Interview by Dan Cărbunaru – Director of Calea Europeană

In an interview for CaleaEuropeană.ro, Stefano Scarpetta, Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Directorate of the OECD, discussed Romania’s labour market in the context of its accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He highlighted both the progress made and the challenges that still need to be addressed.

Scarpetta emphasized that no country is perfect, but Romania has shown the right approach by recognizing existing issues, making progress, and being open to learning from other countries. “The spirit of cooperation, collaboration, and mutual learning is what makes OECD an important place to be part of,” he stated. Romania’s constructive engagement in the Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs Committees has been a key factor in advancing its accession process.

One of the major challenges discussed was Romania’s significant workforce migration. Over the past two decades, millions of Romanians have sought employment in OECD and EU member states, attracted by better working conditions and higher wages. Scarpetta noted that while international experience can be valuable, Romania must focus on improving its own working conditions, wages, and productivity to encourage skilled workers to return. “You have a huge talent pool, not only in Romania but also in other European countries,” he said, adding that economic growth and job creation are essential to reversing this trend.

The OECD official also highlighted labour market disparities, particularly in female participation and youth employment. The high proportion of young people who are neither in education, employment, nor training (NEET) is a pressing concern. He stressed the need for Romania to better integrate these individuals into the workforce to maximize its human capital.

Addressing the broader benefits of OECD membership, Scarpetta cited examples from Latin America, where initial skepticism about joining the organisation gave way to broad support. He explained that OECD membership provides access to valuable policy insights, best practices, and international dialogue, all of which can accelerate economic and social development. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time—learning from others helps speed up the process of good reforms,” he explained.

Looking to the future, Scarpetta acknowledged the multiple transformations affecting labour markets globally, including digitalization, artificial intelligence, the green transition, and demographic shifts. These changes create both challenges and opportunities, requiring adaptable policies and a workforce equipped with the necessary skills. “Policy plays an essential role, but we must also equip people to withstand shocks and grasp opportunities,” he noted.

Education and lifelong learning are central to this adaptation. While some argue that older education systems were better, the OECD official underscored the importance of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving. “If we lack foundational skills, everything else becomes more difficult,” he warned, emphasizing that education systems must evolve to meet the demands of a changing labour market.

Overall, Romania’s accession to the OECD represents a crucial step in its economic development, Scarpetta noted. While challenges remain, the country’s willingness to engage in reforms, learn from international experiences, and invest in human capital will determine the long-term success of this process.

Stefano Scarpetta has been the Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Directorate of the OECD since 2013. Stefano Scarpetta leads the work of the Organisation in a number of broad areas including Employment, Labour, Migration, Health, Skills, Gender and Tackling Inequalities and contributes to the implementation of the Secretary-General’s strategic orientations in these areas. Stefano represents the OECD in the G20 and G7 and many other high-level international fora on labour market, social, migration and health issues. Under his leadership, ELS provides continuous assistance and support to countries in the design, implementation and evaluation of polices drawing from evidence-based analyses of how policy affects different economic, labour and social outcomes. His advice has contributed to numerous policy reforms in OECD countries and beyond, and new policy thinking in areas ranging from inequalities, labour market inclusion and the future of work, social protection for all, the integration of migrants, the economics of public health and patient-centred health care.

Stefano Scarpetta, a high-profile Italian economist known for his expertise in labor market, social policy and global economics who has been director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Department at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 2013, believes that the new taxes announced by the Trump administration could have consequences on the prices of certain goods and services.

In an interview with CaleaEuropeană.ro, on the occasion of the conference entitled “Improving the quality of employment through skills development and global collaboration: a challenge for Italian companies in Romania – experiences and good practices in the light of OECD standards” organized by the Italian Embassy in Bucharest and the Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity, he stressed that a “trade war or, to some extent, an escalation of tariffs” is not beneficial for either side.

