country profile recent eu members

8/9/2019 Country Profile Recent EU Members

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EU RECENT MEMBERS

COUNTRYPROFILE: BULGARIA

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Demographics: The National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria estimates the country'spopulation for 2009 at 7,606,000 people. According to the 2001 census, it consists mainlyof ethnic Bulgarians (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9.4%) and Roma(4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, mostprominently (in numbers) the Russians, Armenians, Arabs, Chinese, Vlachs, Jews,

Vietnamese, Crimean Tatars and Sarakatsani (historically known also as Karakachans).1.1% of the population did not declare their ethnicity in the latest census in 2001.In recent years Bulgaria has had one of the lowest population growth rates in the world.Negative population growth has occurred since the early 1990s, due to economic collapseand high emigration. In 1989 the population comprised 9,009,018 people, graduallyfalling to 7,950,000 in 2001 and 7,606,000 in 2009. As of 2009 the population had afertility-rate of 1.48 children per woman in 2008. The fertility rate will need to reach 2.2to restore natural growth in population.Islam came to the country at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of thecountry by the Ottomans. In the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, missionariesfrom Rome converted Paulicians from the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman

Catholicism. As of 2009 Bulgaria's Jewish community, once one of the largest in Europe,numbers less than 2,000 people.

Value System: A number of ancient civilizations, most notablythe Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture,history and heritage of Bulgaria. Thracian artifacts include numerous tombs and goldentreasures, while ancient Bulgars have left traces of their heritage in music and earlyarchitecture. Thracian rituals such as the Zarezan, Kukeri and Martenitza are to this daykept alive in the modern Bulgarian culture.The oldest treasure of worked gold in theworld, dating back to the 5th millennium BC, comes from the site of the VarnaNecropolis.

Bulgaria functioned as the hub of Slavic Europe during much of the Middle Ages,exerting considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox Slavicworld by means of the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. Bulgaria also gave the worldthe Cyrillic alphabet, the second most-widely used alphabetin the world, which originatedin these two schools in the tenth century AD. Bulgaria's contribution to humanitycontinued throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with individuals suchas John Atanasoff a United States citizen of Bulgarian descent, regarded as the fatherof the digital computer. A number of noted opera-singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, BorisChristoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Anna Tomowa-Sintow,VesselinaKasarova), pianist Alexis Weissenberg, and successful artists (Christo, Pascin,VladimirDimitrov) popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad.Bulgaria has a rich heritage in the visual arts, especially in frescoes, murals and icons.The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak offers fine examples of excellently preserved ancientThracian art. Tomb art provides one of the most important sources of information aboutThracian lifestyle and culture. Visual arts in the Bulgarian lands experienced an upsurgeduring the entire period of the Middle ages. The crypt of the Alexander Nevski cathedralfeatures an exhibition of a large collection of medieval icons. The earliest of those datesfrom around the 9th century AD. The Tarnovo Artistic School, the mainstream of theBulgarian fine arts and architecture between 13th and 14th centuries, takes its name from

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the capital and main cultural center of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Tarnovo. Althoughit shows the influence of some tendencies of the Palaeologan Renaissance in theByzantine Empire, the Tarnovo painting had its own unique features which make it aseparate artistic school.Owing to the relatively warm climate and diverse geography affording excellent growth-

conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits, Bulgarian cuisine offers greatdiversity.Famous for its rich salads required at every meal, Bulgarian cuisine also features diversequality dairy products and a variety of wines and local alcoholic drinks such as rakia,mastika and menta. Bulgarian cuisine also features a variety of hot and cold soups, forexample tarator. Many different Bulgarian pastries exist as well, such as banitsa, atraditional pastry prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of sirene(Feta cheese) between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.Bulgaria is officially a secular nation and the Constitution guarantees the free exercise ofreligion but appoints Orthodoxy as an official religion. In the 2001 census, 82.6%Bulgarians declared themselves Orthodox Christians, 12,2% Muslim, 1.2% other

Christian denominations, 4% other religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Judaism)and zero percent atheists. Most citizens of Bulgaria have associations at least nominallywith the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate ofConstantinople (from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological texts),the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had autocephalous status since 927 AD. The Churchbecame subordinate within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, twice during the periods ofByzantine (1018 1185) and Ottoman (1396 1878) domination. It was re-establishedfirst in 1870 in the form of the Bulgarian Exarchate, and then in the 1950s as theBulgarian Patriarchate.

