Q&A: Romania in Europe

Today I continue the Q&A series inspired by the questions I've been asked about Romania. This week's post includes information about Romania's ties to the rest of Europe.

Q: What countries border Romania? 

A: Romania is in southeastern Europe. It borders Hungary to the northwest, Ukraine to the north and east, the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, Bulgaria to the south, and Serbia (part of the former Yugoslavia) to the southwest. Romania also borders the Black Sea to the southeast. The map to the right shows Romania's location in Europe.


Q: What time zone is Romania in? 
A: Romania’s official time zone designation is UTC+2. That means it is:

• 8 hours ahead of the US Central Time Zone (UTC-6)
• 7 hours ahead of the US Eastern Time Zone (UTC-5)
• 2 hours ahead of the United Kingdom (UTC)
• 1 hour ahead of Central Europe (UTC+1) - countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary

You can always check to see the current time by scrolling down to see the clock on the lower right sidebar here on my website.

Q: Does Romania practice daylight savings time?
A: Yes, Romania practices daylight savings time along with many European countries. The beginning and end dates for Romania’s DST are usually not the same as the dates in the US, meaning that for a few weeks, Romania is either 6 or 8 hours ahead of the US – depending on which way the clocks were set and which country changed clocks first. (This can be confusing when scheduling calls with people in the US.)

Q: Was Romania part of the Soviet Union? 
A: No. Although Romania was a communist-governed Eastern Bloc country, it was not part of the Soviet Union, although it did border the Soviet Union. (The present-day countries of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova were part of the Soviet Union.) The map below shows the communist countries of eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Q: Is Romania part of the European Union?

A:  Romania has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 2007. Most people who don't live in Europe assume that all EU countries use the Euro as their currency. That's not true. Romania is not part of the Eurozone (the zone of countries that use the Euro), but there are some countries which use the Euro but are not part of the EU. Although Romanians can travel freely throughout the European Union, Romania is not a Schengen member, which provides uniform border controls on member states. Now that I have you confused, let me also mention that  Romania has also been a member of NATO since 2004. 

The map below shows the Schengen and EU member states:

I found this amusing video that explains the European Union: