mugur isarescu : romania and the eib after 25 years opening speech by mr mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the eib conference " investment and investment finance in romania ", bucharest, 4 december 2018. * * * vice president mcdowell, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to welcome you all at the national bank of romania. allow me to extend a warm greeting to mr. andrew mcdowell, vice president of the european investment bank and to ms. debora revoltella, chief economist of the european investment bank. it is a privilege for the national bank of romania to co - host with the european investment bank this conference on investments and investment finance. the european investment bank celebrates this year its 60th anniversary since its creation in 1958, under the treaty of rome. allow me to congratulate this important institution and the teams of the eib office in romania and the eib office in luxembourg, for their outstanding work and diligence in promoting strategic investment projects for europe and romania. the topic proposed for today ’ s conference outlines the fact that 2018 has been rich in lessons for the future, showing the impact of policy decisions upon the economic development. the economic growth is strongly linked with the economic cycle, but its durability is dependent on long - term strategic investments by far more than short - term consumption boost. i invite you all to debate the subject of investments and investment finance in romania during the two panels of today ’ s conference. the first panel will be moderated by mr. liviu voinea, deputy governor and will approach the theme of investments and investment finance in 2018. the second panel will be moderated by ms. lara tassan zanin, head of the european investment bank office in romania and will focus on the support of sustainable growth in romania, shifting from consumption to investments. ladies and gentlemen, romania and the european investment bank share a long and fruitful cooperation that started in 1990. it got closer in 2007 when romania became a member of european union and implicitly of european investment bank. this joint partnership has boosted investments in romania in areas of significant importance for the national economy, such as the infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, environment and innovation. these coordinates are totaling more than 13 billion eur allocated to around 130 projects financed by the european investment bank, besides other 70 projects financed by the european fund for strategic investments. these figures alone speak about the priorities, however i would

like to point out that the financial impact transcends beyond the sum of total loans. there is significant potential for development and improvement. romania is a net beneficiary of eu funds, the latest data showing a positive aggregate balance with more than 32 billion eur as net received funds. in the first seven months of 2018, romania benefited of 2. 7 million eur in european funds and past experiences show there is a learning cycle in managing european funds and their disbursement increases towards the end of the multiannual financial framework. we expect the investment financing to increase in 2019 and 2020. the european investment bank and its investment - financing arm, european investment fund, have a pronounced contribution to closing the financing gap of investments in the context of economic downturn, 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches providing the sources for investment finance, the expertise and the support for entrepreneurs. the recurrent themes for romania ’ s development needs are as present as ever in the public space, and they should trigger a higher implication on all levels of decision, from the private sector to the public management authorities, to support and extend the investments for sustainable economic growth. the shift from consumption to investments, the reliable and qualitative infrastructure, the deficit of skilled labor and the gap in the transition from education to employment, the good governance and accountability framework in institutional investments, as well as the need to enhance the eu funds absorption rate, all these are, at the moment, the challenges that romania, faces on its pathway to sustainable growth. in this context, i would like to point out the fact that the results of the european investment bank survey are in line with the nbr ’ s evaluations of the financial sector, the key aspect being the access to finance and sustainable investments. i really hope that the conference provides an excellent frame for communication and exchange of ideas. it is important that the collaboration in investment finance leads to the implementation of effective investment policies to ensure the engagement of both the public and the private sectors for economic growth. as a part of the european union, romania needs to align and redefine the economy, to deepen the integration and to enhance the convergence with the euro area countries in the light of the euro adoption objective. this statutory obligation as an eu member is assumed in the accession treaty ; however the process requires significant efforts to prepare, on economical, political, social and cultural levels. this process requires making good use of all instruments and the financial investments make no exception.