COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - ROMANIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU initiative, Romania, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 55 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - ROMANIA   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 54 final} {SWD(2017) 56 - 60 final}  
 
 
Romania  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
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Romania  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ................................................................................................................................ 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ...................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ..................................................... 10 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Estimating Natural Capital ................................................................................................................... 12 
Green infrastructure ............................................................................................................................ 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 13 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 14 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 16 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 16 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 17 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 17 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 20 
International agreements .................................................................................................................... 21 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ...................................................................... 22 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT............................................................................. 22 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 22 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 22 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 23 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 25 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 25 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 26 
Public participation and access to justice ............................................................................................ 28 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 28 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
 
 
Romania  4 

Executive Summary 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

In  May  2016, 
the 
the  Commission 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
Agenda 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

reflects 

accurately 

the  environmental 
legislation 
requirements  agreed  at  EU  level,  their  implementation 
on  the  ground  is  in  general  a  challenge,  prompted  inter 
alia  by  a  lack  of  planning,  coordination  and  appropriate 
in 
funding.  The 
several  areas,  in  particular  waste  management  and 
waste-water treatment. Romania is encouraged to make 
better  use  of  the  EU  funds  to  address  these  challenges 
and  enhance  the  coordination  of 
its  administrative 
mechanisms. 

implementation  gap 

is  problematic 

Main Challenges 

The  main  challenges  Romania  faces  with  regard  to 
implementing EU environmental policy and law are: 

 

 

coordination 

Improving  compliance  with  EU  waste  and  urban 
waste-water  legislations  in  order  to  meet  the  EU 
in  the 
targets,  as  the  final  deadlines  set  out 
Accession Treaty are drawing near. 
Improving 
the 
administrative  capacity  of  the  authorities  and 
agencies  involved  in  the  implementation  of  EU 
legislation,  in  particular  with  regard  to  water  and 
waste  management  and 
the  protection  and 
management of the Natura 2000 sites, as part of the 
public 
to 
broader 
administration. 

strengthen 

enhancing 

strategy 

and 

Main Opportunities 

Romania  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Pulling 

the 

together 

into 
comprehensive,  realistic  waste  management  and 
prevention  plans  based  on  an 
inclusive  public 
participation process; 

solutions 

best 

  Eliminating  the  obstacles  to  adequate  and  targeted 
use  of  EU  funds  to  support  the  implementation  of 
the EU requirements;   

  Using  the  next  river  basin  management  cycle  to 
improve  the  monitoring  networks  and  assessment 
methods of the water status. 

Romania  has  significantly  improved  its  environmental 
performance since its accession in 2007. While Romanian 

Points of Excellence 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

Romania  could  share  the  innovative  approaches  it  has 
developed with other countries. One good example is: 

  The  Green  Laboratory  of  Recycling  2012  initiative 
has been awarded the Golden Medal of Excellency in 
the  SMEs  category  as  part  of  the  European 
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
Romania  5 

Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Developing  a  circular  economy  and  improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
infrastructure,  promote 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  transformation  of  our  economies  from  linear  to 
circular  provides  an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and 
make  them  more  sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
stimulate  investments  and  bring  both  short  and  long-
term  benefits  for  the  economy,  the  environment  and 
citizens alike5. 

In  Romania,  resource  efficiency  is  low  and  the  circular 
economy  remains  underdeveloped.  In  2015,  "resource 
productivity"6 (how efficiently the economy uses material 
resources  to  produce  wealth)  was  with  Bulgaria  and 
Estonia  the  lowest  in  the  EU,  at. 0.31  EUR/kg  compared 
with the EU average of EUR 2.0 EUR/kg. This can be seen 
in  Figure  1,  which  also  shows  that  Romania's  resource 
productivity has been relatively stable since 2008.  

This  means  that  the  economy  is  on  average  40%  less 
resource efficient than the EU level. This might be related 
to  its  low  levels  of  competitiveness.7  It  is  not  resource 
scarcity,  but  rather  the  lack  of  efficient  management  of 
the  available 
to 
sustainable development in Romania.8 

that  poses  problems 

resources 

Romania 
is 
instruments 

late  to  adopt  the  relevant  planning 
Its 
concerning  waste  management. 

landfilling  rate  is  the  highest  in  the  EU  (82 %  in  2013)9. 
This  indicates  that  resources  are  not  kept  within  the 
economy when a product has reached the end of its life. 
A  more  circular  economy,  i.e.  one  focusing  on  recycling 
and  re-use  as  well  as  on  improving  resource  efficiency, 
would  help  boost  investment.  It  would  also  generate 
both short- and long-term benefits for the environment, 
employment and the economy as a whole.  
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-1510 