Business Environment: Bulgaria features notable diversity, with the landscape ranging

from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mildand sunny Black Sea coast; from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancientMoesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean climatic influence in the valleys ofMacedonia and in the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace.Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Since ancienttimes, the country has served as a major crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa.Five of the ten Trans-European corridors run through its territory.The national road network has a total length of 102,016 km (63,390 mi), 93,855 km(58,319 mi) of them paved and 441 km (274 mi) of them motorways. Planning orconstruction has started for several motorways: Trakiya motorway, Hemus motorway,Cherno More motorway, Struma motorway, Maritza motorway and Lyulin motorway.Bulgaria also has 6,500 km (4,000 mi) of railway track, more than 60% electrified. A360,000,000 project exists for the modernisation and electrification of the PlovdivKapitan Andreevo railway. The only high-speed railway in the region, between Sofia andVidin, will operate by 2017, at a cost of 3,000,000,000.Air travel has developed relatively comprehensively. Bulgaria has six officialinternational airports at Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Rousse and Gorna Oryahovitsa.After the fall of the communist government in 1989, most of the smaller domesticairports stood unused as the importance of domestic flights declined. The country has

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many military airports and agricultural airfields, with 128 of the 213 airports in Bulgariapaved.The most important shipping ports by far, Varna and Burgas, have the largest turnover.Burgas, Sozopol, Nesebar and Pomorie support large fishing fleets. Large ports on theDanube River include Rousse and Lom (which serves the capital).

Bulgaria has a well-developed communications network (despite a somewhat antiquatedfixed-line telephone system), with extensive Internet and cellular communications. Theyears after 2000 saw a rapid increase in the number of Internet users: in 2000, theynumbered 430,000, in 2004 1,545,100, and in 2006 2.2 million. The population of 7to 6 million people uses some 11 million cell phones.

Political Situation: Since 1991 Bulgaria has a democratic, unitary parliamentaryrepublican constitution.The National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie consists of 240 deputies, each elected forfour-year terms by popular vote. A party or coalition must win a minimum of 4% of thevote to enter parliament. The National Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the

budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the Prime Minister and otherministers, declare war, deploy troops abroad, and ratify international treaties andagreements. Boyko Borisov, de facto leader of the centre-right party Citizens forEuropean Development of Bulgaria, became prime minister on 27 July 2009.The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Healso chairs the Consultative Council for National Security. While unable to initiatelegislation other than Constitutional amendments, the President can return a bill forfurther debate, although the parliament can override the President's veto by vote of amajority of all MPs.Bulgaria became a member of the United Nations in 1955, and a founding member ofOSCE in 1995. As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, the country takes part in

the administration of the territories situated south of 60 south latitude. The countryjoined NATO on 29 March 2004 and signed the European Union Treaty of Accession on25 April 2005. It became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007, andelects 17 members to the European Parliament.Bulgaria has embassies in all European countries except Latvia and Iceland, as well as 40other countries, and hosts the embassies of 68 nations in its capital.

Legal System: The process of formation of the contemporary legal system of Bulgariastarts with the liberation of the country from Ottoman political domination in 1878. It ismarked by the adoption of the first Bulgarian constitution the Turnovo Constitutionsigned on 16 April 1879, a founding document upholding the most progressive anddemocratic principles dominating in Europe in the nineteenth century.The modern Bulgarian legal system is influenced by two very important factors: thedemocratization and liberalization of the countrys economy, which started after the fallof the Communist regime in 1989, on the one hand, and the integration of Bulgaria intothe EU, on the other. The Bulgarian legal system evolved through a profound and strictly-monitored alteration in order to achieve coherence with theacquis communautaire. Thecountry signed an EU Accession Agreement on 25 April 2005 in Luxembourg andtheexpected date for Accession of Bulgaria to the EU is 1 January 2007 (the final report of

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the European Commission on accession of the country to the EU will be issued inOctober 2006). Upon accession the EU legislation will become an integral part ofBulgarian legal system.

