Romania has obtained the 24th favorable opinion out of the 25 required to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), according to an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
The formal opinion was adopted by the OECD\u2019s Investment Committee on Thursday, April 2. The evaluation of the Investment Committee represents one of the most substantial stages of the accession process, considering the cross-cutting nature of the standards analyzed and their systemic impact on the economic environment.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated the technical efforts of the institutions involved in the evaluation process for the Investment Committee. Among them were the National Bank of Romania, the Financial Supervisory Authority, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and many others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cObtaining the formal OECD opinion in the field of investments and responsible business conduct sends a strong signal of confidence to international investors and national economic partners. The result confirms the progress made in implementing necessary reforms and the priority we give to building economic diplomacy,\u201d said Romanian foreign minister Oana \u021aoiu.<\/p>\n
According to her, the reforms adopted by the Romanian authorities in complex areas such as decision-making transparency, financial markets, tax affairs, and environment strengthen Romania\u2019s credibility as a reliable partner and a mature candidate state for accession to the Organization.<\/p>\n
Since the start of the current year, Romania has obtained six other formal opinions as part of its OECD accession process. The approvals came from the Committee for Chemicals and Biotechnology, the Committee for Environmental Policy, the Committee for Fiscal Affairs, the Committee for Financial Markets, the Committee for Public Governance, and the Committee for Economic Review and Evaluation.<\/p>\n
According to the accession roadmap, after the completion of technical evaluations in all 25 Committees, the accession process involves the adoption of a Decision by the OECD Council, by unanimity, regarding inviting Romania to join the Organization.<\/p>\n