Romania has two big challenges, namely its dependence on the European Union for financing and strategy, and the country’s elites lack of confidence in themselves, according to American geopolitical analyst George Friedman.

Romania’s big advantage is the big internal market and the country should also try to expand its businesses in Ukraine, the Balkans, and the eastern Mediterranean region, Friedman said in a business conference in Bucharest, according to local News.ro.

Friedman sees Romania as an essential country in the region due to its position at the intersection of many important areas such as Middle East, the European Union, Russia, and the Balkans.

George Friedman is one of the best-known geopolitical consultants. He founded the private intelligence publishing and consulting firm Stratfor, in 1996, and, in May 2015, retired from Stratfor to launch the online publication Geopolitical Futures.

He is familiar with the situation in Eastern Europe, which he has visited on several occasions in recent years. Friedman was born in Budapest in a Jewish family, who immigrated to the US.

George Friedman, Stratfor: If Romania won’t defend itself, no one will

editor@romania-insider.com