OECD opens membership talks with 6 countries

This week, 38 OECD member countries agreed to open accession discussions with Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, and Romania.

After their accession process is successfully completed, there will probably remain only one EU country that is not an OECD member at the same time – the Republic of Cyprus (because of Turkey’s objection). Malta is currently not an OECD member either, however, it applied for OECD membership in 2005 and its accession process is already running.

Speaking after this week’s decision, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann noted: “OECD Members confirmed today that the OECD is an open, globally relevant and evolving organisation. OECD membership remains the most direct and effective way to ensure the adoption and dissemination of our shared values, principles and standards across the world”. He pointed out that “candidate countries will be able to use the accession process to promote further reforms for the benefit of their people, while also strengthening the OECD as a like-minded community committed to a rules-based international order”.

The technical reviews will cover a wide range of policy areas and will focus on priority issues including open trade and investment, progress on public governance, integrity and anti-corruption efforts, as well as the effective protection of the environment and action on climate.

There is no deadline for completion of the accession processes. The outcome and timeline depend on each candidate country’s capacity to adapt and adjust to align with the Organisation’s standards and best practices.

Once all the technical committees have completed their reviews, a final decision will need to be taken by unanimity of all OECD Member countries in OECD’s Council.