Whistleblowers are an essential source of information for investigation and public prosecution services. The correct transposition and effective implementation of Directive (EU)2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (Whistleblowers’ protection Directive) therefore is of direct operational relevance for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. If you fail to protect whistleblowers, you limit detection. If you do not detect, you cannot investigate and prosecute. The European Chief Prosecutor has duly noted that on 29 June 2022, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies finally adopted a law aiming to transpose the Whistleblowers’ protection Directive. Based on the preliminary analysis of the law, and especially of the amendments made to the draft law on 28 June 2022, just before its adoption by the plenary, the European Chief Prosecutor is assessing whether some of these provisions would be contrary to the Whistleblowers’ protection Directive, and represent a step backwards with regard to the current level of protection, established under national law since 2004. The main point of concern is that this could have a chilling effect, discouraging potential whistleblowers in Romania and negatively affecting the level of detection of EU fraud. De facto, this would lead to a deterioration of the existing system ensuring the proper functioning of investigation and public prosecution services in relation to the investigation and prosecution of fraud, including tax fraud, corruption or other breaches of Union law relating to the implementation of the Union budget or to the protection of the financial interests of the Union. It is important to recall, in addition, that the EPPO has not yet received the nomination of 9 European Delegated Prosecutors from Romania and that there has been a considerable delay in granting the EPPO office in Romania an adequate number of judicial police officers in support of its operations. The European Chief Prosecutor is considering whether this persisting situation, combined with the latest developments would warrant a report to the European Commission in line with Recital 16 of Regulation (EU) 2020/2092 of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union Budget.
Romania’s Competition Council has approved the acquisition of Karamolegos Bakery Romania by Vel Pitar, a company fully owned by global bakery group Bimbo, the authority announced on May 12. Karamolegos Bakery Romania is involved in the production and sale of packaged bread under brands such as KB Toast, KB Selected, and Mândra. It also supplies […]
The National Bank of Romania (BNR) probably spent/sold EUR 6 billion of its foreign exchange reserves to prop up the local currency (leu) last week after the victory of far-right presidential candidate George Simion in the first round of elections, which led to the collapse of the government, according to an analysis by Austrian bank […]
Romania’s foreign trade deficit (goods) widened by 27% y/y to EUR 8.45 billion in Q1, according to data published by the statistics office INS. Exports rose by 2.7% y/y while imports surged by 8.1% y/y. Romania’s deficit in foreign trade in goods has reached EUR 35.2 billion in the four quarters to March 2025, or […]
Romania’s Treasury has launched new issues of government bonds under the Tezaur and Fidelis schemes, paying yields of 6.75% (1-year) to 7.8% (5-year) for the local currency debt and up to 6.25% (7-year) for euros. After the Treasury raised RON 21.4 billion (EUR 4 billion) under the two schemes year to date, the households’ demand […]
Romania’s Treasury on May 12 placed RON 540 million (EUR 100 million) of Government bonds on the domestic market at an average yield of 8.45% by reopening an issue that matures at the end of July 2026, according to the National Bank (BNR). The yield is 1.5 percentage points up from roughly two weeks earlier, […]
With five days remaining until the second round of Romania's presidential elections on Sunday, May 18, the race between far-right leader George Simion and independent candidate Nicușor Dan is extremely close, according to an AtlasIntel opinion poll conducted for
