Romania is a developing country, with a high-income economy. In April 2005, they signed an EU accession treaty, paving the way for Romania eventually to join the union in 2007.

Since 2006, Romania has shown an incremental interest in understanding and promoting social enterprises as facilitators of economic and social development. Romania’s accession to the EU opened the road to a new policy approach regarding social economy, social entrepreneurship and the development of social enterprises, where mutual aid societies, associations, foundations and cooperatives play a role in addressing key societal challenges and encountering unmet needs arising in local communities. 

The development of the social enterprise concept and practice in Romania is directly linked to the larger framework of the social economy. Both concepts of social economy and social enterprise were introduced in Romania after 2005, generating some confusion among existing stakeholders.