Romania: membership application and partnership, 22 June 1995

This Regular Report for 2000 on Romania follows the same structure as the Commission's 1997 Opinion and of the subsequent regular reports. However, it differs from that used in previous years on three minor points. Firstly, the part of the present report assessing Romania's ability to assume the obligations of membership has been structured to follow the list of 29 negotiating chapters covering the acquis. Secondly, this part has been broadened to cover also Romania's administrative capacity to apply the acquis under each of the negotiating chapters (previously discussed in a separate section of the report). Thirdly, the report includes, for the first time, a section assessing the progress made by Romania in translating the acquis into its official language. Furthermore, this report takes into consideration progress since the 1999 regular report and whether intended reforms have been carried out. The report also contains a separate section examining the extent to which Romania has addressed the short-term Accession Partnership priorities, and has started to address the the medium-term priorities set out in this framework. It should be noted that Romania has continued to implement the Europe Agreement correctly and contributed to the smooth functioning of the various joint institutions. Moreover, recent indicators point to an improvement in Romania's trade situation. Romania's exports to the EC have been steadily increasing. Current discussions in the framework of the Europe Agreement focus on the implementation of the Accession Partnership priorities, and seek to achieve progress in areas like excise duties, competition/state aid, customs procedures, the right of establishment of EU firms in Romania, and the transition to the second stage of the Europe Agreement. In addition, in May 2000 Romania presented a revised National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA), in which it outlines its strategy for accession including how to achieve the priorities contained in the Accession Partnerships. As regards Community aid, in the years 2000-2002 total financial assistance to Romania will amount to at least EUR 242 million from Phare, EUR 150 million from SAPARD, and between EUR 208 and EUR 270 million from ISPA. On the political scale, the government has shown a political commitment to addressing the problems of institutionalised children and progress has been made. Romania has advanced with the adoption of the acquis, although the achievements over the last year have been mixed. In certain sectors both legal transposition and the setting up of the necessary administrative structures are advanced. Concerning internal market legislation, progress has been made in the field of public procurement and positive developments have also taken place with regard to the simplification of the issuance of work permits for EU citizens and the adoption of a new law on social security. Progress has also been made in combating the problem of money laundering. Despite the positive achievements noted above, there are many areas where further progress is needed. For instance, the financial services, agriculture, discrimination, decision-making, macroeconomic stabilisation. �