PRESS RELEASE
Data: 15.09.2023
The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has sent the European Commission a series of requests on the state of implementation of European directives in our country, compared to other Member States, within the project "Incompetence or malice? Who is responsible for the fines paid by Romania?". The European Commission's response is extremely worrying and confirms what FACIAS has been pointing out for a long time: Romania is paying tens of millions of euros for incompetence!
At a time when Europe is striving to become greener, more equitable and more efficient, Romania seems to be lagging behind, trapped in old ways of operating that cost its citizens not only money but also credibility on the international stage. Following requests from FACIAS, the European Commission confirms that Romania risks paying further sanctions imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Specifically, Romania will have to pay for its failure to transpose Directive 1999/31/EC on non-compliant landfills. The average delay for implementing the directives in Romania is 21 months. By comparison, the European average is 12.6 months. This is a clear signal of a flawed system that needs drastic reforms.
FACIAS has proposed to the government a series of concrete, efficient and transparent procedures to speed up the implementation of European directives. These proposals include, among other things, clear sanctions for those responsible for the implementation of the directives who fail to fulfil their duties.
Penalties of 30 thousand euros per day
According to the European Commission, our country could be obliged to pay €29,781.30 for each day of delay in meeting its legal obligations. If we apply this rate to Romania's average delay of 21 months (about 640 days), we are talking about a total fine of almost €19 million. In addition, there is a lump sum based on a daily amount of €3,311.50 multiplied by the number of days of delay. This could add another million to the already large bill Romania owes.
Romania is on the verge of a financial and institutional crisis, and the campaign "Incompetence or malice? Who is responsible for the fines paid by Romania?". aims to highlight and finally solve this serious problem. FACIAS will continue to take steps to get those responsible to find effective solutions to this problem.
FACIAS Press Office