Economy: Bulgaria has an industrialized, open free market economy, with a large,

moderately advanced private sector and a number of strategic state-owned enterprises.

The World Bank classifies it as an "upper-middle-income economy". Bulgaria has

experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, even though it continues to rank as

the lowest-income member state of the EU. According to Eurostat data, Bulgarian PPS

GDP per capita stood at 40 per cent of the EU average in 2008. The United States Central

Intelligence Agency estimated Bulgarians' GDP per capita at $12,900 in 2008, or about a

third that of Belgium. The economy relies primarily on industry and agriculture,

although the services sector increasingly contributes to GDP growth. Bulgaria produces a

significant amount of manufactures and raw materials suchas iron, copper, gold, bismuth, coal, electronics, refined petroleum fuels, vehicle

components, weapons and construction materials.

Bulgaria tamed its inflation after a deep economic crisis in 19961997, but figures

showed an increase in the inflation rate to 12.3% for 2008. The unemployment rate

declined from more than 17% in the mid 1990s to nearly 7% in 2007, but in some rural

areas it still continues in high double digits. Bulgaria's inflation means that the country's

adoption of the euro might not take place until the year 20132014. Corruption in the

public administration and a weak judiciary has also hampered Bulgaria's economicdevelopment.

Amidst the Financial crisis of 20072010, unemployment rates remained relatively low at

6.3% for 2008, but increased to almost 8% in 2009. GDP growth in 2008 remained high

(6%), but turned largely negative in 2009. The crisis had a negative impact mostly on

industry, with a 10% decline in the national industrial production index, a 31% drop in

mining, and a 60% drop in "ferrous and metal production". The government predicts a

decline of 2.2% of GDP in 2010, with a budget deficit of 0.7%.

Technological Developments: Bulgaria spends 0.4% of its GDP on scientific research,or roughly $376 million on a 2008 basis. Since 1989 scientific activities in the country

have been hampered by chronically underinvestment and lack of government interest, and

currently Bulgaria has one of the lowest scientific budgets in Europe. This leads to a

significant brain drain and many scientific professionals leave the country. The country

has a strong tradition in mathematics, astronomy, physics, nuclear technology and

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sciences-oriented education, and has significant experience in medical and

pharmaceutical research. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), the leading

scientific institution in the country, employs most of Bulgaria's researchers in its

numerous branches.Bulgarian scientists have made several important discoveries and

inventions that have revolutionized global society: the world's first electronic digital

computer, designed by Bulgarian-American scientist John Vincent Atanasoff; the first

electronic digital watch (Peter Petroff), the first purpose-built aircraft bombs (capt.

Simeon Petrov); nivalin (prof. Dimitar Paskov); the molecular-kinetic theory of crystal

formation and crystal growth (formulated by Ivan Stranski) and photo electrets (Georgi

Nadjakov), the last forming an important step in the development of the first photocopier

machine. Bulgaria became the 6th country in the world to have an astronaut in space:

major-general Georgi Ivanov on Soyuz 33 (1979), followed by lieutenant-colonel

Alexander Alexandrov on Soyuz TM-5 (1988).Among Bulgaria's most advancedscientific branches computer technology features highly and in the 1980s the country

became known as the Silicon Valley of the Eastern Bloc. According to the Brain bench

Global IT IQ report, Bulgaria ranks first in Europe in terms of IT-certified specialists per

capita and 8th in the world in total ICT specialists, out-performing countries with far

larger populations. In addition, Bulgaria operates one of the most powerful

supercomputers in Eastern Europe, an IBM Blue Gene/P, which entered service in

September 2008.

Exports & Imports of Bulgaria:

Exports $22.3 billion (2008)

Export goods clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery

and equipment, fuels

Main export

partners

EU 60%, Turkey 7%, Serbia 3.1%, Russia 2.2%,

Macedonia 1.6%, US 1.1% (2008)

Imports $35.3 billion (2008)

Import goods machinery and equipment, metals and ores,

chemicals and plastics, fuels, minerals, and raw

materials

Main import EU 52%, Russia 13%, Ukraine 7%, Turkey 4%,

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largest zinc producer. Ferrous metallurgy also has major importance. Much of the

production of steel and pig iron takes place in Kremikovtsi and Pernik, with a third

metallurgical base in Debelt. The largest refineries for lead and zinc operate in Plovdiv,

Kardzhali and Novi Iskar; for copper in Pirdop and for aluminium in Shumen. In

production of many metals per capita, such as zinc and iron, Bulgaria ranks first in

Eastern Europe; it also produces the largest quantity of steel in the region. About 14% of

the total industrial production relates to machine building, and 20% of the people work in

this field.

