THE FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL ELECTS A NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC), in their annual General Assembly on April 7 2003, elected a new Board of Directors. The new Board, which will serve for the next twelve months, is comprised of 15 members, listed in alphabetical order of their company:

Patrick Gelin - BRD Groupe Societe Generale; Alexis Sacre - Coca Cola; Rod Grant - Ernst&Young; Roberto Musneci – GlaxoSmithKline; Gilbert Wood - Hall Dickler; Helmut Bernkopf - HVB Bank; Kurt Habersatter – Holcim; Victor Kevehazi – KPMG; John Saunders – Kvaerner IMGB; Veronica Savanciuc – Lowe & Partners; Bernard Moscheni – Orange; Jean Pierre Vigroux – PricewaterhouseCoopers; Christian Esteve – Renault; Serge Monier - Zaharul Oradea; Gianluca Testa - Zoppas Industries.

The new Board will elect its officers, consisting of a President, three Vice Presidents and a Treasurer, in its first meeting on April 24 2003.

The outgoing Board expressed its gratitude to Fergus Cass, its former President, for his outstanding contribution to the FIC and particularly for guiding it through a challenging period for investors in Romania. The FIC thanked Mr. Cass for his efforts, enthusiasm and dedication during his term of office, which contributed significantly to improving the Romanian business climate.

The Board reported that the first big event of last year, which set the FIC’s 2002 agenda, was the publication in May of the third edition of the “White Book”. On this occasion, the White Book was linked explicitly to EU membership and indeed was given the title “An Investment Climate for EU Membership”. The FIC believes that many of the proposals in the White Book regarding improvements to the business climate are crucial to achieving Romania’s successful entry into the EU. Increasingly, the views of the FIC are a factor in assessments about whether Romania is making progress regarding EU accession.

Since publication of the White Book, there has been further progress. The FIC senses that the government is serious about listening to the concerns of the business community. At the same time, many businesses have yet to see the impact of this progress on their day-to-day operations. The FIC believes that following up on the implementation of the White Book recommendations is a key challenge for the next twelve months, and one where the FIC can play an important role.