January 26 (SeeNews) - The Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) decided to open accession discussions with six candidates for membership, including Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, the organisation said.
The decision comes after an analysis of the progress made by the six candidates since their first membership requests, the OECD said in a press release on Tuesday.
The other three countries with which OECD will start accesison talks are Argentina, Brazil and Peru.
If the countries confirm their adherence to the OECD values, vision and priorities, individual roadmaps for the detailed assessment process will be prepared.
The OECD prioritises the preservation of individual liberty, the values of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, as well as the open, competitive, sustainable and transparent market economies. OECD member states also need to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and aim to tackle climate change, including halting and reversing biodiversity loss and deforestation.
Th accession process includes an in-depth evaluation by more than 20 technical committees, as further changes of the candidates' legislation, policy and practices can be required before the official invitations for membership.
"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,” Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, noted.
The completion of the accession process does not have a deadline. Once the technical committees' reviews are ready, a final decision has to be taken unanimously by the OECD members in the organisation's council.
Bulgaria first expressed its willingness to join the OECD in 1992, while Croatia did so in 1994. Romania officially applied for OECD membership in 2004.