The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a very good school of governance across almost all areas, including taxation, the labour market, investment, education, healthcare, the environment, public governance and social affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) Secretary of State and national coordinator of Romania's OECD accession process Luca Niculescu told a specialist event on Wednesday.

'The OECD is a very, very good school of governance in almost all areas, whether it is taxation, the labour market, investment, education - we all know the PISA tests that come from the OECD - healthcare, the environment, public governance or social affairs. (...) Accession to the OECD is the most important project we have after joining NATO and the European Union,' Niculescu said.

According to him, in the accession process, which is 'very complex and very similar' to EU integration and which began in June 2022, Romania has already made significant progress.

'We have to pass 25 accession committees and we have successfully closed 24. From this point of view, we are the most advanced country in the accession process, where there are still seven others: Bulgaria, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Thailand and Indonesia. There is also a longer list of countries that find the organisation extremely attractive and are knocking on its door. The waiting process can be very long. Romania first applied for membership in 2004, returned in 2012, then again in 2016-2018, and only in 2022 were the doors opened to start the accession process,' Luca Niculescu added.

He said OECD membership would bring a series of benefits to Romania.

'Accession will bring, first of all, more and better investment. There are major investment funds that only invest in OECD member countries. And the quality of investment improves. Better investment means more and better jobs. Another benefit is the OECD's very strong governance school. (...) The OECD also means a broad reform process. We have already adopted over 100 laws, regulations and policies for accession. It also means further progress in the social area,' Niculescu said.

In this context, he referred to the OECD Employment and Social Affairs report, published following discussions with many stakeholders in Romania, which highlights several areas of progress, including pension system reform, improved access to services for people with disabilities and the elderly, support for homeless people and the Roma community, investment in early education, better work-life balance and strengthened social dialogue.

At the same time, Niculescu said that the report also identifies key challenges ahead.

'The employment rate is around 63%, below the OECD average. The gaps are very visible among women, young people and older persons. At the same time, Romania has one of the highest migration rates in the OECD area, and the decline in the active population makes it all the more necessary to make full use of the labour force's potential,' he said.

In his view, an important benefit of accession is also greater international influence for Romania.

'Joining the OECD will give Romania a different level of openness and engagement. There are 38 member states across many continents. Of course, there are many European countries, but we also find countries from North and South America, Canada, the United States, Israel and Türkiye, Australia and New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. All these countries will engage with Romania in a different way than today. It will mean greater influence for Romania globally, because the OECD is the organisation that develops many of the world's standards and norms. We all know that it is better to be at the beginning of the decision-making chain, where these standards are shaped, than at the end, where they are simply applied in the form of an EU directive or another regulation. There are many benefits, but perhaps the most important is the improvement in the quality of public administration. In addition, OECD membership will also help us in our dialogue with rating agencies,' Luca Niculescu added.

The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) organised a debate in Bucharest on Wednesday titled 'The OECD Effect,' an event dedicated to analysing the impact that Romania's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development could have on the economy, governance and long-term development of the country.

According to the organisers, as the accession process approaches its final stage, the debate addresses both the opportunities and challenges associated with OECD membership, drawing on the experience of other regional states and Romania's current economic realities.

The event brings together representatives of government institutions, Parliament, political parties, social partners, academia and civil society. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Cristian Anghelache; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)