Romania is a country located in South-East Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory. It shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania started a series of political and economic reforms. After a decade of post-independence economic problems, Romania adopted a very low flat taxation in 2005, made other very fast reforms, and joined the European Union in January 1, 2007. Reforms have led to over 7% GDP growth, one of the highest rates in Europe.