Romania makes its mark as a regional player

European diplomats have not been accustomed to Romania taking its own initiative on political issues, but the situation has begun to change over the last few months.

This was clear when Bucharest became one of the most vocal EU governments to advocate forwarding Serbia's accession application at the foreign ministers meeting in October.

Romanian president Traian Basescu has publicly criticised parts of Europe's security strategies and repeated his concerns to Anders Fogh Rasmusse...