Institutul European din România - European Institute of Romania 4.66

The European Institute of Romania (EIR) started its activity in January 2000 as an organization aiming at providing support to the Romanian decision-makers during the accession process of Romania to the European Union. EIR began its activity as a PHARE project, with an initial staff of 22 people. The newly-settled organization had also a wider goal, namely being a forefront platform for making the Romanian society, especially the policy makers and academia, aware of the most important developments in the rapidly changing and increasingly complex world of the European Union.

After 1 January 2007, the EIR shifted its strategic focus on the new priorities arising from Romania's EU membership, following the country's accession to the Union. The new priorities pertain mainly to the role, positions and possible alliances to be assumed by Romania on the European scene, emphasizing the need for a deeper examination at national level of the evolutions of the EU institutional affairs and policy-making at community level.

Nowadays, the EIR functions as a public institution under the coordination of the Department of European Affairs, which is the office in charge with the executive secretariat of EU Affairs within the Romanian Government. The EIR views are independent of any public or private bodies and are not aligned to any political party, denominational group or ideological movement.

The PHARE assistance offered financial and technical support for the first four years on a degressive basis, until its complete phase out. According to the current legal framework, the financing of the EIR's operating and investment costs can be covered from both public budget allocations and own resources.

The projects run by the EIR are focused both on building institutional capacity and creating specific expertise in the EU affairs area. It currently employs about 55 experts and other staff, including researchers, training and communication experts and translators.