COUNTRY PROFILE: ROMANIA

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Introduction: Romania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, Northof the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch,

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bordering on the Black Sea. Almost the entire Danube Delta is located within its territory.Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republicof Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.Romania has the 9th largest territory and the 7th largest population (with 21.5 millionpeople) among the European Union member states. Its capital and largest city is

Bucharest the 6th largest city in the EU with 1.9 million people. In 2007, Sibiu, a city inTransylvania, was chosen as a European Capital of Culture. Romania also joined NATOon March 29, 2004, and is also a member of the Latin Union, of the Francophonie, of theOSCE and of the United Nations, as well as an associate member of the CPLP. Romaniais a semi-presidential unitary state.

History: During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania, and Ottomansuzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, most Romanians were in the situation of beingsecond-class citizens (or even non-citizens) in a territory where they formed the majorityof the population. In some Transylvanian cities, such as Braov (at that time theTransylvanian Saxon citadel of Kronstadt), Romanians were not even allowed to reside

within the city walls. After the failed 1848 Revolution, the Great Powers did not supportthe Romanians' expressed desire to officially unite in a single state, which forcedRomania to proceed alone against the Ottomans. The electors in both Moldavia andWallachia chose in 1859 the same person Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince (Domnitor inRomanian). Thus, Romania was created as a personal union, albeit a Romania that didnot include Transylvania. There, the upper class and the aristocracy remained mainlyHungarian, and Romanian nationalism inevitably ran up against Hungarian in the late19th century. As in the previous 900 years, Austria-Hungary, especially under the DualMonarchy of 1867, kept the Hungarians firmly in control even in the parts ofTransylvania where Romanians constituted a local majority.In a 1866 coup d'tat, Cuza was exiled and replaced by Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-

Sigmaringen, who became known as Prince Carol of Romania. During the Russo-TurkishWar Romania fought on the Russian side, in and in the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, Romaniawas recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers. In return, Romania cededthree southern districts of Bessarabia to Russia and acquired Dobruja. In 1881, theprincipality was raised to a kingdom and Prince Carol became King Carol I.The 18781914 period was one of stability and progress for Romania. During the SecondBalkan War, Romania joined Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey against Bulgaria,and in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) Romania gained Southern Dobrudja.1989marked the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. A mid-December protest in Timioaraagainst the eviction of a Hungarian minister (Lszl Tks) grew into a country-wideprotest against the Ceauescu rgime, sweeping the dictator from power. On December22, President Nicolae Ceauescu had his apparatus gather a mass-meeting in Bucharestdowntown in an attempt to rally popular support for his regime and publicly condemn themass protests of Timioara. This meeting mirrored the mass-meeting gathered in 1968when Ceauescu had spoken out against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the WarsawTreaty countries. This time however, the people turned angry and riot broke out. Duringthe events of the following week, marked by confusion and street fighting, it is estimatedthat 1,051 people lost their lives. To this day, the real number of casualties are unknownand so are the identities of the individuals responsible for them. Those responsible for the

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casualties are still called "the terrorists". Ceauescu was arrested in Trgovite. After asummary trial by a kangaroo court, he and his wife were executed on December 25.During the Romanian Revolution of 1989, power was taken by a group called theNational Salvation Front (FSN), which grouped a large number of former members of theCommunist Party and Securitate (the Romanian equivalent of the KGB) but also a small

number of dissidents and other participants in the uprising who genuinely thought theFSN to be an anti-Communist movement. The FSN quickly assumed the mission ofrestoring civil order and immediately took seemingly democratic measures. TheCommunist Party was thus outlawed, and Ceauescu's most unpopular measures, such asbans on abortion and contraception, were rolled back.

