The business sector continues to be faced with lack of predictability concerning the legal and institutional framework on environmental issues, despite continued efforts to engage with public officials on environmental legislation and institutional topics. This has been most felt in the waste management sector, where the disproportionate regulation and enforcement of waste management rules against private companies as opposed to entities responsible for municipal waste collection have led to significant instability in the market.
Despite calls for reform of the entire waste management system made by the business sector and Jaspers, the consultants hired by the European Commission and the Ministry of the Environment to analyse the waste sector in Romania, the authorities have taken only limited and delayed actions to solve the true problems of the waste packaging management system. Thus, the authorities chose to increase the annual recovery targets for packaging waste (in one case even beyond the EU-set target), while taking only minor steps to ensure the effective separate collection of municipal waste by public authorities. This lack of separate collection makes meeting waste collection, recycling and overall recovery targets almost impossible, while the burden for most costs remains with producers/ importers as part of an extended producer’s responsibility.
FIC members are committed to continuing to build stakeholder trust and simultaneously improving their business performance in a sustainable way and call on public authorities to engage in the process from the earliest stages of the decision-making process.
The environmental legal and institutional framework continues to raise difficulties for the business sector.
On the one hand, the FIC is concerned about the lack of impact assessments so urgently needed for enacting and implementing new legislation and about the authorities' lack of swift reaction to regulatory needs. For example, steps to improve and detail the regulation on separate collection in order to start collecting packaging waste from households in relevant quantities started only in mid-2018, despite the instability in relation to waste management issues. But these steps were conducted with very limited public debate and without proper assessment of the impact of the new requirements.
On the other hand, commercial entities are also exposed to difficulties in implementing the permitting framework due to the lack of correlation of the environmental permitting procedures with the existing substantial legislation, as well as the different interpretations of the same regulatory requirements given by environmental protection agencies, reservoir administrations and environmental control authorities (the National Environmental Guard and its local units). The new permitting procedure, anticipated in particular after the enactment of Law No. 278/2013 on industrial emissions in December 2013, has yet to be submitted for public debate. Furthermore, the new legislation extending indefinitely the term of the (integrated) environmental authorisations conditional on annual endorsement contains provisions susceptible to different interpretations, is burdensome and may pose problems in practice.
Despite the position papers submitted by the FIC in the public debates calling for more clarity in regulation and providing suggestions on how to deal with the root causes of existing environmental problems, as perceived by FIC members, the new legislation fails to provide business and society with the clarity and predictability needed for environmental protection and sustainable business practices.
Not least, there is an urgent need for consistency in terms of interpretation of legislative provisions by all public authorities at central level and local level and in engagement in effective dialogue on new regulations from the earliest stages of the decision-making process.
Legislative predictability should be ensured and a uniform and consistent legislative framework should be created, based on EU principles.
Effective consultation with industry representatives should take place with sufficient time prior to the adoption of new environmental regulations or the amending of existing ones. Draft legislation should be based on prior impact assessment studies clearly explaining the need for the proposed changes and documenting why the mechanisms/ rules which are planned to be introduced are the most suitable and fair means to attain the desired results.
New environmental and water management permitting procedures should be adopted after thorough and timely consultations with all stakeholders. Such procedures should not involve an additional financial burden for commercial operators and should ensure correlation with existing legislation in order to avoid future difficulties in interpretation.
Uniform and consistent environmental practice at the level of all local relevant authorities should be developed in order to avoid different approaches to the same issue. A potential solution to achieve this would be the issuance of written guidelines by the central authorities which would regulate the approach to be taken by local subordinated authorities. Such written guidelines would also build up the predictability needed by the business sector.
Cooperation between the relevant environmental protection and water management authorities should be increased to avoid bottlenecks or contradictions in the regulation of various projects, as well as to ensure smooth implementation of projects which have a double dimension (e.g., remediation of soil and groundwater on contaminated sites).
A reasonable time should be granted to operators for compliance with new legislation, especially when such legal requirements will impose additional costs (not least because companies usually work with budgets approved in advance and, in certain cases, are required to follow public procurement procedure when acquiring works and services) and organisational/ planning efforts.
