The European Union has been good for the Romanian economy. Ever since the prospect of EU membership started to look plausible – back in 1999 – the growth rate of gross domestic product has averaged around 6 per cent a year.

“Investors believed the European Union convergence story, and bought into it in a substantial way,” says Cristian Popa, deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, the central bank. “Romania is growing fast also because it is catching up with the other new EU member states.”