Romania has not met the European Commission's CVM Targets and Must Also Work to Improve the Foreign Investment Climate

BRUSSELS, January 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The EU-Romania Business Society welcomes the findings of today's report released by the European Commission on progress by Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). The CVM Report highlights several remaining shortcomings which need to be resolved before Romania can complete the CVM process and have the mechanism lifted. 

We agree with the conclusions of the report that there is still further progress to be made in the areas of judicial independence, judicial reform, the integrity framework and the country's anti-corruption measures. Although there will be some disappointment in Romania that the CVM cannot yet be lifted, the European Commission's decision to review Romania's progress again at the end of 2017 seems fair and will allow the country to work towards meeting these goals.

Speaking in response to the findings of today's report, EU-Romania Business Society's Director, James Wilson, said: "Today's report shows that Romania still needs to make a lot of progress. From a business perspective, we noted the report says that corruption represents a reputational risk for the country and acts as a deterrent for foreign investment. The past year has been particularly concerning for foreign investors, with Romanian authorities seizing the assets of key energy investor, KazMunayGas, as well as the Romanian Government losing arbitration against CEZ, ENEL, E.on and Raiffeisen. The New Year of 2017 presents a great business opportunity for the new Romanian administration to engage with the world, to re-open markets for foreign investment flows, to increase job creation and build economic security. We are keen to see a renewed commitment to creating a positive climate for inward investment, with greater attention to attract much-needed foreign capital. We know Romania's potential is huge and we are fortunate in having a new government with a real mandate in place to tackle these challenges."