Ovidiu Nicolescu, president of the National Council for Private Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, said 20-25 per cent of Romanian SMEs could stop operations after the country's accession to the European Union (EU) because they would not be able to survive the competition.
Nicolescu said EU accession would affect companies in all sectors, but especially those in processing industries and services.
"In Spain, Greece and Portugal between 15 and 30 per cent of SMEs were closed down in the first three years after accession.
It is very likely that between 20 and 25 per cent of the Romanian companies cannot survive competition," said Nicolescu.
According to Mediafax, he added that the effects of EU accession could be limited through information campaigns, training and consultancy services for Romanian firms.
Source: Bucharest Business Week
