EBRD, Romanian officials debate industrial policy with entrepreneurs at BVB event in Bucharest
<p>EBRD chief economist Beata Javorcik, state adviser Florin Spataru, Transilvania IT Cluster manager Bianca Muntean, AmCham vice-president Cristian Sporis, and Constructii Erbasu CEO Cristian Erbasu were part of a panel on industrial policies in Romania and the region during an event held at the National Bank of Romania headquarters in Bucharest, February 5. </p>
<p>After presenting the EBRD 2025 Transition Report, participants at the event talked about the challenges and opportunities in industrial policy for Romania in the context of German and even European fears of loss of competitiveness and economic downturn.</p>
<p>Unlike other EU countries, such as the automotive-dependent Slovakia, Czech Republic, or Hungary, Romania enjoys a diversified industrial sector, according to Cristian Sporis. He also added that the agricultural, services, and IT sectors make up large portions of the Romanian economy, the latter being the largest recipient of state aid and subsidies since the 2008 financial crisis. </p>
<p>The AmCham representative noted the fact that all large US companies in the technology sector are also present in Romania. While German-speaking countries are facing more economic challenges at the moment, countries like Poland and Romania are proving more resilient due to the absorption of EU funds and diversified GDP formation. What Romania lacks, Sporis added, is a developed road or IT infrastructure. He also mentioned that the IT sector is seeing a decrease in demand for coders, coupled with a rising need of data scientists and data-related roles. Sporis also warned that Romania is facing a huge public sector deficit while the private sector is balanced. “Deregulate as much as possible and increase easy-to-understand frameworks and regulations in order to encourage competition,” he added. </p>
<p>Florin Spataru, state advisor and part of the chancellery of the prime minister, said that Romania’s current priority is the reduction of the trade balance deficit. This reduction, he argued, must be taken together with the transformation of Romanian industry so that it will be competitive but also up to EU environmental standards. In this process, the country must take advantage of its nuclear energy sources, use gas as a long-term transition resource, and focus on making sectorial progress. As opposed to blanket-regulations, the latter will allow entrepreneurs to access funds and reach green economy standards more easily, the state representative said. Spataru, a former minister of economy, also expressed his belief that the digitization process will make up for staff shortages and that Romania stringently lacks digital skills, not people. </p>
<p>The Romanian IT sector initially grew through outsourcing services, according to Bianca Muntean, cluster manager at Transilvania IT Cluster. As big European economies such as Germany are facing problems, Romania must find its place in the value chain, she added. In that advent, Romania has the example of the IT hub of Cluj-Napoca, where technology companies collaborate with public authorities, Bianca Muntean argued.</p>
<p>Panel members also discussed the issue of critical raw materials and rare earths in the context of European concern regarding their availability. Beata Javorcik that mentioned “the picture is not very pretty,” with 70-90% of these rare resources owned by countries outside the western bloc. Moreover, China dominates the production of these critical materials, and has shown its willingness to restrict their exports in response to US trade policies. At the same time, European authorities were until now all too happy to see the processing of toxic materials happen elsewhere, according to the EBRD chief economist.</p>
<p>Cristian Erbasu, speaking as the head of the most important construction companies in Romania, said that the country’s construction sector is facing a lack of skilled people. “Many of the young left the country, so the construction sector relies on middle-aged people who are not very open to learning,” he stated. He also reviewed the state of Romanian construction, noting that as the industry developed in the past 5 years, many of its small players disappeared, while large companies became larger. </p>
<p><em><a href="mailto:radu@romania-insider.com">radu@romania-insider.com</a></em></p>
<p><em>(Photo source: BVB press release)</em></p>