by PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consultants |
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Knowledge – the first step for a successful accession process |
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EU Accession – realistic optimism |
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Increasing interest as the accession date draws near |
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| One of the main issues faced by every candidate country is its degree of readiness for successfully becoming part of the Single Market, a market characterized by competitive pressures. |
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| Given this background, a large number of studies were conducted in candidate countries focusing on the EU readiness of companies and institutions. Romania makes no exception from this rule since 2006 represents probably the last year before joining the European Union. In September 2005, PricewaterhouseCoopers commisioned the Institute for Marketing and Research (IMAS) to conduct such a survey. |
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| The selected sample included: large companies (with more than 500 employees and turnover higher than EUR 5 million) and medium and small enterprises with different scopes of activity, while for the public institutions, local counties, city halls and local development agencies having regional or local attributions were interviewed. Overall, the telephone interviews included 61 public institutions and 446 companies. |
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| The key themes of the survey included: |
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The EU knowledge level |
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The effects of the accession and the degree of readiness for implementing the acquis |
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Perception of the post-accession funds |
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Knowledge – the first step for a successful accession process |
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| The findings of the survey have shown that both public institutions and private companies have a certain level of knowledge about the EU acquis governing their area of activity. Yet, the majority of respondents expressed interest in obtaining extra information on the topic. |
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| However, only 26% of the public institutions and 20% of the private companies believe that they are fully informed as regards the EU legislation. |
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| Regarding the agreement between the European Union and Romania, concerning the country's accession into the EU, namely the “Accession Treaty”, 67% of the respondents representing public institutions have read it as compared to only 21% of the private companies. |
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| The results point to an urgent need for improving the level of knowledge about what the European Union entails, and the short period of time left until the accession date stresses the need for immediate actions, because the lack of such knowledge imply not being ready for entering the Single Market. |
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EU Accession – realistic optimism |
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A more detailed analysis of the results reveal an uneven situation: large companies are the most prepared and seeking extra information about the effects of the accession, while smaller companies (in terms of turnover and number of employees) exhibit a lower degree of readiness and diminished interest for being informed. Unless immediate and significant changes take place, larger companies will further develop while smaller ones will loose opportunities and even cease to function.
According to the results of the survey, the perceptions on the effects of the accession are realistic. The majority of the respondents identified both the benefits and costs of joining the EU: the access to the Single Market, the enhancement of the business environment, the increase in efficiency, the access to new sources of financing were among the benefits, while the increase in the cost of utilities and raw materials, the loss of a number of suppliers and customers and the increase in wages were highlighted as drawbacks. |
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Increasing interest as the accession date draws near |
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With the upcoming accession, there is a growing interest in finding out about its consequences in terms of the costs and the opportunities for public institutions and companies likewise. In other words, the existence of significant costs which have already started to materialise, has determined the institutions and companies to seek for new opportunities.
Such opportunities envisage not only the expansion to new markets but also accessing the EU funds. At the time of the survey, only 27% of the companies had applied for EU funding and two thirds of the applicants were granted the funds. When asked if they intend to apply for funds in the near future (one year) the number of the positive answers grew significantly (approx. 42% of the companies), revealing an increasing interest. |
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When comparing the above results to the findings for the public institutions, the conclusion that may be drawn is that public institutions play a more active role when it comes to EU funding. Thus, 95% of the public institutions had already applied for funds and 92% obtained financing.
The difference in results for the public institutions as compared to the private companies may be explained on one hand by the fact that a large amount of the EU funds was exclusively designated to strengthening the institutional capacity and on the other hand by the higher degree of knowledge shared by the public institutions regarding this matter. Another important aspect related to this topic refers to the specific procedures required for the EU-funded projects: prior experience in project application and project management or specialised assistance from consulting companies is a must, in order to be successful.
Based on the results of the survey, the overall conclusion is that both public institutions and private companies are aware of the positive and negative effects of the accession on their activity. In spite of this, 36% of the public institutions and 49% of the private companies have not started yet the procedures for adopting the acquis or they are in initial stages. This outcome, together with the small number of institutions and companies which have estimated the costs of complying with EU regulations should determine in the nearby period increasing efforts for dissemination of information in order to increase the level of perception of the benefits and responsibilities attached to becoming EU member.
Moreover, Romania should seize the benefits of the so-called “second wave” by drawing upon the experience of other CEE countries that have joined EU on 1 st of May 2004. |
