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93-527: The Conservative Party (PC) stated that it promoted tradition, family, social solidarity, European integration , and a nationalism without chauvinism. It claimed the heritage of the historical Romanian Conservative Party , one of the two main political forces in Romania before the First World War . There was no direct, uninterrupted link between the two parties—the historical Conservative Party

186-528: A United States of Europe . The same speech however contains remarks, less-often quoted, which make it clear that Churchill did not initially see Britain as being part of this United States of Europe: We British have our own Commonwealth of Nations   ... And why should there not be a European group which could give a sense of enlarged patriotism and common citizenship to the distracted peoples of this turbulent and mighty continent and why should it not take its rightful place with other great groupings in shaping

279-483: A "United States of Europe" in 1946 being a notable example. This period saw the formation of theories around European integration, categorizing into proto-integration, explaining integration, analyzing governance, and constructing the EU, reflecting a shift from viewing European integration as a unique process, to incorporating broader international relations and comparative politics theories. Citizens' organizations have played

372-611: A 1929 speech by saying that "the United States of Europe will represent, even without Russia, a power strong enough to advance, up to a satisfactory point, the prosperity of the other continents as well". Between the two world wars , the Polish statesman Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) envisaged the idea of a European federation that he called Międzymorze ("Intersea" or "Between-seas"), known in English as Intermarium , which

465-674: A Europe united along communist principles. Among liberal-democratic parties, the French centre-left undertook several initiatives to group like-minded parties from the European states. In 1927, the French mathematician and politician Émile Borel , a leader of the centre-left Radical Party and the founder of the Radical International, set up a French Committee for European Cooperation, and a further twenty countries set up equivalent committees. However, it remained an élite venture:

558-524: A federal Europe in his Ventotene Manifesto , and Paul Valéry envisioning European civilization for unity. State sovereignty was an issue for federalists who hoped political organizations at higher regional level would solve the issue. A representative scholar of functionalism was David Mitrany , who also saw states and their sovereignty as a core problem and believed that one should restrain states to prevent future wars. However, Mitrany disagreed with regional integration as he viewed it as mere replication of

651-558: A million informers for a country with a population of 22 million by 1985. The Securitate under Nicolae Ceaușescu was one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world, responsible for the arrests, torture , and deaths of thousands of people. Following the Romanian Revolution in 1989, the new authorities assigned the various intelligence tasks of the Securitate to new institutions. The General Directorate for

744-406: A range of prestigious figures. Many eminent economists, aware that the economic race-to-the-bottom between states was creating ever-greater instability, supported the view: these included John Maynard Keynes . The French political scientist and economist Bertrand Jouvenel remembered a widespread mood after 1924 calling for a "harmonisation of national interests along the lines of European union, for

837-664: A role in advocating further European integration, exemplified by the Union of European Federalists and the European Movement International . Various agreements and memberships demonstrate the web of relations and commitments between European countries, showing the multi-layered nature of integration. In antiquity, the Roman Empire brought about integration of multiple European and Mediterranean territories. The numerous subsequent claims of succession of

930-596: A treaty signed in The Hague on 3 February 1958. A Benelux Parliament was created in 1955. The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) can be seen as a forerunner of the Benelux. BLEU was created by the treaty signed on 25 July 1921. It established a single market between both countries, while setting the Belgian franc and Luxembourgian franc at a fixed parity. Several regional organisations have been founded in

1023-622: A variety of restrictions preventing foreigners from residing with ordinary citizens, keeping them from gaining access to foreign embassy compounds and requesting asylum, and requiring them to report any contact with foreigners to the Securitate within twenty-four hours. Directorate IV was responsible for similar counterespionage functions within the armed forces, and its primary mission was identifying and neutralizing Soviet penetrations. The Directorate for Foreign Intelligence conducted Romania's espionage operations in other countries, such as those of Western Europe. Among those operations sanctioned by

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1116-542: Is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. The European Federalist Party is a pro-European , pan-European and federalist political party which advocates further integration of the EU and the establishment of a Federal Europe. Its aim is to gather all Europeans to promote European federalism and to participate in all elections all over Europe. It has national sections in 15 countries. Volt Europa

1209-428: Is a pan-European and European federalist political movement that also serves as the pan-European structure for subsidiary parties in EU member states. It is present in 29 countries and participates in elections all over the EU on the local, national and European level. There are various agreements with overlapping membership. Several countries take part in a larger number of agreements than others. All member states of

