Romania's EU integration was an unequivocal success. Since 2007, GDP per capita has more than tripled. Infrastructure, while still behind Western Europe, has improved dramatically thanks to EU structural funds. EU membership forced institutional reforms that Romania desperately needed. Anti-corruption bodies gained teeth, judicial independence improved, and democratic norms strengthened. Without EU pressure, oligarchs would have captured the state entirely. Freedom of movement transformed opportunities for millions of Romanians. Those who went abroad sent remittances that lifted families out of poverty, and many returned with skills, capital, and international experience that is now driving Romania's booming IT and services sectors.

Romania joined the EU too early and paid a devastating price. The country lost 4-5 million people to emigration — entire villages were depopulated, and the demographic crisis is now irreversible. We exported our youth and imported dependency on EU funds. The EU structural funds, while generous on paper, exposed Romania's institutional weakness. Billions were lost to corruption and mismanagement. The absorption rate was embarrassingly low for the first decade. Romanian agriculture was destroyed by EU competition. Small farmers who fed their communities for generations couldn't compete with subsidized Western European agribusiness. Romania went from a net food exporter to importing basic products. The cultural and economic fabric of rural Romania was shattered. We should have negotiated longer transition periods and prepared our institutions properly before joining.