UK daily Financial Times published an entire file dedicated to the evolution Romania noted after joining the European Union, on January 1, 2007. The situation is described as Sense of direction still lacking after EU accession".
According to Financial Times, Romania made important steps towards an economy boosted by investments, offering the city of Cluj and its new Nokia facility as example. Romania already fulfils three of five Maastricht criteria and has set 2014 as an indicative target date to join the euro-zone.
However, development is uneven, real convergence is still a long way ahead, and vulnerabilities have appeared. Economic growth is fuelled by household consumption, based on a combination of rising wages (which are outstripping productivity gains) and a credit boom", FT notes.