1302-462: Is difficult to understand the origins and the role of the Securitate". Initially, many of the agents of the Securitate were former Royal Security Police (named General Directorate of Safety Police — Direcția Generală a Poliției de Siguranță in Romanian) members. However, before long, Pantiușa ordered anyone who had served the monarchy's police in any capacity arrested, and in the places of

1395-1072: The Black Sea region since the fall of the Soviet Union, such as: The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) aims to ensure peace, stability and prosperity by encouraging friendly and good-neighbourly relations among the 12 state members, located mainly in the Black Sea region. It was created on 25 June 1992 in Istanbul, and entered into force on 1 May 1999. The 11 founding members were Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Serbia (then Serbia and Montenegro) joined in April 2004. Securitate The Department of State Security ( Romanian : Departamentul Securității Statului ), commonly known as

1488-706: The Comintern (1919), to the Labour and Socialist International (1921) to the Radical and Democratic Entente of centre-left progressive parties (1924), to the Green International of farmers' parties (1923), to the centre-right International Secretariat of Democratic Parties inspired by Christianity (1925). While the remit of these international bodies was global, the predominance of political parties from Europe meant that they facilitated interaction between

1581-731: The East German Stasi was even more ubiquitous than the Securitate; counting informers, the Stasi had one spy for every 6.5 East Germans. During the period 1980–1989, the Securitate recruited over 200,000 informants, the largest number in its history, and about a third of the estimated number of 650,000 collaborators dating back to 1948; in 1989 alone, more than 25,000 recruitments were carried out. According to CNSAS  [ ro ] data, of those 200,000 new recruits, 158,000 were men. About 30,200 had higher education and more than 4,300 were students. Most collaborators came from

1674-832: The European Council approved the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) following a communication from the European Commission . The EUSBSR was the first macro-regional strategy in Europe. The Strategy aims to reinforce cooperation within the Baltic Sea Region, to address challenges together, and to promote balanced development in the Region. The Strategy contributes to major EU policies, including Europe 2020 , and reinforces integration within

1767-664: The European Union and its policies. The history of European integration is marked by the Roman Empire 's consolidation of European and Mediterranean territories, which set a precedent for the notion of a unified Europe. This idea was echoed through attempts at unity, such as the Holy Roman Empire , the Hanseatic League , and the Napoleonic Empire . The devastation of World War I reignited

1860-669: The National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (abbreviated CNSAS , for Consiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității ) "is the authority that administrates the archives of the former communist secret services in Romania and develops educational programs and exhibitions with the aim of preserving the memories of victims of the communist regime." The General Directorate for Technical Operations (Direcția Generală de Tehnică Operativă — DGTO)

1953-683: The New Order , the Greater Germanic Reich and Generalplan Ost - did not survive the war. At the end of World War II, the continental political climate favoured unity in democratic European countries, seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent. In a speech delivered on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zürich in Switzerland, Winston Churchill postulated

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2046-751: The Romanian National Unity Party was absorbed into the Conservative Party. On 3 December 2006, the party quit the governing coalition and went into opposition. It continued to perform poorly in opinion polls and faced the prospect of being unlikely to enter parliament at the 2008 general election unless it entered into another pact with either the PSD or the PNL. On 17 April 2008, the Social Democratic Party and

2139-598: The Romanian Police . Directorate V were bodyguards for important governmental officials. Colonel Dumitru Burlan was the chief of bodyguards of President Nicolae Ceaușescu , and served once as his stand-in (double), but was not able to protect Ceaușescu from arrest and execution during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. In the 1980s under the rule of the Romanian Communist Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu , Romania's secret police

2232-632: The Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Directorate for Security Troops was disbanded and replaced first by the Guard and Order Troops ( Trupele de Pază și Ordine ), and in July 1990 by the Gendarmerie . The Directorate for Militia controlled Romania's Miliția , the standard police force, which carried out regular policing tasks such as traffic control, public order, etc. In 1990 it was replaced by

2325-704: The Securitate ( pronounced [sekuriˈtate] , lit.   ' Security ' ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania . It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the Siguranța with help and direction from the Soviet MGB . The Securitate was, in proportion to Romania's population, one of the largest secret police forces in the Eastern bloc . The first budget of

