Participarea premierului Marcel Ciolacu la reuniunea Comitetului național pentru aderarea României la Organizaţia pentru Cooperare și Dezvoltare Economică (OCDE)

PRESS RELEASE

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: Romanias accession to the OECD means a better future for our children and the guarantee that our country has chosen the right direction
Today, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu chaired the National Committee for Romanias accession to the OECD, which brings together representatives of the main central public institutions involved in the accession process.
Romanias accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the countrys most important objective after the integration into the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union because it means a better future for our children and the guarantee that, whatever decision the political class would make, our country has chosen the right direction, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu pointed out.
The National Committee reviewed the recent developments in the accession process and the priorities for the next period.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu reminded that the OECD accession process is instrumental for the Governments efforts to improve public policies in key areas such as public and corporate governance, digitalization, and the green economy. Prime Minister of Romania highlighted the stages completed in the technical process of alignment with OECD standards (questionnaires, assessment missions), with an emphasis on the assessments that started at the level of the OECD Sectoral Committees.
The Head of the Executive mentioned one of the important outcomes achieved so far in the OECD accession process, namely the fact that, as of September 22, 2023, Romania has become the 45th party to the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Anti-Bribery Convention), one of the Organizations main legal instruments: The Convention represents a key element for actively combating corruption in international financial transactions, thus contributing to maintaining high standards of ethical conduct.
The members of the National Committee discussed the fields of action necessary for joining the Organization, in the context of the stages that mark the progress at the level of each OECD Sectoral Committee separately, in the next year. An important element in this process is the future OECD Economic Country Survey of Romania, expected to be published in March 2024.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu called on the institutions to provide human resources dedicated to the OECD accession process and to collaborate with the Organizations experts: We benefit from a good image capital, including in the direct dialogue with the OECD member states. I call on all institutions to pay close attention to the continuation of these stages, to maintain the dynamics of the accession process, stated the Prime Minister.
The national coordinator for Romania's OECD accession process, Secretary of State Luca Niculescu mentioned that the support of the Prime Minister of Romania and the good pace of the institutions involved in this process is appreciated at the level of this Organisation.

Additional Information:
Romania became a candidate country for the OECD in January 2022, receiving the Roadmap in June 2022 at the OECD Ministerial Council meeting. This document sets out the terms, conditions, and stages of Romanias accession to the Organization.
In December 2022, Romania submitted an Initial Memorandum, setting out a self-assessment of the alignment of Romania's legislation, policies, and practices with each OECD legal instruments in force.
Currently, Romania is in the technical stage of the process, which consists of transmitting additional information, organizing thematic missions, and delivering presentations in the 26 OECD Sectoral Committees. Information is sent in parallel, for all general policy areas and all Sectoral Committees in the Roadmap, based on each ones own methodology and related work programme.
The National Committee for Romanias accession to the OECD is made up of ministries, authorities, and public institutions with responsibilities in the accession process and is led by the Prime Minister. The national committee establishes the lines of action to fulfill the conditions set out in Romanias Roadmap to the OECD, approves decisions to align Romanias legislation, policies, and practices with those of the Organization, and formulates proposals for resolving blockages that could delay the accession process.

Source: Gov