International adoption of Romanian children and Romania’s admission to the European Union (1990-2007)

The adoption of Romanian children abroad, which began under Ceauşescu and continued until the 2000s, has constituted a significant issue for Romania’s positioning in Europe. The period of negotiation of the country’s admission to the European Union constitutes a kind of paroxysm of the phenomenon. The article is a contribution to the history of representations, to the history of international relationships, and to the very recent history of Europe. Carried out from institutional, press, and oral sources, the survey demonstrates how international adoption, as a phenomenon of transnational society, has played a foreground part in anchoring Romania in Europe. Indeed, the issue crystallizes most European questions regarding Romania’s capacity to integrate in the EU in terms of public policy, stabilization of its internal functioning, and protection of the most vulnerable.