In a year defined by uncertainty, dialogue matters more than ever. On November 18, Bucharest will host the Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest, the first major edition of the international policy and business platform to take place in Central and Southeastern Europe.

Established as one of Europe’s leading arenas for ideas and decision-making, the Delphi Economic Forum brings together political, corporate, and academic leaders to debate the issues shaping the continent’s future – from competitiveness and digital transformation to energy and sustainability.

Its arrival in Bucharest signals more than an expansion of geography. It’s a statement about the region’s growing strategic relevance, and about Romania’s place in the conversations that define Europe’s next decade.

Romania Insider spoke with Tereza Tranakas, CEO of Oxygen, the Forum’s strategic partner in Romania, about why this moment matters and what kind of dialogue the region truly needs.

What makes this edition significant, beyond the prestige of the Delphi Economic Forum brand?

Timing and geography.

This part of Europe has become critical to the continent’s balance – politically, economically, and energetically. The Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest happens at a moment when the region’s voice needs to be heard, not only in Brussels, but in global boardrooms.

We’ll see European policymakers, regional CEOs, investors and regulators at the same table discussing how we adapt to fiscal and energy pressures, the pace of digital transformation, and what competitiveness means in 2026 and beyond.

For executives, that proximity to insight is the real value.

Many would say Romania has long been part of the European dialogue. What makes this different?

The Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest is about sparking and fostering the dialogue. It signals that Romania is a contributor to Europe’s agenda, especially around energy transition, digital transformation and investment stability.

When leaders from government, finance, energy, infrastructure and tech gather in Bucharest to debate these issues, it reshapes how the region is perceived, and how we perceive ourselves.

How do you read the current business environment in this region and how is that influencing the agenda?

We’re facing a transition period – inflation, fiscal pressures, a contracting workforce, and geopolitical instability all at once. Yet amid the turbulence, the fundamentals remain strong: investor interest, technological innovation and an evolving ESG mindset. The Forum captures exactly that tension, between pressure and potential.

With nearly two decades of experience as one of Romania’s top integrated communications agencies, Oxygen brings a layer of strategic depth to the Forum’s local dialogue. For the Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest, the agency acts as a connector between the corporate and institutional worlds, helping ensure that Romania’s voice in the European conversation is both credible and coherent.

What made Oxygen decide to partner with the Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest? And how does this collaboration reflect the agency’s strategic agenda?

It fits the direction in which the industry – and we as an agency – are evolving. Communication is not isolated from policy, economics, or technology. Our clients make decisions within that complexity every day, and we are part of that conversation.

The Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest is one of the few spaces where this intersection becomes tangible: government, business, and civil society thinking together about competitiveness and stability.

For us, being part of it is a commitment to relevance. It aligns with our belief that agencies must move from being amplifiers of messages to curators of understanding.

If you could distill one takeaway for leaders looking at the region right now, what would it be?

That opportunity will increasingly come from shared intelligence. No single sector, government or company can navigate what’s next alone. That’s what makes platforms like the Delphi Economic Forum Bucharest useful: they create the connective tissue between insight and action.

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*This interview was published by Romania Insider for Oxygen.