Romania obtained the 21st favorable opinion from the OECD bodies on Thursday, February 26. The government aims to be part of the group of the most developed countries in the world by the end of 2026, but requires 25 formal approvals.<\/p>\n
The latest approval was announced<\/a> by foreign minister Oana \u021aoiu, who noted that the 21st opinion concerned financial markets and was among the most difficult because it signals trust for major global investors.<\/p>\n \u201cRomania received the 21st OECD opinion out of the 25 required, from the Committee for Financial Markets, which means we have only four more steps left for accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the \u2018club of developed countries,\u2019 the objective of the Romanian government in 2026,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n To receive the approval, Romania\u2019s Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Authority for Financial Supervision, the National Bank, and the prime minister\u2019s office held negotiations with several OECD sectoral committees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps for many, these opinions seem like mere bureaucratic statistics, but behind the figures stands one of Romania\u2019s most ambitious objectives regarding membership in international organizations, after the effort to join NATO and that of accession to the European Union. Romania submitted its official candidacy as early as April 2004, but it needed 18 years of diplomatic effort and internal reforms to receive the invitation to begin negotiations,\u201d \u021aoiu said.<\/p>\n Now, OECD accession is within reach, according to the official.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have received the green light in essential areas such as Education, Health, the Environment, Digital Policies, Agriculture, Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions, Statistics, and now Financial Markets,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The remaining 4 opinions are a \u201ctest of the administration\u2019s willingness to modernize,” according to the official.<\/p>\n Established in 1961 to advise governments on the best policies, the OECD now has 38 members across the globe. Most EU states are also part of the group. Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia are currently candidates, along with countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Thailand.<\/p>\n