In July 2015, the European Commission proposed the amendment of Directive 2003/87/EC – to be called the EU ETS post 2020 Directive, which has materialised in Directive (EU) 2018/410. A central element of the policy framework for 2030 is the binding target of reducing EU global emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. To achieve this goal in a cost-efficient way, the sectors covered by the EU ETS Trading Scheme (EU ETS) will have to reduce their emissions by 43% compared to 2005 levels. This means that the total number of allowances will decrease faster than before: by 2.2% per year instead of 1.74% starting from 2021.
The revised EU ETS post 2020 Directive includes a series of new provisions, as follows:
The percentage of the allowances which will be auctioned will be 57% and will be reduced by 3% if the cross sectoral correction factor is applied; if used, it will be applied consistently across the sectors.
Free allocation rules have been better aligned with the production levels of companies and the benchmarks used to determine free allocation have been updated.
The sectors at the highest risk of relocating their production outside the EU will receive full free allocation. The free allocation rate for sectors less exposed to carbon leakage will be 30%. A gradual phase-out of that free allocation for the less exposed sectors will start after 2026, with the exception of the district heating sector.
The new entrants reserve (NER) will include, initially, the allowances that were not used in the current period (2013-2020) and the allowances from the market stability reserve.
Member States may offer compensation for the indirect costs of CO2 emissions, but no more than 25 % of the revenues generated from the auctioning of allowances and according to the state aid regulations.
An Innovation Fund will be created to support investments in breakthrough technologies in the field of renewable energy sources, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovation for the reduction of CO2 emissions in the industrial sectors with high energy consumption.
The Modernisation Fund represents 2% of the total quantity of allowances and should be established for the promotion of energy efficiency and the modernisation of the energy sector in the Member States with a GDP per capita lower that 60% of the EU average.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated and implementing acts.
The European Commission proposal was widely debated in European forums and finally issued in early 2018, but implementation legislation and guidelines for post 2020 allocation are still being drafted.
The FIC appreciates the transparency demonstrated by Ministry of Environment representatives during the transposition and implementation of revised EU-ETS legislation on climate change for 2013-2020. However, implementation of Commission Communication 2012/C158/04 on compensation of indirect emissions for 2013 – 2020 has yet to occur, even though we are approaching the end of the 2013 – 2020 phase of the EU ETS.
The FIC hopes that cooperation between the authorities and the business sector will continue for the full definition of the 2030 Energy and Climate Package.
Active participation by the Romanian authorities in discussions held at European level is of the utmost importance. It is equally important for the business sector to be properly consulted and its input taken into consideration in the positions taken by the Romanian authorities within the relevant technical groups and public consultations at EU level. Particular focus should be given to pending discussions on post-2020 EU-ETS implementation, especially to those dealing with harmonised allocation, with benchmark setting and with dynamic allocation.
The Romanian authorities should accelerate the implementation of Commission Communication 2012/C158/04 on compensation of indirect emissions in order to preserve the competitiveness of Romanian energy intensive industries compared to similar industries in other EU countries.
An intergovernmental group should be formed with representatives from the Environment, Finance and Industry Ministries to implement this Commission recommendation, and in particular to produce and monitor the implementation of the national integrated energy and climate plan (NECP) for the period 2021 to 2030. The plan is critical to the achievement of broader sustainable development targets.
The authorities should support full implementation of energy efficiency norms, which would have a positive effect from environmental and climate change perspectives. Effective and transparent planning for this, including on how to achieve various EU mandatory targets, would allow for the identification of the most cost effective solutions, including in the public sector. Consistency with existing policy provisions will also be required to achieve this.
The Waste Management Framework Directive was transposed into Romanian legislation through Law No. 211/2011 on waste, as further amended. The waste management framework is characterised by a large amount of legislation regulating waste management generally or relating to specific types of waste. Although later than initially planned, at the end of 2017 the Government finalised the National Waste Management Plan for 2014 – 2020 and is currently taking steps to implement it.
Following the adoption of the National Waste Management Plan, the timely update of the county waste plans is necessary.
