With a population of 22 million and an area of 235,000 km², Romania is, after Poland, the most populous and largest country in the CEECs. The date of its entry into the EU, 1 January 2007, was approved on 22 February by the European Commission in view of the state of transposition of the acquis communautaire in that country. The accession treaty is expected to be signed on 25 April 2005. As part of the extension of its observation system to the entire European continent, the CNR provides a summary of the economic situation in this country and then discusses the conditions for setting up and operating a road haulage company in Romania.