”We still need to process exactly what is the extent of the severity of the measures (n.r. announced) and it is also it will be very important to see whether there will be a reaction in the countries potentially affected by these tariffs. Certainly, I think from the work we’ve done at OECD, the trade war or, to some extent, an escalation of tariffs will not be good for GDP nor employment. In particular, will affect some sectors, those most impacted by the tariffs themselves, but also potential on the vulnerable groups, because this might also lead to increasing prices of a number of product and services. I think we still have to see how the diplomacy and the negotiations will go and hopefully avoid the introduction, but among particular, the persistence of these tariffs in different countries. They have a negative effect not only for European countries, but I think across the globe, even potentially for the OECD itself”, Scarpetta responded to a question asked by CaleaEuropeană.ro on the impact of the tariffs unveiled by the US administration on the day described by Donald Trump as ”Liberation Day”.

Asked about the OECD’s position in facilitating dialogue between Americans and Europeans, Stefano Scarpetta gave assurances that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development “is a safe place”.

”The United States is a founding country of the OECD, it’s actually a country that inspired its predecessor, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. This was basically the organization that implemented the Marshall Plan, which was which was the big plan from the United States to help the reconstruction of Europe. So you see how strong the ties are between the US, the OECD and European countries. I think the OECD is still a very safe place for an open and transparent dialog and we have so many areas of cooperation between European countries, the US and many other countries that are members of the OECD. The OECD is made up of 38 countries that strongly believe that there is still place for constructive dialogue with all countries, including the US”, the Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Directorate of the OECD since 2013, a renowned Italian economist known for his expertise in the fields of labour market, social policies and global economics, has shown his conviction.

Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will impose “reciprocal tariffs” of at least 10% on all imports entering the United States and higher specific tariffs on some of the biggest trading partners of the world’s largest economy, including the European Union, which is facing tariffs of 20%.

The financial market has already reacted to the announcement of these protectionist measures, with stock markets falling and the US dollar losing ground against the euro in a trade war that looks set to intensify, with companies and citizens the main losers.

The European Union, through European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Parliament, through its International Trade Committee, have sharply criticized the decisions, announcing that countermeasures are pending if the negotiations for an agreement do not bear fruit.

Some member states have already braced for the impact. Spain has revealed it will implement a €14.1bn support package, while Romania’s government has announced measures to protect Romanian companies in all industries affected by the effects of the US-EU trade war.

Kurt Sievers, president and CEO of NXP Semiconductors, discussed in an interview with CaleaEuropeana.ro about NXP’s unique hardware and software portfolio, as well as the important achievements of NXP Romania through its two centers in Bucharest and Sibiu. Kurt Sievers visited Romania from April 1-2 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of NXP Romania.

Read the full interview:

CaleaEuropeana.ro: NXP has a strong presence in Romania through its centers in Bucharest and Sibiu, one of Europe’s most important software and hardware development hubs. What are NXP’s most significant achievements in Romania so far, and how do you evaluate the impact of this presence on the company’s global operations?

Kurt Sievers: NXP Romania is the company’s largest automotive software hub. It also delivers significant contributions to NXP’s Industrial and IoT domains. Our Romanian team’s headcount has grown from 550 to approximately 1,100 over the past five years. We have also doubled the size of our local ecosystem. We enjoy co-location with several key partners and customers in Romania, including Continental: the biggest employer in Romania in our industry. Partners of ours in other EU projects like ESMC joint venture fab partner Bosch also have a presence here.

NXP Romania teams develop key software solutions, critical for the success of NXP. The software and solutions we develop in Romania are implemented across various domains of the Software Defined Vehicle, including: Networking, Electrification, ADAS Radar, Vehicle Compute, all aligned to centralized car architecture. Our Romanian team also develops software and solutions for the IoT and Industrial markets including Building & Home Automation, Factory automation, Healthcare, and Smart Home Appliances.

NXP România Sibiu/ © NXP

We also have a significant presence in top universities across the country, influencing their curricula to keep pace with rapid technology advancements. Our Romanian university partnerships create opportunities for students and researchers to access our cutting-edge technology in NXP-equipped laboratories, and enable an innovative environment through the academic competitions like the NXP Cup and hackathons, hands-on experience in Innovation Labs, a range of internships, and more.

CaleaEuropeana.ro: What concrete plans do you have for expanding NXP’s R&D investments in Romania over the coming years?  

NXP București/ © NXP

Kurt Sievers: Given the increasing complexity, intelligence, and interconnected nature of edge devices, the need for software will continue to grow. Therefore we see ongoing potential for growth here. 

