An initial memorandum for accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was formally submitted by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
Romania does not see the accession to the OECD as a purpose in itself but a catalyst for reforms, and changes on all social levels, Ciuca said during the meeting of the OECD Council on Thursday.
In January, the OECD announced it would open accession discussions with six candidate countries, including Romania.
The negotiation process will include a rigorous and in-depth evaluation by more than 20 technical committees of each candidate country’s alignment with OECD standards, policies and practices.
Following these reviews, the organisation may require changes to the candidate countries’ legislation, policy and practices in many areas, including open trade and investment, public governance, integrity and anti-corruption efforts, climate actions and environmental protection.
Despite setting the OECD membership as a major objective almost two decades ago, Romania has so far failed to join the organisation that groups the most economically-advanced countries in the world, which account for more than two-thirds of international trade.
The OECD has already adopted a roadmap for the accession process, but there is no deadline for its completion. After the initial memorandum is submitted, 26 technical committees would assess Romanian legislation, policies and practices, covering “almost every field” of government policies, OECD Secretary-General Matthias Cormann said during a joint press conference with the Romanian prime minister.
Recommendations will be made to help Romania further align with the OECD standards and practices.
The outcome and timeline of the process will, thus, depend on Romania’s capacity to adapt and align with the organisation’s standards and best practices. Once all the technical committees have completed their reviews, a final decision needs to be unanimously taken by all OECD Member countries in OECD’s Council.
(Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)
Source: euractiv.com
