The Commission has decided to open infringement proceedings against Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Italy for failing to effectively remove from their legal orders the intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) to which they are contracting parties, so that they cease to produce any legal effects. It has been the Commission's long-standing position that BITs between EU Member States constitute a parallel treaty system overlapping and conflicting with Union law, thereby preventing its full application. Following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Achmea (C-284/16), all Member States committed in 2019 to terminate their intra-EU BITs in a coordinated manner by means of either plurilateral agreementor expedient bilateral terminations. The Commission notes that Austria and Sweden did not sign the plurilateral agreement with other Member States and have not finalised the bilateral termination of their intra-EU BITs. Meanwhile, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Italy signed the plurilateral agreement in May 2020, but have not yet completed its ratification process, necessary to ensure legal certainty for investors and businesses. The Commission urges the above mentioned Member States to urgently take all necessary action to remove the intra-EU BITs from their legal order, bearing in mind their incompatibility with Union law. Without a satisfactory response from them within two months, the Commission may decide to address reasoned opinions. In addition, the Commission has sent a complementary reasoned opinion to Sweden for failing effectively to ensure that its Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Romania ceases to produce legal effects. Although Sweden removed the BIT from its legal order formally and unambiguously via mutual agreement with Romania, it has failed to ensure the required degree of legal certainty for investors and businesses, as it did not eliminate in practice all legal effects that the BIT had produced since its incompatibility with Union law first arose. This has enabled arbitral tribunals to take their own view as to the validity of the BIT, so far upholding its applicability and accepting jurisdiction based on its provisions. The Commission urges Sweden to take all necessary actions to ensure that its BIT with Romania ceases to produce legal effects, bearing in mind the incompatibility of the BIT with Union law. Without a satisfactory response from Sweden within the next two months, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
A street in Bucharest’s District 3 has been closed to traffic after the state-owned gas network operator Transgaz warned that it had been built over natural gas pipelines in violation of safety standards. Brățării Street was allegedly built by the District 3 City Hall in the area without proper measures in place. Vehicular traffic over […]
Paysera is strengthening its position in Romania by targeting a gap long overlooked by traditional banks: affordable, fully digital financial services for small and medium-sized businesses. In an interview with Romania Insider, Daniel Turbatu, Country Manager of Paysera Romania, says the company’s biggest advantage remains its free business account, which can be opened entirely online […]
DN Agrar Group (BVB: DN), one of the leading integrated agrifood companies in Romania and the largest dairy milk producer in Europe, reported record results for the first nine months of 2025. The company achieved a turnover of RON 158 million, a 25% increase year-on-year, while net profit doubled to RON 43 million, backed by […]
Presidential adviser Ludovic Orban is leaving his position after just six weeks in office, following a mutual agreement with president Nicușor Dan to end their collaboration, the Presidential Administration announced on Tuesday, November 18, as reported by Agerpres. Orban, a former prime...
Yellow Fresh Fruits has quickly emerged as one of Romania’s most dynamic fresh fruit importers, reshaping a market where consistency and speed increasingly define competitiveness. In an interview with Romania Insider, Fryderyk Schiller, COO of Yellow Fresh Fruits, outlines how the company expanded from its Polish origins to operating advanced ripening centers in Timișoara, Bucharest, […]
The design phase for the most difficult section of the A8 highway, namely Lot 2B Grinţieş-Pipirig, has begun, according to a statement given by Romanian transport minister Ciprian Şerban on Monday, November 18. The contract for the section, valued at RON 5.97 billion (EUR 1.17 billion), was signed at the end of October. In total, […]
