the pre-accession phase, what remains to be done under the MCV and what is Romania committed to in terms of the RRF plan? Are those the same commitments? Why is it taking so long to implement justice reforms in Romania? In the current context of new EU instruments on the rule of law, is there any incentive to speed up this process? What were the obstacles then and are those still the same today?

During this colloquium, Europuls will launch the first issue of the "Europuls Policy Journal on EU Affairs", where experts will present their work on three key areas: Emerging Technologies, Rule of Law and Democracy and Environment and Energy Policies. Thus, the topics covered in this session will be strongly aligned with specific goals of the EU agenda. The authors will also have the opportunity to answer to questions from the audience, regarding their research findings, during the Q&A session for each topic.
Papers to be presented:

Liability regimes for creative machines. A European perspective - Irina Buzu

Striking the balance between innovation and regulation in AI - is Europe leading the way or lagging behind? - Cezara Panait, Davor Ljubenkov, Dalia Alic

AI algorithms – (re)shaping public opinions through interfering with access to information in the online environment? - Cezara Panait, Cameran Ashraf

Redefining a New Transatlantic Agenda: EU-US Economic Relations - Ioana Ichim

Ethnic Profiling by the Police in France - Nicoleta Mîrza

What is the impact that policies against “fake news” have on democracy and rule of law? - Hugo Rossi Figueirôa

Understanding coal phaseout strategies in the European Union from the perspective of Romania - Vlad Surdea-Hernea

The European Green Deal: What future for data-centres? - Arianna Crosera

The challenges of niche diplomacy in the Eastern Partnership region. Case study on regional energy policies - Cătălin-Gabriel Done, Sorin Bogdea

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