Demographics: According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,698,181and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the comingyears as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates. Romanians make up 89.5% of thepopulation. The largest ethnic minorities are the Szekelys and Hungarians, who make up6.6% of the population and Romanies (Gypsies), who make up 2.46% of the population.

Hungarians constitute a majority in the counties of Harghita and Covasna. Ukrainians,Germans, Lipovans, Turks, Tatars, Serbs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Croats, Greeks, Russians,Jews, Czechs, Poles, Italians, Armenians, as well as other ethnic groups, account for theremaining 1.4% of the population. Of the 745,421 Germans in Romania in 1930, onlyabout 60,000 remained. In 1924, there were 796,056 Jews in the Kingdom of Romania.The number of Romanians and individuals with ancestors born in Romania living abroadis estimated at around 12 million.LanguagesThe official language of Romania is Romanian, an Eastern Romance language related toItalian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first languageby 91% of the population, with Hungarian and Romani, being the most important

minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively. Until the1990s, there was also a substantial number of German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons,even though many have since emigrated to Germany, leaving only 45,000 native Germanspeakers in Romania. In localities where a given ethnic minority makes up more than20% of the population, that minority's language can be used in the public administrationand justice system, while native-language education and signage is also provided. Englishand French are the main foreign languages taught in schools. English is spoken by 5million Romanians, French is spoken by 45 million, and German, Italian and Spanishare each spoken by 12 million people. Historically, French was the predominant foreignlanguage spoken in Romania, even though English has since superseded it. Consequently,Romanian English-speakers tend to be younger than Romanian French-speakers.Romania is, however, a full member of La Francophonie, and hosted the FrancophonieSummit in 2006. German has been taught predominantly in Transylvania, due totraditions tracing back to the Austro-Hungarian rule in this province.Romania is a secular state, thus having no national religion. The dominant religious bodyis the Romanian Orthodox Church, an autocephalous church within the Eastern Orthodoxcommunion; its members make up 86.7% of the population according to the 2002 census.Other important Christian denominations include Roman Catholicism (4.7%),Protestantism (3.7%), Pentecostalism (1.5%) and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church

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(0.9%). Romania also has a Muslim minority concentrated in Dobrogea, mostly ofTurkish ethnicity and numbering 67,500 people. Based on the 2002 census data, there arealso 6,179 Jews, 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or atheist, and 11,734 whorefused to answer. On December 27, 2006, a new Law on Religion was approved underwhich religious denominations can only receive official registration if they have at least

20,000 members, or about 0.1 percent of Romania's total population.Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian educational system has been in acontinuous process of reform that has been both praised and criticized. According to theLaw on Education adopted in 1995, the educational system is regulated by the Ministryof Education and Research. Each level has its own form of organization and is subject todifferent legislation. Kindergarten is optional for children between 3 and 6 years old.Schooling starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade (whichusually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16). Primary and secondary education are dividedinto 12 or 13 grades. Higher education is aligned with the European higher educationarea.

Value System: Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography andof its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentallydefined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and theBalkans, but cannot be truly included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on asubstratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements, with many otherinfluences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came fromthe Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in near Romania; from medieval Greeks, andthe Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from theHungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian cultureemerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence fromWestern culture, particularly French, and German culture.

The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many Romanian scholars as the GoldenAge of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level ofinternational affirmation and a strong connection to the European cultural trends. Themost important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the sculptorConstantin Brncui, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer ofabstraction, the innovator of world sculpture by immersion in the primordial sources offolk creation. His sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way formodernist sculptors. As a testimony to his skill, one of his pieces, "Bird in Space" , wassold in an auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture. In the periodbetween the two world wars, authors like Tudor Arghezi, Lucian Blaga, EugenLovinescu, Ion Barbu, Liviu Rebreanu made efforts to synchronize Romanian literaturewith the European literature of the time. George Enescu, probably the best knownRomanian musician, also came from this period; a composer, violinist, pianist, conductor,and teacher, the annual George Enescu Festival is held in Bucharest in his honor.The UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites includes Romanian sites such as the Saxonvillages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the Painted churches of northernMoldavia with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the Wooden Churches ofMaramures unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timberconstruction, the Monastery of Horezu, the citadel of Sighioara, and the Dacian

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Fortresses of the Ortie Mountains. Romania's contribution to the World Heritage Liststands out because it consists of some groups of monuments scattered around the country,rather than one or two special landmarks. Also, in 2007, the city of Sibiu famous for itsBrukenthal National Museum is the European Capital of Culture alongside the city ofLuxembourg.

