Alin-Adrian Nica, President of Timiş Provincial Council, and President of the National Delegation of Romania to the European Committee of Regions was appointed at the CIVEX Commission meeting on 28 September 2022 rapporteur for the opinion „the Future of the Eastern Partnership from a local and regional perspective”. The adoption is foreseen in the CoR Plenary Session on 15-16 March 2023.
Alin-Adrian Nica was also rapporteur on “The implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy, in particular the Eastern Partnership Initiative: modernisation, reforms and administrative capacity of the local and regional authorities of the Republic of Moldova” (in 2010). He also worked on EU enlargement in his report on “Enlargement Strategy and candidate countries 2007-2008” (in 2008).
This subject is very important for President Nica because of the proximity to Moldova and Ukraine (the border with Romania is the longest EU border with these country), the renewed Russian threat to the sovereignty of the countries in the area and the implications in the Black Sea, the support given by Romania to the Republic of Moldova in administrative reforms and building capacity to help and guide towards a European path, the special cooperation between Timiş Province (RO) and Nisporeni Province (MD) in multiple areas, the support of the Romanian citizens and government for Ukraine and Moldova in obtaining EU candidate status, and the financial, logistic, humanitarian help given by Romanian provinces and citizens to Ukraine and the refugees who chose to remain in Romania.
The Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009 with the aim of strengthening and deepening the political and economic relations between the EU, its Member States and six Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.
More than 10 years after, the Joint Communication: Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Reinforcing Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all and the Council Conclusions on the Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020 set out a new vision for the partnership, with resilience as overarching policy framework and five long-term policy objectives (economy and connectivity, good governance and the rule of law, environmental and climate resilience, support to digital transformation, and fair and inclusive societies).