FT: Romania to get EC vote of confidence

Romania is set to receive a vote of confidence from the European Commission this week in a move that would clear the way for Bucharest’s accession to the European Union in 2007, the Financial Times wrote yesterday.

A draft of the report, seen by the FT, hails the country for “macroeconomic stability, profound economic reforms” and “commitment” to the process of EU accession. It adds: “Hence, it is concluded that Romania complies with the criterion of being a functioning market economy.”

The report also says that the EU expects Romania to “assume obligations of membership in accordance with the agreed timeframe.” But it also calls for public administration to be enhanced to enforce EU law and notes that “corruption in Romania continues to be serious and widespread”, the Financial Times said.

Premier Adrian Nastase was in Brussels on Monday where he discussed the annual country report the European Commission is to present today with Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt and the expansion commissioner Gunther Verheugen.

Nastase said he was confident the report would include “a lot of positive elements, but also conditions”, which he considers as only natural. “We must not expect to be told this year or next year, or two years from now, that everything is perfect in Romania,” the Romanian Premier explained.

The report basically appears to include good marks on the economic front; politically, however, Romania seems to have been the object of considerable criticism. According to the BBC correspondent in Brussels who made public a series of data included in the report, this is the fifth consecutive year in which Romania has seen economic growth, which represents progress.

It seems however that the decision on whether the Romanian economy is a “market” and is “functional” will be made during a session of the European Commission on the same day the annual report is to be published. According to Romania’s Foreign minister Mircea Geoana, the final decision will be made today. The BBC correspondent claims that the report in its current stage includes some six incomplete pages, with the conclusions to be reached during the Commission session. It is not clear as yet whether another important economic sub-criterion of the report for 2004 can still be met: the ability of the Romanian economy to cope successfully with competition within the European Union.

The privatisation of Petrom and privatisations of power companies are noted in the report. The report also mentions a more solid commitment of the Romanian authorities to reforms in general. On the other hand, there is also criticism. One of the most important elements of which refers to the granting of financial incentives in the form of debt rescheduling, with the Incentives granted to the metallurgy industry – to the private companies that acquired Sidex and Resita – being singled out for mention.

The contracts the Romanian government signed with Bechtel for construction of the Brasov-Bors motorway and with EADS for border security also come in for criticism and are mentioned repeatedly in the report. The contract with Bechtel is seen as the most serious departure from European regulations pertaining to public acquisitions and the government receives a warning from the EU that it might not be able to co-finance European infrastructure projects in future.
adelina.radulescu@zf.ro