Romania is also a hub where NXP is strengthening our European R&D efforts through IPCEI grants. Last year NXP Romania signed a SENTHICOM IPCEI financing contract that will fund the efforts of ~300 engineers for 5.5 years. We have ambitious plans to expand our contribution to the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) which aims to bolster Europe’s semiconductor industry by fostering collaboration between the EU, member states, and the private sector. NXP was also a big contributor to EU Projects Tristan and Isolde, which furthered an open RISC-V processing ecosystem in Europe.  

What is Romania’s strategic position within NXP’s global ecosystem, especially considering that Europe is undergoing rapid digital transformation and accelerated development in the semiconductor and critical technology industries? 

Kurt Sievers: NXP is investing significantly in digital transformation and NXP Romania is playing a leading role in moving our global organization to adapt and deploy digital transformation practices like GenAI, which is helping to drive efficiency and accelerate project execution. 

CaleaEuropeana.ro: Romania is in the process of joining the OECD and actively participates in European initiatives concerning digital transformation and technological security. How does NXP perceive the evolution of the European market within the current geopolitical context, and how is this influencing the company’s investment decisions in the region? 

Kurt Sievers: While NXP has a global footprint with operations in more than 30 countries, we are a European headquartered company with a very strong presence in Europe. Together with NXP sites in Austria, Czechia, France, Germany and The Netherlands, NXP Romania is contributing to European semiconductor sovereignty. Our team here is creating solutions for Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) through advanced R&D including processor software support (runtime software and tools) in areas of firmware, virtualization, operating systems (real-time or Linux), drivers, middleware, and integration platforms. Many of the 30 countries in which we operate are already members of OECD, so we view it as a welcome and natural development to have Romania join this intergovernmental organization.  

CaleaEuropeana.ro: NXP is one of the global leaders in supplying semiconductors for the automotive industry. What role do your Romanian operations play in this critical segment, and how do they contribute to the development of advanced technologies for connected and autonomous vehicles? 

Kurt Sievers: Software will continue to play a crucial role in the semiconductor industry, and NXP is advancing the global automotive market by providing scalable system solutions that address customer needs. Automakers all around the world are making the shift to software defined, and increasingly electrified vehicles. This is the most significant transformation to occur in the automotive industry since the invention of the automobile over 100 years ago, and our team here in Romania is right at the center of making this historic transformation possible.  

CaleaEuropeana.ro: What are the main global challenges and opportunities facing NXP today, especially given the international technological and economic competition, and how do you plan to consolidate your global position in the upcoming years?

Kurt Sievers: We are taking transformative steps in our business to become the leading provider of intelligent edge systems in automotive and industrial IoT. According to McKinsey, the global semiconductor market will become a $1.3 trillion opportunity by 2030. And if you look over the past years, growth has been driven by long waves of mega applications. Between 2000-2010 compute was the name of the game. Intel was the winner. Between 2010 and 2020, there was the age of mobile, smartphones, of tablets, companies like Qualcomm and Broadcom really emerged strongly through the period. And since then, it is for sure cloud computing, AI, generative AI and the cloud with NVIDIA, the absolute rising star.  

We think from here, the next big wave is, which will actually benefit from the artificial intelligence, from all the cloud computing, all of these edge applications be it in the home, be it building automation, be it factory automation, be it the car as the ultimate edge device. They’re all connected to the cloud and will benefit from the success the cloud is currently scoring.  

What comes next and where NXP is going to be strong is what we call “anticipate and automate.” The idea is technology will know what you need next. And then, technology is going to automate the delivery of that. And that is about all the help we are getting from robotic lawnmowers, from eventually autonomous cars. All of that is about anticipating what is next and then delivering it in an automated fashion. And these are all edge applications.  

We have organized our business to exploit this growth opportunity whether it is in automotive, factory automation, building automation, the smart home, and healthcare. It is about automation of tasks. It is about trust, which these applications have to provide. And trust comes with cybersecurity and functional safety and this is about efficiency increases. We are assembling a unique hardware and software portfolio to attack this market opportunity in a way our competitors cannot match.