Romania entered the top 15 most attractive countries in Europe in terms of foreign investment (FDI) projects attracted in 2014. This is a first for Romania, according to the latest EY - European Attractiveness annual survey.

Romania managed to attract 62 FDI projects in 2014, up 19% year-on-year. The only other country in the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) which got more investments last year was Poland, with 132 projects, up by 23% compared to 2013.

Moreover, Romania also became the sixth country in Europe in terms of jobs created by foreign investments, surpassing Spain, Turkey and Slovakia. With 10,892 jobs generated by foreign investments, 77% more than in 2013, Romania was close to Germany, where FDIs generated 11,300 new jobs, according to EY.

“Romania has a superior FDI increase compared to other European countries. Foreign investors show interest for our country, but most of the times because of the cheap labor force here,” said Bogdan Ion, Country Managing Partner EY Romania. In his opinion, Romania should overcome this perception soon and also attract investments that create highly qualified and well-paid jobs.

Foreign direct investment reached a new record in Europe in 2014, with USD 305 million. This represented a year-on-year increase of 36%. Find the entire EY survey here.

EY: Romania is still the third most attractive market in the region for foreign investments

Best months for foreign investments in Romania in 2014

Foreign direct investment in Romania increase in the first quarter

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com