Dutch debate Schengen question

Newsroom 20/06/2011 | 11:19

There are still business opportunities in Romania – albeit fewer than in recent times – and the situation is expected to recover, with the potentially delayed accession to the Schengen area not affecting this. This was the view of many company representatives at the third Dutch Business Forum organized by Business Review last week.

Simona Bazavan


A hot topic of recent times also addressed by participants at the Dutch Business Forum was Romania’s accession to the Schengen area. Attendees debated whether Romania is ready to join the zone right now and whether a delay in its admission would impact the local business environment.

“Romania’s accession would be a normal step forward,” said Robin Martens, general director of Archicom and also VP of the Netherlands Romanian Chamber of Commerce (NRCC). Strongly worded statements about whether Romania is ready to join Schengen or not have come from European politicians, including Dutch ones, and although politics weigh heavy in the debate, there is also the question of how Romania is perceived internationally said attendees. Going further than the general public’s opinion, this also impacts the local business environment.

 “I think it is a matter of not knowing what is happening in these countries (e.n. Romania and Bulgaria). There is a perception gap between those who are active in Romania or know the country very well and people outside the country that have another perception and not the right one, in my view,” added Martens.

“It is obvious that the general public in quite a few Western European countries have a rather negative impression of Romania and this is mainly based on corruption. Generally this is of course not good for business,” said Peter Jansen, partner with Brainovate. “On the other hand companies look further than the general public as they are interested in business opportunities. Right now there are fewer such opportunities in Romania than there were three or four years ago but the situation will rebound,” Jansen went on, adding that Romania not joining the Schengen area in the near future will not have an immediate effect on the local economy. “In my opinion the most important issue is not international perception but the fact that Romanian authorities are not able to come up with good projects,” he commented.

Flemming Sorensen, general manager of Damen Shipyard Galati, argued that Romania’s accession is a matter of timing. He also said that in a general context that makes many Western European countries reluctant to open up more, Romania is met with suspicion by foreigners who don’t know the country very well.  “Does it matter for the industry here? Psychologically I think yes; in practice it matters less. If I look at it from Damen Shipyard’s point of view, we don’t have any serious problems with it. It is not a major obstacle,” Sorensen went on.

“It’s not a matter of whether Romania will join Schengen but when,” said Hans Smaling, head of the economic and trade section of the Netherlands Embassy in Bucharest. “The Netherlands thinks that Romania is pretty much on track in terms of economic reform and the authorities are working very hard in the judicial sector,” added the diplomat. A lot has to be done still, but further improvements will lead to a win-win situation. “Ultimately the judicial reforms will also benefit business in term of transparency and predictability of the business climate,” Smaling added.

Talking about business opportunities in Romania, Jansen argued that in Romania it continues to be relatively cheap to set up a new business and Romanians are very much into setting their own companies.

 “What is lacking sometimes is realism,” he noted. Peter de Ruiter, partner tax & legal services at PwC Romania, president of NRCC and also the event’s moderator, aired his view that SMEs are a driving factor for any economy. “If we look at Germany, the Netherlands and certainly in the future also Romania, SMEs will be the backbone of growth for the economy,” he said.

Discussions also touched on whether Romania could benefit from a technocrat government this year, prior to the elections, as some politicians have suggested, and the effects of the crisis on the local labor market and productivity.

The third Dutch Business Forum attracted around 50 participants to the Capital Plaza Hotel.

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