Romania

Political relations

France traditionally enjoys a significant goodwill in Romania, which has its origins in Napoleon III’s support for the creation of the Romanian State, and later a lasting brotherhood of arms forged during the First World War. Ties were maintained during the Communist period, with General de Gaulle visiting Romania in May 1968. Bilateral political dialogue has developed significantly since 1989 when France supported Bucharest’s dual candidacy to the European Union and NATO, and culminated in February 2008 with the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with a roadmap that was updated in 2013 and 2016 and, most recently, on 26 October 2020.

Economic relations

France has significant economic interests in Romania and is a major economic partner for the country as its third-largest customer and sixth-largest supplier. With a foreign direct investment stock of €8.3 billion and 9.4% of holdings, France is the third-largest foreign investor behind Germany (14.9%) and Austria (11.4%), but ahead of Italy (8.5%), the United States (6.6%) and the Netherlands (6.2%).

Our companies have typically been present more than 20 years and are part of the country’s economic fabric. The Romanian economy has more than 4,000 companies under majority French ownership, directly employing more than 125,000 people and producing turnover of €16.4 billion, or 7.5% of GDP. Almost all CAC 40 companies (37 out of 40) are present in Romania.

Our economic relationship is also centred on high-value added industrial cooperation, particularly in the automobile sector (Renault-Dacia represents 8% of Romania’s exports and employs more than 18,000 people), aeronautics (Airbus Helicopters site in the Brașov aeronautical cluster), energy (Engie Romania is the country’s leading gas distributor and supplier) and telecommunications (Orange is the leader on the Romanian mobile telephony market, with more than 10.9 million customers). France is also a leader in retail, with Carrefour, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Cora, while the industrial companies Saint-Gobain, Michelin and Air Liquide have several production sites.