The National Waste Committee, formed in September 2018, by representatives of the main central public institutions with responsibilities in policy making, regulation and control in this area, has the role of promoting sustainable waste management investments and implementing governance measures in the National Waste Management Plan.
In September 2018 it was revealed that Romania recycles only 13% of the quantity of waste generated and has one of the highest rates of landfilled waste: 69% (based on data reported to Eurostat for 2016).
In December 2015, the European Commission issued the Circular Economy Package, which includes proposals for amending Directives on waste; packaging waste; waste landfill, etc. Most of these proposals were adopted in May 2018 and set more stringent targets than the previous ones.
The amendments to the Waste Framework Directive imposed targets for preparing for re-use and recycling for municipal waste of 55% by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035. By comparison, for Romania, it is already estimated that the 50% target for preparing for re-use and recycling for municipal waste by 2020 will be missed.
The FIC recommends that the authorities should give particular attention to:
Achieving a balance between local authorities’ and industries’ responsibilities, as well as transparency and clarity with respect to obligations vested with operators which carry out similar activities. The local authorities should also be made accountable for the selective collection of post consumption waste (e.g., packages, electric and electronic equipment waste), as this legal obligation should lie primarily with them.
Clarifying the concept of waste (and accordingly, issuing case by case interpretations on what is not considered waste), as well as the concept of by-products and the cessation of waste status versus recovery in waste reporting.
Clarifying the waste treatment reporting obligation for treatment operations that represent both recycling and energy recovery (e.g., waste co-processing in cement plants).
Better implementing the European Commission recommendations in support of various waste-related directives (e.g., recognition at national level of co-processing in cement plants as simultaneous mineral recycling and energy recovery, as well as best practice for resource efficiency).
Clarifying the legal framework to support domestic waste transportation collected from multiple sources in one transport.
Setting a methodology for waste flow registration (traceability) from the generation/collection place to the storage, transport, treatment and final recycling/recovery/disposal, and reporting.
Upgrading existing databases, as the least costly solution, to allow online integration and correlation of all reporting obligations with adequate security features (including to ensure confidentiality), which should allow the generation of all reports required by the waste management regulations and the traceability of waste flows. The FIC offers its support for the design, testing and operation phases of this database.
Regulating the landfill tax so as to act as an incentive for separate collection, sorting, recycling and recovery operations.
Ensuring that the income received by the Environmental Fund from contributions penalising failure to meet waste recycling, recovery and landfill targets is directed to projects to improve the current waste management framework.
Clarifying a waste prevention concept, based on reuse, repair or refurbishment as options to extend a product’s lifetime and prevent waste flows.
Romania has one of the lowest rates for recycling and landfill diversion. Although official data showed that recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste were met up to 2013, since then the situation has steadily deteriorated. Between 2013 and 2015 the amount of packaging waste generated grew 6% across the EU. This makes it difficult to believe that the targets established by the new provisions which entered into force in Romania (60% for recycling and 65% for recovery) can be met in the next few years, under present conditions, because it is still difficult to recover packaging waste from households. 2016 and 2017 were years with a major negative impact on producers of packed goods, which had to pay a heavy penalty to the Environmental Fund of Lei 2 /kg (approx. 450 eur/t) for not meeting their recovery obligations, mainly due to:
Although the above-mentioned faults are not the producers’ responsibility, they were the only ones penalised, thus leading to the collapse of the system of collective organisation and also to unfair market conditions and speculative leverages by other actors in the value chain.
The new EU legislative package provides more ambitious overall recycling targets for packaging: 65% by 2025 and 70% by 2030 and higher materials-specific targets: such as 55% by 2030 for plastic. According to the official data, Romania missed the glass-specific target.
In this respect, national legislation introduced major new obligations on packaging and packaging waste management. Government Emergency Ordinance No. 74/2018 was issued on 17 July 2018 for the amendment and completion of the Waste Law (No. 211/2011), Packaging Waste Law (No. 249/2015) and Environmental Fund Emergency Ordinance No. 196/2005 (“GEO 74/2018”), which include, among others, the following:
Changes related to the implementation of the “producer extended responsibility” principle;
Amendments as regards the implementation of the circular economy principles, by replacement of the landfill tax with a contribution for the circular economy to be paid by owners or administrators of municipal landfills. Unlike the former landfill tax, the amount of the contribution has been reduced to Lei 30/tonne for 2019, and Lei 80/tonne, from 2020.