2418-509: The "local barons" he had struggled to defeat. In the 2004 parliamentary election the PUR again formed an electoral alliance with the PSD. This was a surprising move, as the PUR had strongly attacked the PSD in the June local elections. However, it ensured that the PUR would be able to enter the parliament on the coattails of the much larger party. The elections gave a slight parliamentary plurality to

2511-437: The 1930s and unable to put their ideas into practice, many would find themselves in power in the 1940s and 1950s, and better-placed to put into effect their earlier remedies against economic and political crisis. During World War II (1939–1945) Nazi Germany came to dominate - directly or indirectly - much of Europe at various times. The plans for German-oriented political, social, and economic integration of Europe - such as

2604-419: The 1960s. Intergovernmentalism and later, Liberal Intergovernmentalism , developed in the 1980s by Andrew Moravcsik focus on governmental actors' impacts that are enhanced by supranational institutions but not restrained from them. The important debate between neofunctionalism and (liberal) intergovernmentalism still remains central in understanding the development and setbacks of the European integration. As

2697-544: The Balkans as well as the Latin Monetary Union . Following the catastrophe of the First World War of 1914–1918, thinkers and visionaries from a range of political traditions again began to float the idea of a politically unified Europe. In the early 1920s a range of international organisations were founded (or re-founded) to help like-minded political parties to coordinate their activities. These ranged from

2790-501: The Baltic Sea States (CBSS) was founded in 1992 to promote intergovernmental cooperation among Baltic Sea countries in questions concerning economy, civil society development, human rights issues, and nuclear and radiation safety. It has 12 members including Denmark , Estonia , Finland , Germany , Iceland (since 1995), Latvia , Lithuania , Norway , Poland , Russia , Sweden and the European Commission . In 2009

2883-595: The Communist government were industrial espionage to obtain nuclear technology, and plots to assassinate dissidents, such as Matei Pavel Haiducu was tasked with, though he informed French authorities, faking the assassinations before defecting to France. The Directorate for Penitentiaries operated Romania's prisons, which were notorious for their horrendous conditions. Prisoners were routinely beaten, denied medical attention, had their mail taken away from them, and sometimes even administered lethal doses of poison. Some of

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2976-646: The Conservative Party announced they would form a political alliance for the 2008 local election . In the 2008 legislative election , the Conservative Party also took part in an alliance with PSD, and won 1 seat in the Senate and 4 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Before that, the Conservatives had proposed an alliance with the Greater Romania Party (PRM). The PRM leader emphatically rejected

3069-627: The Danish autonomous territories of Faroe Islands since 1 January 1966. The following political and/or economic organisations have been in the Baltic region in the post-modern era : The Baltic Assembly aims to promote co-operation between the parliaments of the Baltic states , namely the Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The organisation was planned in Vilnius on 1 December 1990, and

3162-412: The Directorate for Security Troops as there were in the regular army . They adhered to stricter discipline than in the regular military, but were rewarded with special treatment and enjoyed far superior living conditions compared to their countrymen. They guarded television and radio stations, as well as PCR buildings. In the event of a coup , they would have been called in to protect the regime. After

3255-604: The EU is and how it operates. For example, new theory multi-level governance (MLG) was developed to understand the workings and development of the EU. The third phase of integration theory marked a return of International Relations theory with the rise of critical and constructivist approaches in the 1990s. Perspectives from social constructivists, post-structuralists, critical theories, feminist theories are incorporated in integration theories to conceptualize European integration process of widening and deepening. Various federalist organisations have been created over time supporting

3348-704: The European Union (EU) are members of the: have organizations that are members of the: have organisations that are members, associated partners or observers of the are located in the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) 21 states are part of the Eurozone or in ERM II without Euro opt-out. These are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,

3441-556: The Jackal to assassinate Pacepa. Forced entry into homes and offices and the planting of microphones was another tactic the Securitate used to extract information from the general population. Telephone conversations were routinely monitored , and all internal and international fax and telex communications were intercepted. In August 1977, when the Jiu Valley coal miners' unions went on strike , several leaders died prematurely, and it

3534-483: The League's request, Briand presented a Memorandum on the organisation of a system of European Federal Union . The next year the future French prime minister Édouard Herriot published his book The United States of Europe . Indeed, a template for such a system already existed, in the form of the 1921 Belgian and Luxembourgish customs and monetary union. Support for the proposals by the French centre-left came from

