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Europe and Central Asia Dept,
DFID, 1 Palace St, London, SW1E 5E
Tel: + 020 7023 0000|Fax: 020 7023 1010
Map courtesy of the FCO
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Romania
Romania ranks as a lower middle-income country with Gross National Income (GNI)
per capita of around US$2,310. Despite being a middle-income country, poverty
levels in Romania remain significant. Of a population of around 22 million,
approximately 25% live below the national poverty line.
Despite considerable agricultural resources some 60% of Romania's poor live
in rural areas. In addition to concentrations of poverty, Romania also has gaps
in its policy agendas, a weak institutional capacity to manage reform, and
restricted, volatile access to private capital flows.
Romania is expected to accede to the European Union (EU) by the end of the
decade. For more information about the political and economic situation in
Romania please see the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Romania site.
DFID in Romania
The Goal of DFID's strategy is to support Romania in achieving a successful
transition to a pluralistic democracy and a well regulated market economy in
such a way that benefits are sustainable and spread through all levels of
society.
The purpose is to increase the capacity, effectiveness, transparency and
accountability of government (central, regional and local), civil society and
the private sector to carry out and sustain the transition whilst ensuring that
social dimensions are properly addressed.
The main channels of financial support for the transition process in Romania
will be the PHARE and pre-accession instruments managed by the European
Commission (EC), and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
programmes, to all of which the UK is a significant contributor.
As a consequence of Romania's prospective accession to the EU and it's
middle-income status, DFID decided to close its bilateral programmes in Romania
by March 2005, having provided over £30 million of bilateral assistance since
1991.
The UK will continue to support Romania through multilateral programmes and
political dialogue. DFID shall look for opportunities for further collaboration
and for co-financing opportunities with the World Bank and the EC.
As well as seeking to ensure that the European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) investments are targeted at priority areas. DFID's
contribution to EBRD's trust funds will continue to support project preparation
and analytical work in Romania.
Other Donors
European Union (EU) aid to Near Accession countries including Romania is
significant. Total funding to Romania during the period 2004-2006 will be
approximately €2.8 billion.
DFID is a significant contributor to this, providing about 18% of EC aid
resources overall. In addition to this, theWorld
Bank has approved lending of up to US$1.5 billion during 2003-05 in Romania.
Useful Links
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Last updated: 18 August 2005
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