Changing the reusable packaging regime, as well as setting a timeframe for regulating the guarantee - return system for non-reusable primary packaging materials.
New rules on reusable packaging materials, including regulating an exchange system and minimum amount of the guarantee, setting the requirement for organising the taking-over of reusable packaging in such a manner that, as from 2019, at least 80% of the packaging is taken over and using the phrase “reusable packaging” on the primary packaging or the product label.
In addition, all economic operators introducing packaged goods onto the national market must use an annual average of at least 5% reusable packaging out of their total packaging managed as from 1 January 2020. That percentage must increase annually by 5% by 2025.
Increasing the recovery / recycling targets for packaging waste, both for global and for each type of material target, starting from 1 January 2019, as follows: cardboard and paper – 70%, plastics – 45%; glass – 65%; steel - 70 %, aluminum – 30 %, wood – 50%; and also the increasing of the global recovery target to 65% and the global recycling target to 60%.
Modifying the manner in which the recovery / recycling targets for packaging waste are met, starting from 1 January 2019: (i) individually - only by managing the producer’s own packaging materials placed on the national market, under certain conditions, or (ii) through an organisation which specialises in implementing the extended producer responsibility.
Establishing new penalties and increasing the fines imposed for non-compliance with the obligations of the parties involved in the management of packaging and packaging waste, as well as setting out certain definitions of these offences for the Environmental Fund Administration.
The full and unequivocal transfer of the financial responsibility for the management of waste to producers, where the extended producer responsibility is implemented (not only for packaging, but also WEEE, and batteries). Municipalities will be required to ask producers or the collective schemes for reimbursement of the costs of collection, transport, and sorting.
There will be a single commission for the authorisation of the collective schemes for all waste flows (packaging, WEEE, batteries, waste tyres).
The conditions for licensing of the collective schemes for packaging have been changed. These should be joint stock companies with the producers of packed goods as shareholders. They should take responsibility for a minimum of 10 000 tonnes and submit a guarantee of Lei 2 000 000 lei in favour of the Environmental Fund.
Because the collective schemes for packaging will have to be relicensed by April 2019 and fulfill the new conditions, also taking into account the increase of the targets and the delay in the adoption of the subsequent legislation for the licensing of the collective schemes, it is probable that there will be difficulties with the transfer of responsibility for packaging in 2019.
Source: Calculations based on Eurostat data
A working group should be formed by the authorities, in which all the stakeholders will participate (including FIC representatives) to develop a Plan of Action for 2019-2020 that stipulates clear responsibilities and terms for the actions that should be taken in order to make the whole integrated waste management system functional at national level and allow Romania to meet the new objectives proposed by the Circular Economy Package. These actions should include:
Complementing the penalty for packaging producers/RTOs with an effective penalty which also applies for local administrative units (LAU)s.
Specific requirements for the traceability of waste (including various types of materials which originate from waste) should be regulated and upgraded and reporting procedures correlated at national level to secure accurate data submissions with the European Environment Agency, reduce free riders, and create the premises for a level playing field for all responsible economic operators.
The deposit system should be avoided as it leads to parallel collection systems at municipality level and to unnecessary multiplication of costs. It undermines the Romanian Government’s ongoing efforts focused on implementing selective collection at national level as Romania’s strategic option, which benefits from substantial EU funding. Taking into consideration Romania’s economic capacity, the implementation of a deposit system puts an additional disproportionate burden on the shoulders of industry (fillers and importers) and of the retail sector.
Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 5/2015 on WEEE was published in the Official Journal of Romania in April 2015. Following that, Government Emergency Ordinance 39/2016 amending the Environment Fund framework was published in the Official Journal of Romania on 30 June 2016. GEO 39/2016 on the Environment Fund introduced a penalty for those not achieving the collection target for WEEE management of Lei 4 /kg (Lei 20/kg for waste lighting equipment/ lamps), probably the highest in the European Union. The penalty was reconfirmed by Law No. 143/2018 for the approval of Emergency Ordinance 48/2017. The legislation made no improvements and it fails to address the concerns expressed by industry, or to integrate its proposals, and instead maintains or aggravates the problems identified in the previous legislation:
The responsibility to reach the WEEE collection target, now 45% of the quantity placed on the market, has been totally transferred to producers.