3627-544: The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. They are all members of or take part in: [REDACTED] Some agreements that are mostly related to countries of the European continent, are also valid in territories outside the continent. Not listed below are agreements if their scope is beyond geographic Europe only because the agreement includes: List: Several regional integration efforts have effectively promoted intergovernmental cooperation and reduced

3720-634: The PSD-PUR coalition, while the new president Traian Băsescu came from the other major competing coalition, the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), formed by the PNL and Democratic Party (PD). This situation threatened a major political crisis, the President being unwilling to appoint a prime minister from the slightly larger parliamentary bloc, and the DA candidate for prime minister liable not to be ratified by

3813-497: The PUR obtained 6% of the votes and, among others, managed to win in one important city, Bacău . During this election, the party strongly attacked the PSD and its alleged system of "local barons". After the surprising alliance of PUR with PSD, Romeo Stavarache , the mayor of Bacău, switched to the National Liberal Party (PNL) after a disagreement with Voiculescu, saying that he found it impossible to cooperate with

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3906-679: The Parliament, which would have resulted in new parliamentary elections. Although initial talks assured the support of PUR for the Justice and Truth, without them joining the government, the election of PSD members Adrian Năstase and Nicolae Văcăroiu as Heads of Chambers in the Romanian Parliament, prompted the members of DA to invite PUR to join the government. Although he had been the main advocate of this solution and had strongly pleaded for it, president Băsescu later qualified

3999-703: The Region. Since the end of the First World War the following unions have been set in the Low Countries region: The Benelux is an economic and political union between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. On 5 September 1944, a treaty establishing the Benelux Customs Union was signed. It entered into force in 1948, and ceased to exist on 1 November 1960, when it was replaced by the Benelux Economic Union after

4092-577: The Roman Empire , even the iterations of the Classical Empire and its ancient peoples, have occasionally been reinterpreted in the light of post-1950 European integration as providing inspiration and historical precedents. Important examples include the Holy Roman Empire , the Hanseatic League , the Peace of Westphalia , the Napoleonic Empire , and the unification of Germany , Italy , and

4185-431: The Romanian mass media, either through his foundation or through his family. The party generally supported the interests of the Romanian middle class and especially those of small and middle-size business owners, and performed better electorally at a local level than at a national level. The PUR formed a coalition with the PDSR (now the Social Democratic Party ), which won the 2000 general election . The PUR took part in

4278-564: The Royal Security Policemen, he hired ardent members of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), to ensure total loyalty within the organization. Several Securitate operatives were killed in action, especially in the early 1950s. As listed by the internal news bulletin on the occasion of Securitate's twentieth anniversary, in 1968, these included major Constantin Vieru, senior lieutenant Ștefan Vămanu, lieutenant Iosif Sipoș, sub-lieutenant Vasile Costan, platoon leader Constantin Apăvăloaie and corporal Alexandru Belate. Furthermore, lieutenant Ionel Jora

4371-399: The Securitate in 1948 stipulated a number of 4,641 positions, of which 3,549 were filled by February 1949: 64% were workers, 4% peasants , 28% clerks, 2% persons of unspecified origin, and 2% intellectuals . By 1951, the Securitate's staff had increased fivefold, while in January 1956, the Securitate had 25,468 employees. At its height, the Securitate employed some 11,000 agents and had half

4464-486: The Security of the People (Romanian initials: DGSP, but more commonly just called the Securitate) was officially founded on 30 August 1948, by Decree 221/30 of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly . However, it had precursors going back to August 1944, following the coup d'état of 23 August . Its stated purpose was to "defend democratic conquests and guarantee the safety of the Romanian People's Republic against both internal and external enemies." The Securitate

4557-480: The adherents of a given ideology across European borders. Within each political tradition, voices emerged advocating not merely the cooperation of various national parties, but the pursuit of political institutions at the European level. One of the first to articulate this view was Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi , who outlined a conservative vision of European unity in his Pan-Europa manifesto (1923). The First Paneuropean Congress took place in Vienna in 1926, and

4650-545: The alliance. On 19 June 2015, the Conservative Party merged with the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) to form the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) party. Notes : National Union of the Centre (UNC) members: PDAR , MER , and PUR. Social Democratic Pole of Romania members: PDSR (59 senators and 139 deputies), PSDR (2 senators and 10 deputies), and PUR (4 senators and 6 deputies). National Union PSD+PUR members: PSD (46 senators and 113 deputies) and PUR (11 senators and 19 deputies). Soon after