Business Environment: With a surface area of 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sqmi), Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the twelfth-largest inEurope. A large part of Romania's border with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by theDanube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with theRepublic of Moldova. The Danube flows into the Black Sea within Romania's territoryforming the Danube Delta, the second largest and the best preserved delta in Europe, anda biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site. Other important rivers are theSiret, running north-south through Moldavia, the Olt, running from the orientalCarpathian Mountains to Oltenia, and the Mure, running through Transylvania from Eastto West.

A high percentage (47% of the land area) of the country is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Since almost half of all forests in Romania (13% of the country) havebeen managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of thelargest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe. The integrity of Romanian forestecosystems is indicated by the presence of the full range of European forest fauna,including 60% and 40% of all European brown bears and wolves, respectively. There arealso almost 400 unique species of mammals (of which Carpathian chamois are bestknown), birds, reptiles and amphibians in Romania.Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of theEuropean continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate andcontinental with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 C (52 F) in

the south and 8 C (46 F) in the north. The extreme recorded temperatures are 44.5 C(112.1 F) in Ion Sion 1951 and 38.5 C (37 F) in Bod 1942.Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for International economic exchange inEurope. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, thetransport infrastructure does not meet the current needs of a market economy and lagsbehind Western Europe. Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidly improving andcatching up with the standards of Trans-European transport networks. Several projectshave been started with funding from grants from ISPA and several loans fromInternational Financial Institutions (World Bank, IMF, etc.) guaranteed by the state, toupgrade the main road corridors. Also, the Government is actively pursuing new externalfinancing or public-private partnerships to further upgrade the main roads, and especiallythe country's motorway network.

Political System: The Constitution of Romania is based on the Constitution of France'sFifth Republic and was approved in a national referendum on December 8, 1991. A

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plebiscite held in October 2003 approved 79 amendments to the Constitution, bringing itinto conformity with European Union legislation. Romania is governed on the basis ofmulti-party democratic system and of the segregation of the legislative, executive andjudicial powers. Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executivefunctions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The President is

elected by popular vote for maximum two terms, and since the amendments in 2003, theterms are five years. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who in turn appoints theCouncil of Ministers. While the president resides at Cotroceni Palace, the Prime Ministerwith the Romanian Government is based at Victoria Palace.The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the Parliament(Parlamentul Romniei), consists of two chambers the Senate (Senat), which has 140members, and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputailor), which has 346 members.The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system of party-listproportional representation.The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up ofa hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice,

which is the supreme court of Romania. There are also courts of appeal, county courtsand local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the Frenchmodel, considering that it is based on civil law and is inquisitorial in nature. TheConstitutional Court (Curtea Constituional) is responsible for judging the compliance oflaws and other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamentallaw of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amendedby a public referendum, the last one being in 2003. Since this amendment, the court'sdecisions cannot be overruled by any majority of the parliament.The country's entry into the European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence onits domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms includingjudicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to

combat corruption. Nevertheless, in 2006 Brussels report, Romania and Bulgaria weredescribed as the two most corrupt countries in the EU, and it was ranked as the mostcorrupt EU country by Transparency International in 2009, alongside Bulgaria andGreece.

Legal System: The Judiciary is the third component within the political system. It is anautonomous power, with an independent budget. The Judiciary is represented by thecourts, the Prosecutor's Office, and the investigation authorities. Judges, assessors,prosecutors and examining magistrates are subject only to the law. Jurisdiction isperformed by district and military courts. It should be performed by the Supreme Courtof Causation, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Court of Appeal, but the last two arenot yet established. The law makes no provisions for extraordinary courts. The courtsguarantee equality and conditions for fair competition between the sides in legalproceedings. The Chief Prosecutor exercises control and supervision over the legality ofthe activity of all prosecutors. The investigating authorities are incorporated in the systemof judiciary power. They carry out the preliminary investigations of criminal cases.

