The 20th anniversary of a historic treaty
Two decades have passed since Romania signed its EU accession treaty.
Daniela Budu, 28.04.2025, 14:00
It’s been 20 years since Romania signed its EU accession treaty, which allowed it to officially become a member of the European Union on 1st January 2007. Bucharest first applied for EU membership in 1995, with EU leaders approving the opening of accession talks in 1999, which lasted until the end of 2004. The ceremony to sign the accession treaty took place on 25th April 2005 in Luxembourg, the country holding the EU rotating presidency at the time. “For us, European Union membership will be the fulfilment of a dream that is more than half a century old, that of breaking the barriers and becoming part of the European community of shared values, prosperity and security”, said the country’s president at the time, Traian Băsescu, after the signing of the treaty.
In the 20 years since, Romania has had a number of achievements, the most recent of which was its full entry into the Schengen free movement area from 1st January 2025 and passing the threshold of 100 billion euros worth of European funds received since accession. According to the finance ministry, Bucharest has in turn contributed almost 33 billion euros to the EU budget. Another landmark was Romania’s holding the rotating presidency 12 years after becoming a member, in the first half of 2019. The country has also contributed actively, alongside the other EU member states, to combating the Covid-19 pandemic and is now helping Ukraine, together with the European Union, to withstand Russia’s aggression that began more than three years ago.
The trust of the Romanian people in the European Union has dropped by 25% compared to the moment of accession, according to an INSCOP poll. Fewer than half of respondents believe EU membership is a good thing, but almost 90% agree that it is in Romania’s best interest to remain a member of the European Union and NATO. Also, the latest Eurobarometer commissioned by the European Parliament shows that seven out of ten people in Romania believe their country really does benefit from its EU membership and 75% believe EU states should act in a more coordinated manner in order to face current global challenges.
In a statement to mark the 20th anniversary of Romania’s signing its EU accession treaty, the country’s interim president Ilie Bolojan said Romania must consolidate its EU membership. “It gives us the opportunity to recognise the benefits of our EU membership and focus on consolidating this process, for the sake of a safer and more prosperous future for all Romanian citizens”, he said. “Joining the European Union, alongside NATO membership, is our country’s most important national objective after the fall of communism and has brought about the modernisation of Romanian society”, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said, adding that “the success of this project was based on the consensus of the entire society and the entire political class”, as well as European solidarity. “Today, a committed and responsible member state that enjoys all the benefits of its EU membership, we are contributing actively to the consolidation of the European project, which is based on our shared values and interests”, the foreign ministry in Bucharest said.
