Romania seen possible to shift export to outside of EU after accession

Romania will probably export more to the markets outside the European Union (EU) after its accession to the bloc, experts of The National Commission for Prognosis (CNP) said on Monday.

Romania may export less to the EU member states after the accession, while its exports to the extra-EU area will increase significantly, according to a CNP survey on the experience of the countries which joined the EU in 2004.

Analysts explained the prospects for changes in the share of exports were due to the use of the EU's single tariff and the implemention of European foreign trade policies.

The shift was evident in 2005 when Romania's exports outside the EU grew 41 percent, while its exports to countries within the EU in that year were at their lowest, comparable to Lithuania and Slovakia, two EU members which joined in 2004, the CNP analysts said.

The experts drew their conclusion largely by studying the EU members who joined the bloc in 2004.

For example, after its accession in 2004, Hungary registered a 4.9 percent increase in exports to the countries outside the EU, followed by Estonia with 4.6 percent, Poland 3.6 percent and the Czech Republic 2.1 percent.

The same may occur for Romania when it joins the EU in 2007, the report said.

Source: Xinhua