Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania have together taken the long-awaited step in their bid to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, after the Council of the OECD decided on January 25th to begin accession talks with the governments of the three Central and Eastern European markets. The move opens up the possibility of including every regional EU member state in one of the world's most influential economic organizations.

OECD membership could bring a number of advantages for Bucharest, Sofia and Zagreb as they look to increase their convergence with the European Union and continue their post-pandemic recoveries, with their enhanced ability to attract more foreign investment expected to be the most significant impact.

Below, Aretera provides a brief overview on the importance of last week's OECD decision and its implications for the three CEE markets.