4743-445: The association possessed 8000 members by the time of the 1929 Wall Street Crash . They envisaged a specifically Christian, and by implication Catholic, Europe. The British civil-servant and future Conservative minister Arthur Salter published a book advocating The United States of Europe in 1933. In contrast the Soviet commissar (minister) Leon Trotsky raised the slogan "For a Soviet United States of Europe" in 1923, advocating

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4836-407: The concept of a unified Europe, leading to the establishment of international organizations aimed at political coordination across Europe. The interwar period saw politicians such as Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi and Aristide Briand advocating for European unity, albeit with differing visions. Post-World War II Europe saw a significant push towards integration, with Winston Churchill 's call for

4929-563: The country's population with vicious rumors (such as supposed contacts with Western intelligence agencies), machinations, frameups, public denunciations, encouraging conflict between segments of the population, public humiliation of dissidents, toughened censorship and the repression of even the smallest gestures of independence by intellectuals. Often the term "intellectual" was used by the Securitate to describe dissidents who had higher education qualifications, such as college and university students, writers, directors, and scientists, who opposed

5022-418: The deputy directorships. Wilhelm Einhorn was the first Securitate secretary. As Vladimir Tismăneanu says, "If one does not grasp the role of political thugs such as the Soviet spies Pintilie Bondarenko (Pantiușa) and Alexandru Nikolski in the exercise of terror in Romania during the most horrible Stalinist period, and their personal connections with Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and members of his entourage, it

5115-432: The destinies of men?   ... France and Germany must take the lead together. Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America[,] and I trust Soviet Russia—for then indeed all would be well—must be the friends and sponsors of the new Europe and must champion its right to live and shine. We must build a kind of United States of Europe. In this way only, will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain

5208-438: The education area, approximately 8,500, and in second place were members of the clergy, almost 4,200. More than 3,600 doctors and nurses were informants, and 800 came from the legal professions. In the arts sector, over 1,000 recruits included 110 actors, 50 directors, 120 artists, 410 instrumentalists, 210 painters, and 55 sculptors. Less than 5% of the number of new informants (about 8,500) came from rural areas. After Ceaușescu

5301-569: The elections, PUR broke the alliance and switched sides, joining Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). Alliance PSD+PC members: PSD (48 senators and 110 deputies) and PC (1 senator and 4 deputies). USL was an alliance of two smaller alliances: Centre Left Alliance (between PSD and UNPR ) and Centre Right Alliance (between PNL and PC). Centre Left Alliance : PSD (58 senators and 149 deputies) and UNPR (5 senators and 10 deputies); Centre Right Alliance : PNL (51 senators and 101 deputies) and PC (8 senators and 13 deputies). ALDE

5394-472: The empirical world has changed, so have the theories and thus the understanding of European Integration. The second generation of integration theorists focused on the importance of institutions and their impacts on both integration process and European governance development. The second phase brought in perspectives from comparative politics in addition to traditional International Relations theoretical references. Studies attempted to understand what kind of polity

5487-547: The entire division was reorganized and was charged with rooting out dissent in the PCR. A top secret division of this Directorate was formed from forces loyal personally to Ceaușescu and charged with monitoring the Securitate itself. It acted almost as a Securitate for the Securitate, and was responsible for bugging the phones of other Securitate officers and PCR officials to ensure total loyalty. The National Commission for Visas and Passports controlled all travel and immigration in and out of Romania. In effect, traveling abroad

5580-410: The government under the condition of having the opportunity to promote the interests of its electorate. A Ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises was thus formed, under the leadership of a PUR representative. After two years, the senior partner of the coalition, the PDSR, decided to suppress this Ministry, and consequently the PUR withdrew from the government. In the local elections of June 2004,

5673-459: The harshest prisons were those at Aiud , Gherla , Pitești , Râmnicu Sarat , and Sighet , as well as the forced labor camps along the Danube–Black Sea Canal and at Periprava . From 1948 to 1955, the penitentiaries operated by this Directorate were grouped into 4 categories: Gradually, a large number of penal colonies and labor camps were established as a form of political detention for administrative detainees and became an integral part of