This has been implemented together with a de facto prohibition on producers and their collective organizations from directly organising and carrying out WEEE collection (a violation of art. 5 point 2, letter d) of Directive 2012/19/EU).
There are no significant obligations for the other parties involved in WEEE management. Moreover, the requirement that each city, town and village should have at least one collection point for WEEE is now optional and can be replaced by other softer measures (mobile collection points or one day collection activities).
There are two type of penalties for the same violation of the law: the fines for failing to achieve the collection target, set out in GEO 5/2015, together with the penalties to the Environmental Fund, introduced through Emergency Ordinance 39/2016, of Lei 4 /kg (Lei 20/ kg for waste lighting equipment/ lamps) which has no equivalent in any other EU state.
Disproportionate WEEE fines for producers may make Romania less competitive and less attractive for new investments. For instance, Bulgaria and Poland do not impose such penalties, hence placing Romania at a disadvantage.
Despite the provisions of the EU Directive and the EU Commission's opinion, GEO 5/2015 still maintains the provision that the guarantee for “orphan new waste” will be managed by the Environmental Fund Administration.
GEO 5/2015 states that for the period 2017 - 2019, economic operators should pay for the difference between the quantities of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) declared as introduced on to the national market and the quantities of EEE actually established by the Environmental Fund Administration as being placed on the national market during a fiscal inspection.
Starting from 1 January 2020, economic operators should pay for the difference between the quantities of electrical and electronic equipment waste corresponding to the annual collection obligations and the quantities of electrical and electronic waste actually collected.
The National Plan for Waste Management, approved through Government Decision No. 942/2017 and published in the Official Journal of Romania 11 bis of 5 January 2018, explicitly recognises the problem of WEEE collection, and especially illegal collection, as being the main difficulty in the implementation of the legislation. It also recommends:
The establishment of WEEE collections systems which should be available throughout the country (the deadline was set as 2018). The parties responsible for this are local authorities, producers and the collective schemes. It is not very clear how producers and the collective schemes can be responsible, since they are prohibited from collecting WEEE (through the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance 5/2015).
Establishment of a clearing house, which was supposed to have taken place in 2018. It is not very clear how this will be done, since the plan states that the necessary legislation is not in place and no steps to introduce it have been taken by the authorities.
Conclusion of agreements between the collective schemes and the local authorities/associations of the municipalities in charge of waste management with a deadline of 2019. It is not yet clear what the procedure is for concluding such agreements.
The municipalities and the authorities that are responsible for the enforcement of legislation should be taken into account in defining responsibility for meeting the national targets, with clear responsibilities and penalties in the case of failure to carry out these responsibilities.
Appropriate infrastructure should be developed for WEEE collection. Producers have no legal power to order and to implement any rules in the market to increase collection performance. Only the state authorities have this kind of power. Without state action, producers themselves cannot stop illegal collection (i.e., the black market still functions).
The responsibilities for WEEE management should be shared by “all actors” in the WEEE generation and management chain, i.e. producers, collective organisations, recyclers, distributors and local municipalities, just as in other EU countries. A system should be developed which includes all actors and in which all the amounts collected and treated are reported.
Strong enforcement of legislation should be carried out, especially in relation to illegal collection and dismantling.
The rehabilitation of contaminated sites is currently governed by Ministry of Environment and Forests Order No. 756/ 1997 approving the Regulations on the Evaluation of Environmental Pollution, by GD No. 1408/2007 on the methods of investigation and assessment of soil and subsoil contamination, by GD No. 1403/2007 on the rehabilitation of areas where soil, subsoil and terrestrial ecosystems have been affected and by GD No. 53/2009 on the approval of the National Plan on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and, at a strategy level, by GD No. 683/2015 for the approval of the National Strategy and National Plan for the Management of Contaminated Sites in Romania.
