ARICE facilitates access for Romanian companies to the EU's largest infrastructure investment programme and launches tools for business internationalisation

The Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (ARICE), the coordinating institution of Team Romania within the European Union's Global Gateway programme, presents to companies and employer associations represented in the Export Council the opportunities they can access in international markets.

Simultaneously, ARICE launches two operational tools to support the international promotion of Romanian companies: a digital platform for registering to international trade fairs and economic missions, and the introduction of a unified visual identity for the representation of Romanian companies at international trade fairs. Romania recorded a trade deficit of 32.7 billion euros in 2025, according to INS data. Although exports grew by 4.2% compared to 2024, imports increased by 2.6%, maintaining a structural imbalance of over 32 billion euros per year. Export growth and the internationalisation of Romanian companies represent the primary instrument through which Romania can reduce this imbalance and build an economy less dependent on domestic demand and imports. Global Gateway: export opportunities through access to EU global infrastructure investments Global Gateway is the European Union's largest infrastructure investment programme. Launched in 2021, the programme mobilises up to 300 billion euros in investments for transport, energy, digitalisation, health and education projects in Africa, the Western Balkans and Asia, through a blended finance mechanism: European grants and guarantees combined with private capital. By October 2025, the EU had already surpassed its initial target, reaching 306 billion mobilised, and the objective was raised to 400 billion by 2027. Contracts generated by these investments are awarded through open tenders, with EU standards, and payment is guaranteed by European financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, EBRD, KfW and AFD. The targeted sectors include areas where Romania has active companies and documented experience: civil construction and engineering, information technology and cybersecurity, industrial equipment, and consultancy in European funds management. ARICE coordinates Team Romania, the national team through which Romania participates in an organised manner in the Global Gateway structures of the European Commission, alongside other EU member states. Through this team, ARICE coordinates Romanian participation in the programme through concrete services: sector-specific tender alerts, commercial missions to beneficiary countries, facilitation of entry into consortia with European partners, and assistance in preparing pre-qualification dossiers for the EIB and EBRD. The first major contracts are to be awarded in the 2025-2027 period.

"The trade deficit is a problem that should constitute a national project. Every year, over 30 billion euros leave Romania through this imbalance. The internationalisation of Romanian companies is the concrete response, and ARICE now has the tools to accelerate this process," says Daniel Constantin, President of ARICE.