European Commission Decisions Concerning Romania
The European Commission has called on Romania to observe certain EU provisions
Roxana Vasile, 16.02.2017, 13:43
Just like any other EU member country, Romania has both benefits and obligations arising from its membership. Failure to observe the latter triggers warnings and sanctions issued by the European Commission. On Wednesday, the Commission submitted several demands for compliance.
The first concerns the trade of agricultural and food products. Last summer, the Romanian Parliament adopted, and President Iohannis promulgated, a law that forced hypermarkets to have 51% domestic products on their shelves. The initiator of the bill regarded the measures as a win for Romanian producers.
However, the big chains of retailers warned that the decision would affect the normal functioning of food trade. Indeed, on Wednesday the European Commission decided that the law hampered the free circulation of merchandise. Also, restrictions were imposed on retailers regarding the decision on what products to be promoted, which runs counter to several provisions of the EU Treaty. Therefore, Romanian authorities have two months to respond to the European Commission’s arguments.
In another move, the European Commission has decided to sue Romania for failing to close or rehabilitate 68 illegal waste storage facilities, which pose a serious threat to people’s health and the environment. Under the EU provisions, Romania should have closed or rehabilitated them by December 2016.
The current Minister of the Environment Daniel Constantin has given assurances that measures will be taken to avoid fines: “Since I took over the office, I’ve had several meetings with owners and local public authorities and we have tried to identify solutions. There are also other situations in which we will have to disburse funds in the form of loans from the state budget, for things to get back to normal as soon as possible.”
The vice-president of the Romanian Association for Waste Management Constantin Damov has warned that other sectors are faced with the same risks: “Actions for infringement might be taken on flows of packaging waste, as well as electronics and constructions waste. Each of these infringement actions might trigger penalties ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 Euros a day. So, the money, which is scarce anyway, instead of being placed in investments, will be used to pay penalties for failure to reach the set targets.”
Also on Wednesday, the European Commission called on Romania to make sure it fully implements the EU regulations regarding the trading and use of explosives precursors. Also, Romania must observe the principle of equal access to the Black Sea water and resources, a principle it has violated several times during incidents that involved ships under the Bulgarian flag. (Translated by M. Ignatescu)