Recently Law No. 74/2019 on the management of potentially contaminated and contaminated sites was adopted by the Parliament. According to the law, two of the items of legislation that regulate the rehabilitation of contaminated sites, i.e. GD No. 1408/2007 and GD No. 1403/2007, were repealed. This law also contains provisions on the methodology for drafting the National Inventory of Contaminated Sites.
The FIC appreciates the initiative of the Ministry of Environment, which, together with the German Federal Environment Agency, initiated a cross-regional project with the goal of preparing a Manual for management of contaminated sites with a focus on those in the oil and gas and petrochemical industry. If the intention of the Ministry of Environment is to enact this Manual as secondary legislation (ministerial order), we emphasise that all the legislation in this field should be correlated, in order to have a useful and applicable procedure and so as not to create more misinterpretations.
A correlated methodology for applying the regulations on contaminated sites is needed to ensure transparency, predictability (in terms of timing, actions required, etc.) and to avoid misinterpretations or contradictions in terms. Detailing the legal framework for contaminated sites may also ensure better clarification of potential liabilities for private companies operating on historically contaminated sites, as well as the possibility for these private companies to obtain fiscal incentives or EU funds for decontamination work.
A secondary legislative framework should be adopted to allow effective implementation of the general environmental principles. (A Technical Guide on methodology, evaluation criteria and content of geological reports for investigation and evaluation of soil and sub-soil should have been in force since 2008).
A secondary legislative framework is needed to facilitate access to EU funds for environmental decontamination works. Approving and publishing a national list/inventory of contaminated sites is a mandatory milestone in the process of accessing European funds. This list should be completed and published as soon as possible.
Any new legislation should be in line with the European principle of “the polluter pays”. The draft law seems to derogate from this principle by introducing certain obligations for the owner of a site, irrespective of whether it is a polluter or not.
Under the 2014-2020 programming period, the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (LI OP) is the most important programme providing EC financial support to environmental projects.
Through the LI OP, regional operators will continue to receive European Funds to extend drinking water networks and wastewater treatment facilities according to the investments included and prioritised in the Master Plans. The development of waste infrastructure will also continue to be financed in the current programming period, enabling Romania to comply with the Landfill Directive, to promote more efficient use of resources and to increase the waste recycling ratio.
When deciding the priorities for awarding funds for environmental projects, the Romanian authorities should consider the European Commission’s recommendations to promote waste-to-energy capacities for the treatment of non-recyclable waste, including co-incineration in combustion plants and in cement and lime kilns, as part of the new national waste management plan.
Protection of biodiversity should also be given priority under the LI OP. Investments will be targeted for the protection and restoration of the most valuable ecosystems and endangered animal species. Measures will be undertaken as part of the LI OP to set up and improve risk monitoring and prevention systems, to enhance the professional emergency response services and to reduce risks and damage from flooding, drought and coastal erosion.
The LI OP will also support the development of a National Air Quality Assessment, the rehabilitation of contaminated sites, including preparation for their economic re‐use, and the promotion of activities with low carbon emissions.
The LI OP has a financial allocation of EUR 11.6 billion, but by the end of 2018 Romania had only been able to contract EUR 6.25 billion and most of this has been allocated for phased projects.
Romania faced difficulties when meeting the ex-ante conditions, especially for the waste and infrastructure sectors. Even though the National Plan for Waste Management was approved by the Government at the end of 2017, the European Commission highlighted in July 2018 that the ex-ante condition had still not been fully fulfilled since no economic measures had been set out to achieve the targets for recycling. Moreover, in May 2018 the European Commission sent Romania a notification on the pre-suspension of payments for waste.
Allocation of the funds should be prioritized, based on a risk evaluation, taking into consideration the most urgent needs (e.g. improvement of waste management, etc.)
The FIC welcomes the authorities’ initiative to “incentivise” actions to promote environmental improvements (e.g., the First Reforestation program offering first year aid of Euro 6000 for each hectare to be planted, followed by annual financial support of Euro 2700/ha for an average of 12 years), but strongly recommends the incorporation of more incentives into Romanian legislation to promote environmentally friendly behaviour by companies, authorities, as well as individuals.