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5766-497: The idea of a federal Europe. These include the Union of European Federalists , the Young European Federalists , the European Movement International , the European Federalist Party , and Volt Europa . The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a European non-governmental organisation, campaigning for a Federal Europe. It consists of 20 constituent organisations and it has been active at the European, national and local levels for more than 50 years. The European Movement International

5859-443: The largest committee, the French one, possessed fewer than six-hundred members, two-thirds of them parliamentarians. Two centre-left French prime ministers went further. In 1929 Aristide Briand gave a speech in the presence of the League of Nations Assembly in which he proposed the idea of a federation of European nations based on solidarity and in the pursuit of economic prosperity and political and social co-operation. In 1930, at

5952-400: The nation-states was essential for the first theories. Federalism and functionalism proposed the containment of the nation-state, while transactionalism sought to theorise the conditions for the stabilisation of the nation-state system. Early federalism was more like a political movement calling for European federation by various political actors, for example, Altiero Spinelli calling for

6045-409: The offer, as it was presumed that PRM would be absorbed by the Conservative Party. Similarly, the party ran in the 2009 European election in a coalition with the PSD, called National Union PSD+PC , and won 1 MEP seat ( George Sabin Cutaș ). On 5 February 2011, the PC joined the Social Liberal Union (USL) along with the PSD and PNL. The USL dissolved on 25 February 2014 upon the exit of the PNL from

6138-542: The parliaments and governments of the Nordic countries created in February 1953. It includes the states of Denmark , Finland , Iceland , Norway and Sweden , and their autonomous territories ( Greenland , Faroe Islands and Åland ). The Nordic Passport Union , created in 1954 but implemented on 1 May 1958, establishes free movement across borders without passports for the countries' citizens. It comprises Denmark, Sweden and Norway as foundational states; further, it includes Finland and Iceland since 24 September 1965, and

6231-469: The party organised a march "for family values " as a reaction to Bucharest Pride . The party was opposed to the legalisation of same-sex marriage , even though Octavian Petrovici, a vice-president of the party's Bucharest division, stated in 2006 that the party "respects the choice" of same-sex couples. The party also supported the introduction of compulsory religious education in Romanian schools (currently, such classes are optional). On 12 February 2006,

6324-846: The penitentiary system. The most important ones were along the Danube–Black Sea Canal , the Brăila Pond , and the lead mines in northern Romania. Specific locations included: Arad, Baia Mare, Baia Sprie, Bârcea Mare, Bicaz, Borzești, Brad, Brâncovenești, CRM Bucharest, Buzău, Capu Midia, Castelu, Cavnic, Câmpulung, Cernavodă, Chilia Constanța, Chirnogi, Crâscior, Culmea, Deduleşti, Doicești, Domnești, Dorobanțu, Dudu, Fântânele, Fundulea, Galeșu, Giurgeni, Ghencea, Iași, Ițcani, Km. 31, Lucăcești, Mărculești, Mogoșoaia, Nistru, Onești, Onești Baraj, Peninsula/Valea Neagră, Periprava , Periș, Poarta Albă, Roșia Montană, Roșia Pipera, Roznov, Salcia, Grădina, Băndoiu, Strâmba, Stoeneşti, Piatra-Frecăței, Saligny, Sibiu, Simeria, Slatina, Spanțov, Tătaru, Târnăveni, Toporu, Vlădeni, Zlatna. The Directorate for Internal Security

6417-448: The philosophy of the Romanian Communist Party. Assassinations were also used to silence dissent, such as the attempt to kill high-ranking defector Ion Mihai Pacepa , who received two death sentences from Romania in 1978, and on whose head Ceaușescu decreed a bounty of two million US dollars . Yasser Arafat and Muammar al-Gaddafi each added one more million dollars to the reward. In the 1980s, Securitate officials allegedly hired Carlos

6510-415: The possibility of regional armed conflict. Other initiatives have removed barriers to free trade in European regions, and increased the free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across national borders. Since the end of the Second World War, the following organisations have been established in the Nordic region : The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers is a co-operation forum for

6603-436: The purpose of common prosperity". The Spanish philosopher and politician, Ortega y Gasset , expressed a position shared by many within Republican Spain : "European unity is no fantasy, but reality itself; and the fantasy is precisely the opposite: the belief that France, Germany, Italy or Spain are substantive & independent realities." Eleftherios Venizelos , Prime Minister of Greece , outlined his government's support in

