Romania country brief
Overview
Romania is a Southeastern European country located on the Black Sea. It is bordered by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the west, and Ukraine and Moldova to its north. The capital of Romania is Bucharest.
In 2012, the population of Romania stood at 19 million (according to the preliminary results of the 2011 census). Although 90% of the population are ethnic Romanians, the country also has a sizable Hungarian minority (6.5%) and smaller groups of Roma, Ukrainians, Germans, Russians, and Turkish.
The country’s national day, known as Unification Day, occurs on December 1 and marks the 1918 union of Romania and Transylvania.
Bilateral relations
Australia and Romania share a relationship based on community ties and a likeminded approach on a range of international issues. According to the 2006 census, there were 12,950 Romanian-born people living in Australia, with the majority residing in New South Wales and Queensland. It is estimated that there are a further 16,000 people living in Australia who are of Romanian descent.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Romania were established in 1968. Australia is represented by an Honorary Consulate in Bucharest. Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Romania is based in Budapest. Romania has an Embassy in Canberra, a Consulate-General in Sydney and an Honorary Consulate in Melbourne.
Australia's two-way trade with Romania was approximately A$76 million in 2011. Main exports to Romania in 2011 were electric applications for line telephony; medicaments; taps, cocks and valves; and plastic plates, sheets and films. Key imports were clothing, rubber tyres, treads and tubes; medicaments; and ball and roller bearings. Australia's trade in services with Romania is negligible.
Bilateral agreements
Romania and Australia have concluded an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, a Trade and Economic Agreement and an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.
High level visits
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd attended the NATO Summit in Bucharest in April 2008.
An Australian Parliamentary delegation led by Senator Alan Ferguson, Chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, visited Romania in April 2003.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, Bogdan Olteanu, visited Australia in September 2006 with a business delegation. The Romanian Deputy Minister responsible for relations with the diaspora, Christian Niculescu, visited Australia in October 2001, principally to meet with the Romanian community. President Emil Constantinescu visited Australia in September 2000 for the Olympic Games.
Political overview
As set out in the 1991 Constitution (revised in 2003), Romania has a presidential political system. Under this system, an executive President is elected directly for a maximum of two five year terms and acts as the Head of State. While in office, the President must renounce all party positions and affiliations. The President is the Commander of the Armed Forces, represents the State in foreign relations and may take part in Government meetings to discuss issues of national interest.
The 2009 Presidential election went to a runoff, with incumbent President Traian Băsescu claiming a narrow victory. Băsescu was sworn in for a second term on 16 December 2009.
The legislature comprises two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies (332 seats) and the Senate (137 seats). The Constitution gives Parliament a central place in the system of state authorities. It has power in exceptional circumstances to dismiss or suspend the President.
The President appoints the Prime Minister based on parliamentary elections. A mixed single constituency/party list voting system was used for the first time during the most recent elections, held on 30 November 2008. The system replaced the use of party lists, where citizens voted for a list of party-nominated candidates, rather than a single candidate. However, parties are still required to cross the threshold of 5% of the total vote to obtain representation in Parliament.
The 2008 election in the Chamber of Deputies saw the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP) gain 32.4% 115 seats, narrowly ahead of the Social Democratic Party-Conservative Party (PSD-PC) alliance, which gained 114 despite a slightly higher percentage of the vote (33.1% compared to the DLP’s 32.4%). The ruling coalition formed by the DLP and the PSD-PC collapsed in September 2009. The subsequent government formed by the DLP and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) resigned in February 2012, after a series of demonstrations in Bucharest and other cities protesting the country’s economic austerity measures.
A new government was formed in February 2012, led by an independent, Dr Mihai Razvan Ungureanu. Ungureanu is backed by a coalition comprising the DLP, the UDMR and the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR). The next parliamentary election is due in November 2012.
Foreign policy issues
Romania's overriding foreign policy priority remains strengthening relations with other European Union countries and the United States. It joined the European Union in 2007 and NATO in 2004.
Romania attaches strategic importance to its relations with the US and sees its "anchorage" as being in the EU.
Romania hosted the Bucharest NATO Summit in April 2008. There is strong public support for Romania's NATO membership, which is seen by Romanians as an important guarantor of stability in its immediate region. It is also hoped that closer integration with regional and international organisations such as NATO will attract further foreign investment. Romania contributed to military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has signed an agreement with the US to allow access to Romanian military facilities. The US-Romania Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement came into force on December 23, 2011.
Economic overview
Romania's economy is largely based on services, which account for 50% of GDP. Industry constitutes the second-largest sector at around 37.8%, followed by agriculture (12.3% of GDP). Despite the small proportion of GDP agriculture represents, some 43% of Romania’s population live in non-urban areas. Principal export destinations are Germany, Italy, and France, while the main import sources are Germany, Italy, and Hungary (see Romania - Fact Sheet).
As a consequence of the global financial crisis, Romania suffered a large economic contraction in 2009 of approximately 7%, forcing it to seek an emergency assistance package from the IMF. The stiff austerity measures introduced as part of the IMF package led to a further contraction of the economy by 1.3% in 2010. In 2011, the Romanian government signed a two-year standby agreement with the IMF to safeguard against further instability. GDP grew by a modest 1.5% in 2011, but a high budget deficit of 4.2% is indicative of Romania’s continued problems. At US$12 300, Romania’s per capita GDP is the second lowest in the EU.
Updated March 2012