The Dutch Business Community is actively supporting Romania's accession into the Schengen Area

Bucharest, 18 October 2011. The Dutch business community in Romania is strongly supportive of Romania's accession into the Schengen Area. The Netherlands-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and its sister organization in The Netherlands, the Dutch Romanian Network, are constantly engaged in dialogue with the Dutch authorities in order to determine a change of position in what concerns Romania's accession into the Schengen Zone.

"More than 3000 Dutch companies are active in Romania and our overall investments in this country are well over 11 billion Euros. This is the best sign that the Dutch business community is optimistic about the economic perspectives of this country and we believe that it would be in the interest of both Romania and the wider EU for Romania to be allowed access in the Schengen Zone" stated Peter de Ruiter, President, Netherlands-Romanian Chamber of Commerce.

"We understood from the Dutch authorities that The Netherlands will not link Romania's entry into the Schengen Zone with the progresses that Romania needs to do in what concerns justice and the fight against corruption. It is disappointing to see that such a connection was made in the end and we hope that the Government in The Hague will eventually change its position on this topic. However, our latest contacts with the Dutch officials give us reasons to be optimistic", declared Ben Jager, Executive President, Dutch Romanian Network.

The Netherlands are the biggest investor in Romania, with Dutch companies very well represented in such areas as the financial sector, agriculture, food and beverages, transport and logistics and industrial production. Still, the Netherlands-Romanian Chamber of Commerce sees lots of potential and development opportunities in areas in which The Netherlands has a long history and strong capability, like water management, energy, agriculture and logistics. In order to facilitate investments in these areas, Schengen accession is crucial, according to the NRCC.

"There are many Dutch investors interested about the business opportunities that Romania has to offer. We believe that Romania has a very good potential in various economic fields such as energy, agriculture, transport and logistics and industrial production and that with the right kind of fiscal policies and with steady and effective investments in infrastructure, we would talk in a few decades about Romania as one of the success stories from an economic point of view of the European Union", added Peter de Ruiter.

About the NRCC

The Netherlands-Romanian Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization established in 2005 which represents more than 85 direct members in The Netherlands and Romania. More information about the NRCC is available on the following web page: www.netherlands.ro.

About The Dutch Romanian Network

The Dutch Romanian Network (DRN) is a non-profit organization established by and for entrepreneurs who do business in Romania. More information on the activity of the DRN is available by accessing the following internet address: www.dutchromaniannetwork.nl.