6696-499: The same annual pool of conscripts that the armed services used. The police performed routine law enforcement functions including traffic control and issuance of internal identification cards to citizens. Organized in the late 1940s to defend the new regime, in 1989 the security troops had 20,000 soldiers. They were an elite, specially trained paramilitary force organized like motorized rifle (infantry) units equipped with small arms, artillery, and armored personnel carriers, but their mission

6789-569: The simple joys and hopes which make life worth living. European integration scholars Thomas Diez and Antje Wiener identify the general tendencies in the development of European integration theory and suggest to divide theories of integration into three broad phases, which are preceded by a normative proto-integration theory period. There's a gradual shift from theories studying European integration as sui generis towards new approaches that incorporate theories of International Relations and Comparative politics. The question of how to avoid wars between

6882-400: The solution as "immoral". In return, the conservatives labelled the President as a "hypocrite". Voiculescu has admitted having been a collaborator with the Securitate , Romania's communist-era internal intelligence service, after information to this effect was released publicly by Romania's National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives. He has actively denied that his collaboration

6975-730: The spillover from the European Coal and Steel Community to the European Economic Community established in the 1957 Treaties of Rome. Transfers of loyalties from the national level to the supranational level is expected to occur as integration progresses. The other big influential theory in Integration Studies is Intergovernmentalism , advanced by Stanley Hoffmann after the Empty Chair Crisis by French President Charles De Gaulle in

7068-649: The state-model. Transactionalism, on the other hand, sees increased cross-border exchanges as promoting regional integration so that the risk of war is reduced. European integration theory initially focused on explaining integration process of supranational institution-building. One of the most influential theories of European integration is neofunctionalism , influenced by functionalist ideas, developed by Ernst B. Haas (1958) and further investigated by Leon Lindberg (1963). This theory focuses on spillovers of integration, where well-integrated and interdependent areas led to more integration. Neofunctionalism well captures

7161-403: The target being, for example, an institute, a hospital, a school, or a company; case dossier ( dosar de problemă ), the targets being former political prisoners, former Iron Guard members, religious organizations, etc.; and element dossier ( dosar de mediu ), targeting writers, priests, etc. In the 1980s, the Securitate launched a massive campaign to stamp out dissent in Romania , manipulating

7254-430: The three nations agreed to its structure and rules on 13 June 1994. The Baltic Free Trade Area (BAFTA) was a trade agreement between Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. It was signed on 13 September 1993 and came into force on 1 April 1994. The agreement was later extended to apply also to agricultural products, effective from 1 January 1997. BAFTA ceased to exist when its members joined the EU on 1 May 2004. The Council of

7347-489: Was a Polish-oriented version of Mitteleuropa . The Great Depression , the rise of fascism and communism and subsequently World War II prevented the inter-war movements from gaining further support: between 1933 and 1936 most of Europe's remaining democracies became dictatorships, and Ortega's Spain and Venizelos's Greece had both plunged into civil war. But although the social-democratic, liberal or Christian-democratic supporters of European unity were out of power during

7440-615: Was a member of PSD , but endorsed by an alliance made of PSD , UNPR , and PC. Notes : Alliance PSD+PC members: PSD (10 MEPs) and PC. Social Democratic Union (USD) members: PSD (12 MEPs), PC, and UNPR (2 MEPs). [REDACTED] Conservatism portal European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe , or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through

7533-570: Was all but impossible for anyone but highly placed Party officials, and any ordinary Romanian who applied for a passport was immediately placed under surveillance. Many Jews and ethnic Germans were given passports and exit visas through tacit agreements with the Israeli and West German governments. The Directorate for Security Troops acted as a 20,000-strong paramilitary force for the government, equipped with artillery and armoured personnel carriers . The security troops selected new recruits from

7626-714: Was an integral part of the Securitate' s activities. Established with the assistance of the KGB in the mid-1950s, the DGTO monitored all voice and electronic communications in the country. The DGTO intercepted all telephone, telegraph, and telex communications coming into and going out of the country. It secretly implanted microphones in public buildings and private residences to record ordinary conversations among citizens. The Directorate for Counterespionage conducted surveillance against foreigners—Soviet nationals in particular—to monitor or impede their contacts with Romanians. It enforced

