By Mircea Abrudean, President of the Romanian Senate1
A conversation I had at the beginning of Romania’s accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) brought forward an interesting comparison. The OECD is like a compass for economic development, standards and discipline in economic policy.
In 2022, the OECD Council decided to open accession negotiations with Romania, alongside five other countries. Subsequently, the Accession Roadmap for our country was adopted, and Romania began the evaluation process across 25 OECD committees. Four years later, we remain on track for the proposed accession target of 2026, with only three formal opinions left to obtain out of the total 25.
The formal opinions that Romania receives mean that the country successfully internalises OECD legal instruments at the level of legislation, public policies and administrative practices – more than 270 legal acts and normative provisions.
Therefore, accession to the OECD does not simply mean joining the club of countries that account for 70% of global production and trade and 90% of global foreign direct investment. It means joining a group of countries that share the same values and principles; countries that believe in democracy, operate open and transparent market economies, and manage their economies according to common principles of development.
The policy areas in which Romania has already obtained formal opinions include: Senior Budget Officials, Regional Development Policy, Steel Industry, Shipbuilding, Competition Policy, Digital Policy, Consumer Protection, Education, Social Affairs, Labour and Employment, Regulatory Policy, Health, Fisheries, Corporate Governance, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Statistics, Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions, Chemicals and Biotechnology, Environment, Fiscal Affairs, Financial Markets and Public Governance.
Beyond aligning legislation with some of the highest economic standards and best practices in the world, what are the concrete benefits of OECD membership?
First, there is a direct impact: increased investment and greater visibility on the global investment map that comes with OECD membership. It also leads to an improvement in a country’s sovereign credit rating. In addition, accession provides access to OECD expertise, widely regarded as among the best in the world. This means access to OECD studies and analyses that cover virtually every area of public policy.
It also means the exchange of best practices. Romania will be able to participate in the organisation’s roughly 300 committees and working groups, where Romanian experts will engage in dialogue and exchange ideas with experts from OECD member countries.
The OECD is an organisation that thinks ahead – if I may borrow the title of a column from the early days of the Romanian satirical magazine Academia Cațavencu. It is an organisation that tries, and often succeeds, to address global issues before they become global problems.
For example, the “polluter pays” principle, which today represents an internationally accepted norm, and which Romania is familiar with through EU legislation, originated as a conceptual and policy initiative within the OECD in the 1970s. Similarly, today the OECD is shaping new thinking in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence and greenhouse gas emissions.
The OECD is also the organisation that designed the global framework for the taxation of multinational corporations. It is estimated that this mechanism will generate additional revenues of between $200 and $300 billion annually for governments worldwide.
Perhaps the OECD’s most well-known instrument is in education: the PISA tests. We know how much they matter.
What is the role of Parliament in the OECD accession process?
Parliament plays a key role, particularly in adopting the legislative changes necessary to align Romania’s legal framework with OECD standards following evaluations conducted by sectoral committees. These include areas such as anti-bribery regulations, private pensions, integrated coastal zone management, corporate governance and environmental policy.
Parliament is also responsible for adopting the bilateral OECD–Romania Agreement on Privileges and Immunities, ratifying the OECD Accession Agreement and the OECD Convention, as well as approving the RUTI instrument.
In addition, Parliament acts as a promoter of the OECD accession objective within Romanian public opinion, including through the establishment of the Joint Special Parliamentary Committee for Romania’s OECD Accession.
Of course, there are also strong counterarguments against Romania’s accession to the OECD. Critics point to the administrative and economic burden of what they call “cosmetic reforms”, namely the risk that the state might adopt complex legislative changes simply to tick technical boxes, without producing genuine improvements in the efficiency of public services.
Aligning with OECD standards across 25 policy areas entails immediate costs for the state budget and for companies, which must adapt their reporting and operational systems. OECD recommendations often include strict fiscal discipline and public debt reduction, which may limit the government’s capacity to finance social programmes or provide tax relief during periods of crisis.
However, when viewed through the lens of long-term structural benefits, these criticisms can be easily addressed.
OECD membership functions as a form of certification for financial markets. It reduces a country’s risk premium, allowing Romania to borrow at lower interest rates, which in the long term offsets the initial costs of reform.
As mentioned earlier, accession also sends a strong signal to strategic investors that Romania offers a predictable and transparent regulatory environment. This not only attracts capital, but also technology and innovation – key ingredients for sustainable economic growth.
OECD-driven reforms, such as the digitalisation of public administration and improved corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, are designed to reduce corruption and the waste of public funds, transforming state institutions into more transparent and accountable systems.
In conclusion, although the effort required to align with OECD standards is significant, it acts as an “institutional anchor” that accelerates the modernisation of the state, generating economic benefits that far outweigh the administrative costs.
Romania’s accession to the OECD therefore represents a concrete instrument for modernising the country, increasing competitiveness and improving citizens’ living standards. Implementing OECD recommendations contributes to building a more modern state capable of responding to the real needs of society.
Active participation in the organisation’s committees and working groups provides access to strategic dialogue, increases the country’s international visibility and strengthens its role as a relevant actor in shaping international economic and social policies.
The OECD is sometimes described as an “economic NATO”—a comparison that I believe is particularly relevant in today’s context, when a war is unfolding at our border and when we face so many complex challenges every day.
- Mircea Abrudean is President of the Romanian Senate and a Senator representing Cluj County.
As a senator, he currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Joint Special Parliamentary Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate supporting Romania’s accession to the OECD and as a member of the Committee on Energy, Energy Infrastructure and Mineral Resources.
Between July 2023 and December 2024, he served as Secretary-General of the Romanian Government, with ministerial rank, coordinating Romania’s OECD accession process together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before that, he served as Head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery (2021–2023), Deputy Secretary-General of the Romanian Government (2021), and Prefect of Cluj County (2019–2021). ↩︎