A  good  practice  example  is  The  Green  Laboratory  of 
Recycling,  a  2012  initiative  launched  by  the  selective 
waste  collection  and  a  recycling  organisation, 
in 
partnership  with  the  Ministry  of  Environment  and  the 
Ministry  of  Education.  The  project  aims  to  inform, 
provide  education  and  raise  the  awareness  of  the 
younger generation on environmental issues. Key success 
factors were the partnership with the local municipalities 
and the involvement of school teachers in the continuous 
promotion  of  recycling.  The  initiative  has  been  awarded 
the Golden Medal of Excellency in the SMEs category as 
part of the European CSR Awards.11 

Romania  has  not  yet  adopted  a  national  policy  for 
programme for a circular economy, although it does have 
some initiatives which suppor the transition to a circular 
economy, in particular focusing on waste: 

  The  national  Law  for  Waste  Management  (adopted 
in  November  201112):  this 
law  establishes  the 
mandatory character of selective waste collection for 

5 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package 
6 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
7 Schwab, WEF. The Global Competitiveness Report, 2014-2015  
8 Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country Brief 2013 Romania,p. 6 

9 Eurostat 
10 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 
11 Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country Brief 2013 Romania 
12 Law no. 211/2011 on waste regime as amended, republished in the 

March 28th, 2014 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
large  producers  of  waste  and  was  seen  as  a  major 
step forward. 

  The 

including  of 

implementation  of  the  Waste  Framework 
its  provisions  related  to 
Directive, 
Hazardous Waste and to Waste Oils, has been driving 
the  changes  in  the  Romanian  waste  management 
regulations. Romania has set a target to reach a level 
of 50% of waste to be recycled or reused by 2020.13 
  As of January 2014, the private sector14 has to make 
higher fiscal contributions to the Romanian Fund for 
Environment (meant to stimulate a more sustainable 
use  of  natural  resources  and  increase  the  reuse  of 
the 
waste 
companies).15   

the  value  chains  of 

throughout 

transform  and  accelerate 

  The Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests has 
as priorities for 2016 the creation of the framework 
the  Romanian 
to 
economy’s transition towards a green economy, the 
development  of  green  business  and  green 
entrepreneurship. Besides, according to information 
provided by Romanian authorities, a White Paper on 
Green Economy is being developed. 

  Romania  has  increased  its  number  of  employees  in 
the  environmental  goods  and  services  sector  from 
around 130,000 people in 2011 to around 146,000 in 
201216.  The  Romanian  Ministry  of  Environment 
acknowledges  the  need  for  further  investment  into 
green  skills  and  education  of  the 
labour  force 
towards  sustainable  development.  The  National 
Labour  Agency  is  engaged  in  the  “Green  Jobs” 
project,  funded  by  the  European  Social  Fund,  in 
order  to  evaluate  the  Romanian  market  for  green 
for  support 
jobs  and 
measures in this sector. 

identify  good  practices 

In  general,  Romania  does  not  use  a  lot  of  support 
measures  for  resource  efficiency.  The  most  developed 
measures  are  either  implemented  through  third-party 
organisations  or  inspired  by  EU  funded  projects  and 
oriented  on  waste  recovery  and  recycling.  One  key 
example  of  a  voluntary  agreement  in  2013  concerned 
packaging  waste  prevention  and  recycling.  It  is  now 
implemented  in  14  major  cities,  showing  a  spill  over 
effect from the two pilot cities to 12 other major cities.17 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Both  Romanian  Small  and  Medium-sized  Enterprises 

13 Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country Brief 2013 Romania, p. 11 
14 Ecomagazin, 2013. Parghii fiscale de protectie a mediului – noutati 

2014 

15 Ecomagazin, 2013. Parghii fiscale de protectie a mediului – noutati 

2014 

16 Eurostat, Employment in the environmental goods and services 

sector, accessed November 2015 

17 Ecologic Institute, IEEP, BIO by deloitte, 2015. A framework for 
Member States to support business in improving its resource 
efficiency. Study for the European Commission, p. 28 

Romania  6 

the  environment  and 

(SMEs) and large enterprises have low awareness of their 
impact  on 
the  economic 
opportunities  arising  from  circular  economy/resource 
efficiency. In spite of this, there are some private sector 
initiatives in recycling and material re-use that have been 
strengthened in recent years.18 Nevertheless, Romania is 
missing  many  opportunities  as  it  fails  to  recycle  its  own 
waste,  leaving  the  private  sector  to  import  recycled 
materials for their production activities. 

Around 63%  of  Romania's SMEs have invested  up to 5% 
of  their  annual  turnover  in  their  resource  efficiency 
actions  (EU28  average  50%),  26%  of  them  are  currently 
offering green products and services (EU28 average 26%), 
37% took measures to save energy (EU28 average 59%), 
26% to minimise waste (EU28 average 60%), 29% to save 
water  (EU28  average  44%),  and  32%  to  save  materials 
(EU28 average 54%)19. 

