Grayling AcTrend Report 2022

1,437 primary legislation acts were approved in the eight CEE countries between January 2022 and December 2022, Romania leading by far in quantitative terms. Compared to the figures of 5 to 10 years ago (2013-2017) we have witnessed a 14%* increase in the number of laws adopted by CEE countries. The ranking of the countries has not changed much over these years: Romania leads the way in terms of the volume of legislation passed, followed by Poland. In third place, Slovakia overtook Hungary. However, the overall increase in legislation was spearheaded by Romania’s total number of 573 primary legislation acts. In 2022 only Romania exceeded the 200-act milestone, while Poland, Slovakia and Croatia were above the 150 mark, Bulgaria slightly above the 100-act milestone, leaving Hungary, Czechia and Serbia below…Read More →

Romanian foreign policy plays at home

Romania’s foreign play has taken a turn in contributing to the country’s domestic policy games in the last month. It started in late February, when Romanian Minister of Transports, Sorin Grindeanu, a Social Democrat, accused Ukrainian authorities of increasing the depth of the Bystroye Canal in the protected Danube Delta region without permission. President Klaus Iohannis was quick to react, saying that some politicians were heating up before confirming the facts, and adding that Ukraine didn’t need to be scolded now. A few weeks later, Romania was still waiting for permission from the Ukrainian side to check whether the work has been indeed performed, but the effect home was already felt: an increasing number of critical voices against Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. The main partners of the ruling coalition, the…Read More →

Romania in 2022 - the arranged political marriage goes relatively well

Romania’s antagonist ruling coalition checked one year in administration in 2022 without major conflicts to threaten its existence. The two former foes turned partners, the leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) and the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), plus the party of ethnic Hungarians, UDMR, benefited fully from their 65% majority in the Parliament to mute the opposition and render it useless. While the Social Democrats and Liberals have periodically held a sharp tone with each other, so far no major shake-up in the coalition have been registered. The PSD turned to be the leading partner in the arranged political collaboration with PNL, brokered by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in fall 2021. Benefiting from a powerful propaganda machine, disciplined leaders and a structured political agenda, the Social Democrats imposed nearly all…Read More →

Grayling's Views: Outlook for 2023 CEE region An overview of geopolitical risks in 2023 in Central and Eastern Europe February 2023

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