Romania EU Member
Overview
Capital: Bucharest
Official EU language(s): Romanian
EU Member State: since 1 January 2007
Currency: Romanian Leu RON. Romania has committed to adopt the euro once it fulfils the necessary conditions.
Schengen: member since 31 March 2024
Figures:
- Geographical size: 238 398 km2
- Population: 19 064 409 (2024)
(Source: Eurostat – figures for geographical size and population)
Political system
Romania is a semi-presidential republic with a president who is the head of state and a prime minister who is the head of government. Both the government and the president hold executive functions.
The country is divided into 41 counties and the municipality of Bucharest. Each county is administered by a county council, responsible for local affairs, and a prefect responsible for administering national affairs at county level.
Trade and economy
Romania’s GDP per capita of €30 000 ranks below the EU average (€37 600). It accounts for 1.9% of the EU’s total GDP.
(Source: Eurostat – figures for GDP per capita and GDP)
Budgets and funding
How does Romania benefit from the EU budget?
The EU budget is the tool to ensure that Europe remains a democratic, peaceful, prosperous and competitive force. The EU uses it to finance its priorities and big projects that most individual EU countries could not finance on their own.
The benefits of EU membership significantly exceed the size of the EU budget contributions and the examples are many. All Member States benefit from being part of the Single Market, a shared approach to the common challenges of migration, terrorism and climate change, and concrete gains like better transport infrastructure, modernised and digitalised public services and cutting-edge medical treatment.
How much each EU country pays into the EU budget is calculated fairly. The larger your country’s economy, the more it pays – and vice versa.
The EU budget is not about giving and taking – it’s about collectively contributing to making Europe and the world a better place for us all.
EU-funded projects in Romania
Money from the EU budget helps fund programmes and projects in all EU countries – for example to build roads, subsidise researchers and protect the environment.
Find out more about how Romania benefits from EU funding and recovery funds in your country or region.
