Casino Bucharest

At the beginning of the 90s, an unofficial national competition called “What should we do with the People’s House?” had started

At the beginning of the 90s, an unofficial national competition called “What should we do with the People’s House?” had started. It was too big for us not to notice it and had too many connections to the communism for us not to try to transform it into something else. To exorcise it one way or another. One of the possible answers sounded quite interesting for some time in an era in which events disappeared quickly because they were too many. “Unfortunately” the building was only 70% complete. I admit that I am somewhat responsible for the rest of 30%. I remembered this last week, because of the NATO Summit.

 

Probably no one could imagine a greater exorcism action for the great building of Nicolae Ceausescu than such a NATO reunion. On the other hand, we could say that the project of the casino was taken into consideration once again. Such a Summit was suited for games. Bilateral, regional or world games including the Russian roulette at least for the final part. For one week, Bucharest was the casino of the great people of the world and this is an important matter.

 

Many things had been commented upon last week as it was expected. There is one aspect that I would like to talk about right now. The question “What does Romania win from this organization?” is repeated obsessively and I believe an answer should appear as well. It is quite simple: nothing directly. However, this is very normal.

 

The organization of the summit is the natural consequence of our adherence to NATO in 2004. This is what could make us benefit. Other than that, when one joins a club, it abides by its rules. One pays taxes, abides by the rules, sacrifices itself, receives awards, and organizes reunions. I don’t want to say that this was a banal event. On the contrary. But I would like people to see beyond it. The statute that Romania obtained in 2004 with great effort brings such events.

 

This NATO and EU member statute cam result in development. This means another kind of attention from the investors, another kind of risk evaluation from the banks, another statute for the Romanians that want to travel, to study and to work abroad. This is what we should think about when we ask ourselves about the benefits and their management. Because it is our fault if we don’t obtain them. However, this is not the perspective from which to analyze a summit. The organizers of such events have left a good impression about themselves. They represent states with insufficient infrastructures, with modern security systems and with real stability from all the points of view. When a country becomes a NATO or EU member that country becomes a partner that can organize something as big as a Summit.

 

It would be very good for Bucharest to organize all kinds of such events in the years that will come. And it will probably happen this way. Actually, the Parliament’s Palace has hosted other very important events in the past as well: The Crans Montana Forum (1994), the World Congress of the Inerparliamentary Union (1995), the Francophone Sommet (2006). This is how we will get in the political Formula 1 circuit like all the great capitals of the world where this kind of reunions happen so often that they don’t represent something special anymore. The real problems and the real benefits of the current position of Romania are to be analyzed without taking into consideration this kind of events.