“Green” incentives should include and promote: brownfield redevelopment (including redevelopment of contaminated sites), energy saving buildings and building improvements, reduced VAT for environmentally friendly products, tax exemption for bicycles used for travelling to work, better promotion of electrical and electronic equipment which is energy efficient, as well as recycling of waste and other materials.
Sustainability involves economic development which respects long term environmental and social well-being and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involves companies, as well as the authorities, developing sustainably and supporting the wider community. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by all 193 United Nations (UN) member states during the summit in New York (25 – 27 September 2015) was a strong signal that cooperative action is needed to address some of the world’s most pressing issues (e.g., climate change, extreme poverty, inequality, etc.), providing an essential window of opportunity to rethink approaches to sustainability and a common language for governments, business, and others for addressing systemic interconnected development challenges.
In August 2018, the Romanian authorities published the draft of the National Plan for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which translates each target of the SDGs into action plans and also presents the current stage of development in Romania on the road to achieving the SDGs.
Since 2018, Romania has become a regional hub for Sustainable Development, which aims to ensure a sustainable future and the opening of national and international partnerships in order to implement the UN Agenda 2030. Consequently, one of the main priorities of the Romanian Presidency will be the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 in the European Union. The Romanian Parliament has already hosted four EU parliamentary meetings on the Agenda for 2030 and will host an international event on 16 April 2019 on its implementation. There have been several positive initiatives in Romania in relation to sustainability, such as the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) for 2013-2020-2030, the National Strategy on Climate Change and Low Carbon Economic Growth 2016 -2020 and the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Given the importance of sustainability, Romania should increase its focus on achieving the objectives set out in these documents.
In November 2018, a new strategy for the Sustainable Development of Romania 2030 was approved by the Government. The 17 objectives of the Sustainable Development Strategy include three main pillars: economic development, social equity and the environment. One proposal raised as part of this strategy has been the establishment of an institutional framework including the Interdepartmental Committee for Sustainable Development; centres for sustainable development in each relevant institution; the Consultative Council for Sustainable Development formed by specialists as well as support for the formation of a coalition for sustainable development formed of representatives of civil society.
FIC members are investing in building stakeholder trust while also improving their business performance and enabling opportunities for long term value creation. FIC members encourage transparency in all sectors.
An important step made in 2016 was the early transposition of the provisions of Directive 2014/95/EU amending Directive 2013/34/EU on disclosure of non-financial information by certain large undertakings and groups, as well as by the appropriate national authorities (i.e., the Ministry of Public Finance, the National Bank of Romania, and the Financial Supervisory Authority). Even though the initial partial transposition of the Directive did not impose any additional requirements except those stated in the Directive, in 2018 the Ministry of Public Finance adopted a new Order (i.e., Order No. 3456/2018) that clarifies the meaning of entities required to disclose non-financial information. Consequently, entities with over 500 employees are required to disclose information on policies, risks and outcomes related to environmental matters, social and employee-related issues, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery issues, as well as diversity starting from the 2019 reporting year. The required non-financial information can be disclosed either as a distinct report or as a “non-financial statement”. The financial auditor is required to verify that the non-financial statement or the separate report has been provided.
The Directive states that reporting entities can use any local, European or internationally recognised non-financial reporting standards/guidelines, and this recommendation is repeated in the Romanian regulations which transpose the Directive.
Consultation should take place with industry representatives on the development of national non-financial information reporting guidelines and recommendations.
A team of experts should be set up from all appropriate authorities in charge of the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU to oversee the application of its provisions by the companies covered by it, and progress should be monitored over time.
Transparency should be promoted in relation to the application of social, ethical and environmental standards by the business community, as well as public institutions.
A “Stakeholder Engagement Plan/Dialogue” guideline should be drafted, to be applied by companies/authorities, according to their type of activity.
A detailed program should be developed and implemented to increase public awareness of sustainable behaviours, comprising practical recommendations on how each individual can contribute.
Action Plans should be prepared for sustainable development at County level.
Permanent dialogue should take place between the public authorities and industry on how best to give incentives for responsible business conduct, as well as on specific sustainable development issues.