Starting with yesterday, Romania is officially NATO full member. The importance and meanings of this event are familiar to all of us. For short, while under NATO umbrella, we are protected against external aggression and have place at the table where they take the most important decisions on the Continent's security and not only. Of course the present situation is much changed as compared to 7 years ago, when at Madrid we had the first attempt to reach admission in the North Atlantic Organization. NATO is also different now. The 2001, September 11 events have asked for redefining the Alliance structures and its targets. Romania can be seen as one of the beneficiaries of the changes NATO are going through. The new priorities of the global war against terrorism and Romania's position in the context have "pushed: our chances to enter the alliance. Despite it, Romanians seem to have a less intense feeling than they felt 7 years ago, that of the "NATO call". Romania is under no immediate threat, and the Balkan situation, although not ideal, is incomparably better than a few years ago. What Romanians fear most is not the neighbors, who are at least as miserable as we are, but the day of tomorrow. To Romanians, the plate on the table is surely more interesting than a US plane F - 16 flying above the Capital. It is true NATO is first of all military alliance, but joining it had also got a crucial economical dimension, although less visible. Security and prosperity are closely connected. Joining NATO will allow Romania to reach the security level that US and the other Western democracies have had for decades. The advantages of it are to be seen on short term and also from a longer perspective. The first to benefit from the NATO "effect" will probably be the Romanian gun industry and the infrastructure. The compulsory modernization of the Romanian arm will ask for an increased budget for defence for the following years. The fact itself cannot be thought of as positive, but it can have positive effects in the new context. Given Romania's financial situation and the budget levels decided by EU negotiation, a part of the necessary investment could be supported by NATO partners either directly, or by promoting offset projects, bringing new work to the internal gun industry. One of the projects of this type, although not a very successful one, is that of UK battle ship we pay for with munitions and guns produced in the country. Companies in defence production will have higher chances to strike back, as the foreign investors' interest for the field might increase. Other industries connected to the army such as telecommunications and IT will also benefit from the growth of military expenses. There I also predicted that infrastructure, especially roads and communication will attract important investments. The most unexpected fields will be effected on by getting the status of safe country and by improving infrastructure. Joining NATO can change Romanian tourism much faster than bringing Dracula to Snagov. In the same way, Romanian research can come back to life, even if only for serving fields close to defence. Adopting a clear system of rules and procedure will probably effect on administration in time. The State can get more security and more efficiently supervise if society and especially economy stick to the law. But I think nobody has got any illusions as far as the sate of bureaucracy is concerned. If we take a look at The Czech Republic, Hungary or Poland, admitted in the alliance in 1997, we can hope in Romanian things will change to the better, in terms of foreign investments. NATO and foreign investment are not necessarily in direct relation, but investors all over the world consider a series of elements defining a member state: political stability, the right to private property and the existence of market mechanisms. There is also no direct relation between entering NATO and the EU admission negotiations. The two processes are actually parallel. The NATO "brand" can be seen as confirmation that we are on the right way. But we are to stick to it.

Eduard IVASCU