From a circular economy perspective, 28% took measures 
to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste  within  the 
company  (EU28  average  40%),  12%  to  design  products 
that are easier to maintain, repair or reuse (EU28 average 
22%)  and  16%  were  able  to  sell  their  scrap  material  to 
another company (EU28 average 25%).   

Using  the  full  potential  of  resource  efficiency  measures, 
the cost savings would be huge: for only four SME sectors 
(food  &  beverages;  energy,  power  &  utilities; 
environmental  technologies;  construction)  the  savings 
that  would  strengthen  their  competitiveness  could 
already  amount  to  around  EUR  320  million20.  According 
to  the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer,  the  resource  efficiency 
actions  undertaken  allowed  the  reduction  of  production 
costs  in  a  60%  of  the  Romania's  SMEs  (EU28  average 
45%). 

About 12,000 new jobs could be created and 33,600 jobs 
could  be  secured  if  all  SMEs  in  the  four  sectors  would 
fully  use  their  potential  for  resource  efficiency21.  The 
Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency and 
green markets" shows that 41% of the SMEs in Romania 
have one or more full time employees working in a green 
job  at  least  some  of  the  time  (EU28  average  35%). 
Romania has an average number of 3.6% full time green 
employees per SME (EU28 average 1.7%)22.  

18 Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country Brief 2013 Romania 
19 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, 
resource efficiency and green markets" 
20 RPA, 2015. Assessing the Potential Cost Savings and Resource Savings 
of Investments in 4 SME sectors, study for European Commission, p. 
30 

21 RPA, 2015. Assessing the Potential Cost Savings and Resource Savings 
of Investments in 4 SME sectors, study for European Commission,, p. 
38 

22 The Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency and green 

markets" defines "green job" as a job that directly deals with 
information, technologies, or materials that preserves or restores 
environmental quality. This requires specialised skills, knowledge, 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Romania  7 

Eco-Innovation 

Romania  ranks  18th  in  the  Eco-IS,  obtaining  a  score  of 
87.1  in  2015  as  shown  in  figure  2.  This  indicates  it  is 
below the overall EU28 average score by 13%. However, 
it  is  encouraging  that  the  country  has  advanced  three 
positions since 2013, from the previous rank of 21.  
 Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)23 

institutional  structure, 

The  landscape  of  eco-innovation  initiatives  has  been 
evolving  in  Romania  over  the  past  years  driven  by  EU-
level  regulation.  Job  creation  and  a  more  sustainable 
economy  are  among  the  drivers  for  eco-innovation.24 
Eco-innovation shortcomings are to a large extent related 
to a lack of an effective innovation system with a clearly 
defined 
legislative  and  fiscal 
framework  and  financial  mechanisms  for  encouraging 
innovation  and  application  of  new  technologies  in  the 
economy.  When  it  comes  to  barriers  in  eco-innovation, 
many  points  can  be  mentioned.  Suitable  administrative 
capacity, availability of skilled personnel in the public and 
private  sector,  as  well  as  the 
low  propensity  to 
collaborate,  continue  to  be  challenges  for  a  systemic 
transformation  agenda  such  as  the  circular  economy, 
both in the public and private sector.      

training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance with environmental 
legislation, monitoring resource efficiency within the company, 
promoting and selling green products and services). 

23 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 
24 Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country Brief 2013 Romania, 

and 

training 

The  Ministry  of  Environment  is  promoting  the  EU  eco-
label  and  voluntary  participation  to  EMAS  through 
campaigns, 
informative  materials. 
Nevertheless,  EMAS  is  not  widely  applied.  Romania  has 
10 EMAS registered organisations. Although this seems a 
quite 
low  number  of  registered  organizations  with 
respect  to  the  total  of  4034  organisations  that  hold  a 
registration at EU level, Romania ranks on 17th position. It 
in  the  number  of 
has  seen  a  very  slight 
registered organisation since October 2015, from 7 to 10. 
Romania's use of EU Ecolabel licences was very limited in 
2015.  Romania  has  14  licenses,  which  is  quite  a  low 
number  with  respect  to  the  1875  total  number  of 
licenses  at  EU  level,  but  considering  that  Romania  has 
become an EU Member State in 2007, it isn’t the lowest 
achiever regarding the EU Ecolabel licenses.  

increase 

Suggested action 

  Increase  support  of  and  promotion  of  resource 
efficiency measures by SMEs, in particular by investing 
further  in  education  and  training.  Export  capacity  of 
SMEs  can  be 
resource 
efficiency.25 

increased  by 

improved 

  Ensure that Romania’s policy orientation has a strategic 
integrated  approach  for 
long-term  view  and  an 
mainstreaming  sustainable  development  and  circular 
economy  thinking  and  eco-innovation  across  the 
government’s policies. 

