10 years of romania ’ s eu membership : looking to the future liviu voinea, deputy governor, national bank of romania 26 october 2017 ten years after romania ’ s eu accession, the world has changed dramatically : the global financial crisis of 2008 - 09 led to the revision of rules in the international banking system, to growing social discontent with major consequences in terms of flourishing populism and protectionism, as well as to a reshuffle of maps – be they geopolitical, military or economic. uncertainty is running higher today than prior to the crisis and the room for quantitative easing policies based on stimulating demand has narrowed considerably. looking ahead, both the european union and romania need structural reforms. as regards the eu : many steps have been taken so far at institutional level : stability and growth pact, crd iv ( capital requirements directive ), banking union, srb ( single resolution board ), ssm ( single supervisory mechanism ), esrb ( european systemic risk board ). when needed, monetary policy undertook – in europe as well, similarly to the us, uk or japan – to escape recession and deflation and to foster renewed economic impetus. a challenge to the eu is to maintain the pace of economic growth as the ecb gradually exits from quantitative easing. another challenge facing the eu is to manage brexit properly and avoid other exits, which would question the very essence of european identity. the eu should continue and complete institutional reforms, by finalising the banking union, the aspects regarding the operationalisation of edis ( european deposit insurance scheme ), by setting mrel ( minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities ) for banking groups ; moreover, the eu should move towards a fiscal union without debt mutualisation, should leave less room for discretion and comply with rules once they have been adopted, it should clarify the fine balance between the consolidated microprudential supervision of banks and national accountability in terms of resolution. but maybe the most important factor for the cohesion and coherence of the european project is the success in safeguarding the four fundamental freedoms : the free movement of capital, goods, services, and above all persons within the union. a union that would waive these principles would no longer be the union that was established in 1957 and that romania joined 10 years ago. as regards romania : romania has accomplished a lot in the past ten years : nominal convergence, real convergence in part, financial stability, it has gained market confidence and has implemented structural reforms.

mugur isarescu : corporate liquidity and solvency in the covid - 19 pandemic - the role of policies introductory remarks by mr mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the virtual conference of the national bank of romania and the international monetary fund, 12 february 2021. * * * as prepared for delivery good morning director kammer and to everyone in washington and good afternoon to our guests and speakers in europe. whether you are joining us from bulgaria, poland, croatia or romania, we are very happy to welcome you to this virtual discussion. the fact that you can be with us from different parts of the world is one of the very few benefits compensating the many challenges this pandemic has forced us to face. throughout the years, back in the normal days, we had the honor to host, here, at the national bank of romania, various presentations of the imf ’ s flagship reports that fostered lively discussions among participants. the imf high - quality research has always provided a strong conceptual and empirical basis for policy - making in our region. this time, we will have the opportunity to discuss the role of policies in corporate liquidity and solvency during the covid - 19 pandemic – one of the most important topics of the regional economic outlook ( reo ) for europe published last autumn. the analysis in this edition is aimed at quantifying the potential impact of the covid - 19 crisis on corporate liquidity and solvency risks and assessing the extent to which policy support could help mitigate these risks. we commend the extensive imf exercise, using data from millions of european companies and agree with its main conclusions. job retention schemes, moratoriums on payment obligations, grants and credit guarantees can be effective in improving companies ’ liquidity needs, even more so in advanced than in emerging economies. however, moving forward, the increase in indebtedness does raise concerns for solvency risks and investment prospects. it is true that, from the central banks ’ perspective, all chapters of the report are extremely relevant. personally, i always look towards the imf ’ s research findings for confirmations of our own scenarios, different perspectives on certain topics, or even red flags. more broadly, the 2020 regional economic outlook ( reo ) for europe provides a much - needed analysis, from the imf ’ s point of view of the opportunities and challenges that our region can expect following a very difficult