7719-703: Was considerably different. The security troops were directly responsible through the Minister of the Interior to Ceaușescu. They guarded important installations including PCR county and central office buildings and radio and television stations. The Ceaușescu regime presumably could call the security troops into action as a private army to defend itself against a military coup d'état or other domestic challenges and to suppress antiregime riots, demonstrations, or strikes. To ensure total loyalty amongst these crack troops, there were five times as many political officers in

7812-408: Was created in June 2015 from a merger of PLR (a splinter of PNL ) and PC. Notes : Ion Iliescu was a member of PDSR , but endorsed by Social Democratic Pole of Romania (same acronym as the main party: PDSR), an alliance made of PDSR , PSDR , and PC. Adrian Năstase was a member of PSD , but endorsed by National Union PSD+PUR , an alliance made of PSD and PC. Victor Ponta

7905-502: Was created with the help of SMERSH , the NKVD counter-intelligence unit. The SMERSH operation in Romania, called Brigada Mobilă ("The Mobile Brigade"), was led until 1948 by NKVD colonel Alexandru Nicolschi . The first Director of the Securitate was NKVD general Gheorghe Pintilie (born Panteleymon Bondarenko , nicknamed "Pantiușa"). Alexandru Nicolschi (by then a general) and another Soviet officer, Major General Vladimir Mazuru , held

7998-563: Was dissolved after World War I—but the modern party sustained and embraced the values of the historical one. The Conservative Party was founded as the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR) on 18 December 1991 and was for a time a member of the Humanist International . It changed its name in 2005 to reflect a shift in its ideology from centrist politics to more conservative, right-wing politics . The party

8091-481: Was founded by former well known Securitatea collaborator and informer Dan Voiculescu , a post-1989 wealthy businessman who formally gave control of his companies to relatives. Voiculescu was the founder and former owner of an important media chain comprising among others the top-ranking TV channel Antena 1 and the newspapers Jurnalul Naţional and Gazeta Sporturilor . According to CNA (the state agency for broadcast licensing), he retains significant influence in

8184-591: Was harmful to any individual. He was initially named to be a Vice Premier in the government of Prime Minister of Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu but was ultimately not allowed to take the position because of his involvement with the former intelligence service. On 7 May 2005 the party adopted the name Conservative Party to reflect a change of doctrine from centrism to a more conservative stance. However, its ideology remained fluid, since it supported certain leftist positions, such as increasing corporate taxation. In 2005,

8277-494: Was killed by the son of a suspect he had apprehended. The Securitate surveillance took place in different ways: general intelligence surveillance ( supraveghere informativă generală , abbreviated "S.I.G."); priority intelligence surveillance ( supraveghere informativă prioritară , abbreviated "S.I.P."); clearance file ( mapă de verificare , abbreviated "M.V."); individual surveillance dossier ( dosar de urmărire individuală , abbreviated "D.U.I."); target dossier ( dosar de obiectiv ),

8370-402: Was later discovered that Securitate doctors had subjected them to five-minute chest X-rays in an attempt to have them develop cancer. After birth rates fell, Securitate agents were placed in gynecological wards while regular pregnancy tests were made mandatory for women of child-bearing age, with severe penalties for anyone who was found to have terminated a pregnancy. The Securitate's presence

8463-567: Was originally given the task of monitoring the activities going on in the PCR. But after Ion Mihai Pacepa's defection in 1978 and his exposing details of the Ceaușescu regime, such as the collaboration with Arab radical groups, massive espionage on American industry targets and elaborate efforts to rally Western political support, international infiltration and espionage in the Securitate only increased, much to Ceaușescu's anger. In order to solve this problem

8556-616: Was ousted, the new authorities replaced the Securitate with a few special and secret services like the SRI ( Romanian Intelligence Service ) (with internal tasks such as counterespionage), the SIE ( Foreign Intelligence Service ), the SPP ( Protection and Guard Service ) (the former Directorate V), the STS ( Special Telecommunications Service ) (the former General Directorate for Technical Operations), etc. Today,

8649-575: Was so ubiquitous that it was believed one out of four Romanians was an informer. In truth, the Securitate deployed one agent or informer for every 43 Romanians, which was still a high enough proportion to make it practically impossible for dissidents to organize. The regime deliberately fostered this sense of ubiquity, believing that the fear of being watched was sufficient to bend the people to Ceaușescu's will. For example, one shadow group of dissidents limited itself to only three families; any more than that would have attracted Securitate attention. In truth,

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