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.
Environmental non-governmental organization WWF-Romania (World Wide Fund for Nature) recently warned that the Danube Delta could lose 2,500 hectares to intensive agriculture. The warning was issued on February 2, World Wetlands Day, and concerns the Carasuhat area in the Danube Delta. This is a region that was partially restored through a European project funded with […]
Far-right and pro-Russian politician Călin Georgescu, who shot from obscurity to the forefront of Romanian politics in the now-canceled presidential elections, called for Romanians to boycott supermarkets on February 10. In his call, Georgescu gave the example of Croatia, where...
The controversial real estate developer Nordis, operating in some of Romania’s prime residential and commercial areas, collected nearly EUR 200 million through a “three-tiered pyramid scheme,” according to prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). A large-scale DIICOT operation was underway in the Nordis case on Monday, February 3, with dozens […]
Cristina Caramizaru, expert with over 20 years of experience in executive search and leadership advisory, joins Selion Global Romania as Partner. Launched in Romania in 2024 by Filip Nemteanu and Mihai Bajan, Selion Global Romania is the local branch of an international executive search and leadership consulting firm, dedicated to promoting organizational excellence through tailored […]
Production volumes fall at quickest rate on record (since July 2023) Softer drop in new orders signaled Sharp decrease in purchasing activity supports stock reduction The latest BCR PMI® data showed the decline in the Romanian manufacturing sector deepening. Operating conditions deteriorated to the largest extent across the survey history to-date in January, with the […]
Romanian finance minister Tanczos Barna recently stated that the government will regulate the local cryptocurrency market, forcing all companies to obtain an authorization to operate. Barna admitted that at the moment the state does not know the real size of the cryptocurrency market in Romania. “We will have a real dimension after we require all […]
