*Energy from renewable sources: The Commission urges Croatia, the cirp, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Romania to transpose the Renewable Energy Directive. The Commission decided today, 19 May, to send reasoned opinions to Croatia, Cyprus, Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland, Luxembourg ,Poland , Portugal and Romania for failing to fully transpose EU rules on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources laid down in Directive (EU) 2018/2001. This Directive provides the legal framework for the development of renewable energy in the EU electricity, heating and cooling and transport sectors. The Directive sets out the establishment of an EU binding 2030 target of at least 32 % of renewable energy and includes measures to ensure that support for renewable energy is cost-effective, as well as to simplify administrative procedures for renewable energy projects. It also facilitates citizens’ participation in the energy transition and sets specific targets to increase the share of renewable energy in the heating and cooling and transport sectors by 2030. In addition, it strengthens the criteria for ensuring the sustainability of bioenergy. The deadline for transposing that Directive into national law was 30 June 2021. In July 2021, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to all those Member States. So far, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania have failed to provide the Commission with clear and precise information on the national provisions transposing each provision of the Directive and Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Luxembourg have only partially notified the national measures transposing the Directive. They now have two months to comply with the transposition obligation and to notify the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer those cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Context With its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) seeks to sue Member States that have failed to fulfil their obligations under EU law. These decisions, covering various EU sectors and policy areas, aim to ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
The number of people in Romania at risk of poverty stood at 3.59 million people in 2024, 375,000 fewer than in 2023, representing a 9.4% decrease, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, or INS. Despite the improvement, nearly one in five Romanians was affected by poverty last year. According to INS, 19% […]
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca carried out multiple searches on Tuesday, July 1, at the Sibiu International Airport and the Sibiu County Council as part of an investigation into suspected fraud involving a EUR 54 million EU-funded infrastructure project. A total of 24 locations were searched across Bucharest, Brașov, and Sibiu county, […]
A Romanian taxi driver who scammed 90-year-old Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka was detained by police on Sunday, June 29, according to media reports. On Friday, June 27, the venerable Nigerian arrived at Bucharest's Otopeni Airport. He got into a taxi and asked to be taken to a hotel downtown. At the destination, the […]
Costin Șerban, a Romanian entrepreneur, is digitalizing the construction sector in the United Kingdom with an ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution developed over 12 years and an investment of GBP 1.6 million (EUR 1.86 million). Șerban’s cloud-based ERP platform is called Abilo, was developed by the Romanian IT company Obi Systems, and is dedicated to […]
Border checks between Bulgaria and Romania have officially been lifted on July 1, as part of the implementation of the Schengen Agreement. The lifting marks the end of the transitional period of heightened control at the internal border, which had remained in place for six months following their accession to the Schengen area by land […]
Remus Vulpescu became CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Tuesday, July 1, taking over from Adrian Tănase as the stock exchange grapples with a market dominated by government bonds. Vulpescu, 53, is a graduate in political and legal sciences from the University of Bucharest and holder of an EMBA obtained in 2017. He […]
