The Fifth The Economist Romanian Business & Investment Roundtable highlighted the critical importance of increasing Romania’s competitiveness to ensure a sustainable and future-ready economy. What all decision makers present at the event seemed to agree upon was the fact that the key to overcoming critical challenges such as economic growth, labor shortages, and investment diversification lies in the collaborative efforts between the private and public sectors.
“People have finally understood that digitization is like a tidal wave—it raises all boats or sinks all boats. It is now the platform on which we drive productivity in the economy as a whole. If we look at the productivity numbers of Europe and the United States, we see that the gap is just increasing between us and the US. And Europe is falling behind. We will never catch up unless we unlock private investment. Europe may not have a single market right now, but we are working on creating one. There’s a misunderstanding regarding the competition between Europe and the US. What we should be focusing on is a partnership, not a race. We must acknowledge that the future of digital innovation depends on Europe making strategic choices. It’s about aligning investments, simplifying regulations, ensuring security, and scaling our innovations. If we do this, we can compete with and surpass others—ensuring a prosperous digital future for Europe.”, said Joakim Reiter, Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer Vodafone Group in a discussion on how to address gaps in telecommunications coverage to promote digital innovation and build competitive digital infrastructure.
Iwona Sikora, senior vice-president and general manager, Europe & South Africa at Iron Mountain, highlighted Romania’s challenges and opportunities in digital transformation. While Romania has strong fiber coverage and IT talent, activating funds remains difficult. Upskilling is necessary, and e-government services are among the lowest in the EU, slowing market entry and transparency. Low SME technological adoption is another barrier, but the $14.2 billion from the RRF could help address these issues, she said. AI presents a significant opportunity, enabling Romania to leverage data from old systems. Iwona Sikora also noted that Romania is not exempt from Europe’s economic struggles, which impact GDP. To overcome stagnation, Romania must upscale talent and attract the right companies, she added.
Romania is a strong investment destination with abundant resources and talent, said Georgios Athanasopoulos, chief executive of Vista Bank. Citing Greece’s former problems, he warned Romania must act to avoid brain drain and foster innovation. Europe must become more self-reliant, as Donald Trump’s policies may force it to reduce dependence on NATO, he added. Georgios Athanasopoulos also highlighted that a third of European innovators move to the US due to capital flight but remains optimistic about Europe’s potential.”
Public and private sector leaders discussed Southeast Europe’s economic resilience, inflation risks, sustainable finance, and the future of the Single Market. Omer Tetik, CEO Banca Transilvania mentioned that “Romania—not only Romania, actually the whole region—has shown incredible resilience in the last five years. We have seen pandemics, we have seen war, inflation, volatility, energy crises—everything which could have been written in an economics book, we have seen in a very short period of time. Citizenship Through Investments was mentioned today – I guess this is indeed the moment when Europe can show that Southern Eastern members of the European Union are really European citizens. Indeed, when we look at the problems Europe is facing—from food security, energy security, demographics—Romania itself can be a solution to most of these problems, while also creating its own solutions.”
“I believe the key to resilience is how you integrate your response function—how you adapt to changes coming from the world, which is evolving faster than ever. The key to competitiveness is making bureaucracy smart and flexible enough to respond to change as it arrives because you cannot foresee everything.”, added Ionuț Lianu CFΑ, chief treasury & ALM officer, CEC Bank.
The Fifth Annual Romanian Business & Investment Roundtable highlighted the critical importance of increasing Romania’s competitiveness to ensure a sustainable and future-ready economy. What all decision makers present at the event seemed to agree upon was the fact that the key to overcoming critical challenges such as economic growth, labor shortages, and investment diversification lies in the collaborative efforts between the private and public sectors.
“We need to improve competitiveness to avoid the middle-income trap. We still have an advantage in terms of labor costs, but this advantage is diminishing. Meanwhile, we are not yet as competitive as the most advanced economies.”, conceded Mihail Ion Vice-president capital markets, investment banking and personal financial planning, Raiffeisen Bank Romania during the panel focusing on The financial and economic landscape in south-east Europe.
“We need to understand that when you’re ahead, your main concern should be how to stay ahead, because progress is not a linear process. The way we are able to fuel growth and the way we are able to fuel the economy is very important right now. We are in a process of trying to catch up with more complex systems that address financial needs. This means having a broader sense of where money is coming from. It’s not just the backbone that has been for the last 20 years, which is the banking sector here present. We are also talking about financial markets like the stock exchange, or direct investments from private equity funds. There is capital in Romania, both from pension funds, insurers, and a lot of other sources, but the way policy drives this kind of financing into private equity investments can ensure a competitive advantage for Romania.”, concluded Paul-Dieter Cîrlănaru, Chief executive, CITR.
A crucial topic in Romania’s green future and economic growth remains the transition to sustainability, as well as the role of sustainable finance in driving these changes, and the importance of collaboration between state and private actors to drive these changes.
“It is one of the greatest initiatives in this field happening today in Romania, and it’s having significant environmental, economic, and social impacts. The system we have implemented here in Romania is the largest fully integrated deposit return system globally. It is highly complex, and its success is the result of collaboration between retailers, producers, local authorities, and consumers to reduce waste and meet EU recycling targets. In Europe, we are the second largest deposit return scheme after Germany. Even though we have only been live for a little over a year, we have already achieved fantastic results – we have collected more than three billion containers from the market and have already sold 230,000 tons of material to recyclers.”, pointed out Gemma Webb, Chief executive and president, RetuRO SGR.
While discussing how to enhance Europe’s economic resilience through improved connectivity and strategic infrastructure investments, Bogdan Mărginean, Technical subdivision manager, civil engineering, STRABAG Romania highlighted that “We need to keep in mind that construction is a very conservative business, heavily regulated and I think that now is the time to talk about a robust partnership between private actors and the state in order to ensure economic growth, stability and a greener future. Innovation is the baseline on which we are building now.”
“The energy transition introduces a new dynamic, shifting from a state-driven approach that dominated energy policy 10–15 years ago to a more customer-centric model. Nobody expected 200.000 prosumers in 2.5 years, which is absolutely amazing. Customers are seizing the opportunity to become more efficient. At the end of the day, this is what the energy transition entails. The key challenge is adapting the network to accommodate new prosumers and optimize energy use. In Romania no one counters the fact that we need highways. But when we speak about energy infrastructure there is an ongoing discussion about costs and accountability. We need authorities’ support in policy design to adapt networks effectively.”, said Alessio Menegazzo, Chief executive & country manager, PPC Romania in a panel on Europe’s energy security strategy, focusing on regional cooperation, the green transition, and balancing sustainability with affordability.
“Interconnectivity and regional cooperation must be strengthened. Strong cross-border infrastructure is a must if we’re to carry electrons into a unified market. More importantly, strategic energy partnerships should be reinforced. I’m very grateful for the fact that we’re seeing governments in Southeastern Europe working closely with EU institutions, partners abroad, and looking at larger formats such as the Three Seas’s initiative that can help broaden these dialogues. A diversified energy mix, in my view, is key.”, added Cosmin Ghita, Chief executive, Nuclearelectrica.
Economist Impact events bring together participants from around the world and renowned thought leaders for structured discussions on topics such as sustainability, trade, the future of technology, and work. These events provide corporations, foundations, NGOs, and governments with a platform to communicate important messages to a targeted and engaged audience, facilitating connections and interactions with business leaders from around the globe.
19.03.2025 / Editor, Andreea Dragan
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