The Supreme Legal Council has 45 members. The judges, prosecutors, and examiningmagistrates have immunity, as do the parliamentary deputies. The Constitutional Court

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has a special place in the system of judiciary power, being the supreme arbiter of thedifferent powers in conflicts that arise during the performance of their rights and duties,and in the relations between them.

Economy: With a GDP of around $264 billion and a GDP per capita (PPP) of $12,285

estimated for 2008, Romania is an upper-middle income country economy and has beenpart of the European Union since January 1, 2007.After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced adecade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base anda lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy wastransformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterized by high growth,low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006, according to the Romanian StatisticsOffice, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates inEurope. Growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007, but was expected to exceed 8% in 2008because of a high production forecast in agriculture (3050% higher than in 2007). TheGDP grew by 8.9% in the first nine months of 2008, but growth fell to 2.9% in the fourth

quarter and stood at 7.1% for the whole 2008 because of the financial crisis.According to Eurostat data, the Romanian PPS GDP per capita stood at 46% of the EUaverage in 2008. Unemployment in Romania was at 3.9% in September 2007, which isvery low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as Poland,France, Germany and Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP.Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year risein exports in the first quarter of 2006. Romania's main exports are clothing and textiles,industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, rawmaterials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, andagricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centered on themember states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country's single

largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, whichincreased sharply during 2007 by 50%, to 15 billon.After a series of privatizations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, governmentintervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other Europeaneconomies. In 2005, the government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with aflat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the countryhaving the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union, a factor which has contributed tothe growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, whichaccount for 55% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significantcontributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of theRomanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of thehighest rates in Europe.Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becomingthe single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe. Foreigndirect investment was valued at 8.3 billion in 2006. According to a 2006 World Bankreport, Romania currently ranks 49th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business,scoring higher than other countries in the region such as Hungary and the CzechRepublic. Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastesteconomic reformer (after Georgia) in 2006. The average gross wage per month in

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Romania was 1855 lei in May 2009, equating to 442.48 (US$627.70) based oninternational exchange rates, and $1110.31 based on purchasing power parity. In 2009 theRomanian economy contracted as a result of the global economic downturn. Grossdomestic product contracted 7.1% in the third quarter of 2009 from the same period ayear earlier, and the IMF estimates that the budget deficit will be as high as 7.8%

Technological Developments: The Romanian Information Technology Initiative(RITI), is part of the DOT-COM Alliance which consists of three USAID fundedLeader-with-Associates cooperative agreements (CAs), each with specific areas of ICTexpertise, two of which are present in Romanian;

dot-GOV: (RITI Policy) led by Internews NetworkPromotes policy andregulatory reform to create enabling environments for ICT, including e-commerce, e-Government and an open and secure Internet but also trade intelecom services

dot-ORG: (RITI Access)Extends ICT access to under-served communities andaccelerates the applications of development-related uses of ICT -led by the

Academy of Educational Development (AED).

Initially RITI dot-Gov, also called RITI Policy, assisted primarily with issues ofimportance to create a regulatory environment that could handle the transition from amonopoly market for telecommunications to a fully open competitive market. Varioustraining activities were organized for the new regulator, ANRC, but some assistance wasalso given to the private sector with a specific focus on SMEs.

Other workshops focused on discussing new wireless solutions that could be constructive

for Romania and elaborated on the kind of regulatory measurements that would benecessary to facilitate their implementation.

During its third and last year of operation RITI dot-Gov is focusing primarily on cyber-security and e-Government related topics of specific interest to MCTI.

RITI dot-Gov has access to a number of experts from United States and from differentparts of Europe.

Exports & Imports of Romania: Italy is Romania's largest trading partner; two-waytrade totaled some $22.6 billion in 2007. The principal Italy exports to Romania include

computers, integrated circuits, aircraft parts and other defense equipment, wheat, andautomobiles. Romania's chief exports to Italy include cut diamonds, jewelry, integratedcircuits, printing machinery, and telecommunications equipment. 2.8% of the country'sGDP is derived from Agricultural activity. While Romania imports substantial quantitiesof grain, it is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products and food stuffs, due tothe fact that food must be regulated for sale in the Romania retail market, and henceimports almost no food products from other countries. Romania imported in 2006 foodproducts of 2.4 billion euros, up almost 20% versus 2005, when the imports were worth

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