Romania might join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in three to four years, as the required accession time depends on the speed whereby it will adopt the recommendations of the international organization, Secretary of State with the Foreign Affairs Ministry responsible for Romania's OECD accession process Luca Niculescu declared on Monday.
"Romania's OECD accession process has already started. In June next year we will start negotiations. (...) When will Romania effectively join the OECD depends on the recommendations the organization will make, on the speed whereby Romania will adopt certain recommendations. There are European countries that joined in three years, such as Lithuania. I think we will join somewhere in three to four years. This process is a catalyst for the changes we need to make. For example, we all want a better administration in the country. Then, other reforms are needed in other areas too," Niculescu told the Franco-Romanian Business Forum organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France in Romania (CCIFER).
The senior official also emphasized that the governance of state-owned companies is key in the accession process.
"State-owned companies must be transparent and managed by competent people. The tools the OECD provides are related to the environment. The environment will definitely be another strong chapter. Other files too could be more complex, such as capital flows, the capital market," Niculescu explained, noting that various expert evaluation committees must also have their say on the matter.
Luca Niculescu mentioned that Romania must set up a select parliamentary committee made up of representatives of all the political parties in Parliament, tasked with speeding up the accession process.
"We have a roadmap defined, an action sheet, and we will travel this way in the best - and hopefully fastest - possible manner. We are sure that our efforts will be taken into account at their fair value by evaluators. Let each country join according to its own merits," the Secretary of State pointed out.
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