Romania could meet, in 5 to 7 years, all the conditions for the accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and have adopted all the regulations corresponding to the OECD acquis, Deputy Secretary General of the Government Adrian Tutuianu said on Friday, at the ARIR 2023 Forum, write Agerpres.

He was asked if there was a deadline for Romania’s accession to the OECD and when this could be done.

„Next year surely not. We will not be able to go through all the stages and we will not be able to implement the recommendations we will have. But, I hope that in the medium term, 5 – 7 years, Romania will be able to meet all these conditions – and to have adopted all the regulations corresponding to the OECD acquis,” Adrian Tutuianu mentioned at the event, now at its 5th edition.

On the other hand, the Government representative underscored that joining the OECD „depends on our diligence.”

„We have completed stage I, the self-assessment, stage II is underway, the external assessment. Stage III will come after the external assessment of the recommendations,” he said.

Tutuianu voiced his hope that Romania’s accession to this organisation „will happen as soon as possible.”

„It also depends on the capacity of the state, but there are other actors. We are talking here about ASF [Financial Oversight Authority], we are talking about the Stock Exchange, we are talking about other actors that are important and have a well-defined role in this accession process,” he said.

Two days ago, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting with Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, context in which the head of Romanian diplomacy reiterated the strategic nature of Romania’s objective of joining the OECD.

According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) press release, the meeting took place on the occasion of the participation of the head of Romanian diplomacy in the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (OECD MCM), held at the OECD headquarters in Paris, between 7 and 8 June 2023. This was the second OECD Council meeting at ministerial level in which Romania participates as a candidate state, after the decision to grant this status, taken by this forum on 25 January 2022.

„Within the meeting, the head of the Romanian diplomacy reiterated the strategic nature of Romania’s objective of joining the OECD, benefiting from the broad support of Romanian political forces and society, as well as the solid profile of Romania’s candidacy and the involvement of our country, as a like-minded partner, in activities and projects of common interest with the OECD. He showed that Romania is ready to implement the OECD recommendations and to use the accession process as an incentive for further reform and modernization,” the press release showed.

In his turn, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann reiterated the OECD Secretariat’s support for Romania’s accession to the Organisation, highlighting and expressing appreciation for the progress achieved by our country so far, as well as the positive prospects of future cooperation.

„The two high officials discussed the current state of the accession process, highlighting the fact that Romania has already received questionnaires from 23 of the 26 sectoral committees of the Organisation, already having sent responses to 12 of them, as well as the fact that the assessment missions are already underway, being appreciated the level of interaction with the Organisation. Furthermore, the importance of rapid accession to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention was underscored, as the draft accession law, already passed by the Government, undergoes the parliamentary procedure for adoption,” the press release also said.