  Develop  concrete  actions  from  national/local  level 
authorities  and  synergies  between  all 
level  of 
governance and the private sector to make more effort 
to  tap  in  using  EU  funds  and  invest  in  sustainable 
solutions. 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
recyclable  or 
and  phasing  out 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
operational 

25 European Commission, 2015 SBA Fact Sheet Romania, 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                                                                 
                                                            
includes 

landfilling  and 

recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
disposal  (which 
incineration 
without energy recovery). The progress towards reaching 
the  adoption  of  adequate 
recycling 
WMP/WPP26  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance  of  Member  States.  This  section  focuses  on 
management  of  municipal  waste  for  which  EU  law  sets 
mandatory recycling targets. 

targets  and 

Waste  management  remains  a  key  challenge 
for 
Romania.  The country's  performance  is  characterized by 
extremely 
(5%)  and  slightly  higher 
composting  (11%),  and  high  landfilling  (82  %)  rates, 
contrary to the waste hierarchy and the recycling targets 
set at EU level.  

low  recycling 

In  2013  (the  last  year  for  which  the  above  data  is 
available) in Romania there was a reduction in municipal 
waste generation compared to 2012. However, it remains 
considerably 
(254 
kg/y/inhabitant compared to around 481 kg).27  

the  EU  average 

lower 

than 

Figure 3: Municipal waste by treatment in Romania 
2007-1328 

Figure  3  depicts  the  municipal  waste29  by  treatment  in 
Romania in terms of kg per capita, it is clear that Romania 
will have to put massive efforts to increase recycling and 
reduce landfilling. 

Figure  4  shows  that  Romania  must  heavily  invest  in 
recycling  in  the  next  coming  years in  order to  reach  the 
2020  recycling  target.30  This  is  also  due  to  low  waste 

26 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
27 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

28 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

29 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities. 

30 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 

Romania  8 

tariffs, which do not generate sufficient income for future 
investments.  The  relevant  strategies  and  instruments  to 
divert the waste from landfills are not in place and there 
is  no  comprehensive  and  decisive  enforcement  action 
against illegal landfilling.   
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1431 

The  access  of  the  population  to  municipal  waste 
collection  schemes  was  only  76%  in  2012,  with  90%  in 
urban and 59% in rural areas. Moreover the landfills are 
very  often  substandard  ones.  Relatively  few  localities 
have implemented a selective waste collection system.  

In  2017,  the  transition  period  granted  to  Romania 
through  the  Accession  Treaty  for  the  implementation  of 
the  Landfill  Directive  is  going  to  come  to  an  end  and 
Romania  will  thus  have  to  close  101  non-compliant 
landfills.  Considering  the  high  volumes  of  waste  which 
are  being  landfilled,  Romania  could  be  faced  with  a 
serious landfill capacity problem as of 2017 and could be 
infringing the waste legislation. Romania made use of the 
possibility to postpone by four year years the attainment 
of  the  2010  50  %  landfill  diversion  target  which  they 
reported to have met in 2014. Romania opted for a new 
derogation  until  2020  to  implement  the  35%  diversion 
target (effective in 2016). Romania did not report data on 
packaging  for  2013  and  2014,  it  is  thus  not  clear  if  the 
packaging targets were met. 

is 

late 

in  adopting  waste 
Furthermore,  Romania 
management  plans  and  waste  prevention  programmes 
(the  national  waste  management  plan  was  adopted  in 
2004 and was valid until 2013), which are the best tools 
to  reflect  on  the  existing  policies  and  find  realistic 
solutions  to  achieve  the  targets  on  waste  management. 
In addition, these documents are necessary to secure key 
EU  funds  under  the  Cohesion  policy  (as  part  of  the  'ex-

and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

31 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
conditionality 

ante 
The 
criteria' 
implementation  gap  concerning  the  waste  management 
is  also  reflected  in  infringement  cases  for  the  bad 
application of the Landfill Directive and the non-conform 
transposition of the Waste Framework Directive. 

on  waste). 

Romania  9 

exercise  are  still  largely  not  implemented,  hence  they 
remain  valid:  enforcement  of  the  landfill  tax  has  been 
postponed to 2017, whilst landfill charges (gate fees) are 
too low to divert waste towards higher ends of the waste 
hierarchy  and  make  recycling  and  reuse  economically 
attractive;  the  economic  instruments  in  place  are  too 
limited  to  prompt  and  cover  the  costs  of  separate 
collection and recycling (e.g. limited Extended Producer’s 
'pay-as-you-throw'  schemes); 
Responsibility, 
separate  collection  (including  for  biodegradable  waste) 
remains insufficient. 

lack  of 

Suggested action 

  Introduce  a  landfill  tax  and  gradually  increase  it  to 
divert  recyclable  waste  from  the  landfills.  Use  the 
revenues  to  support  the  separate  collection  and 
alternative  infrastructure  in  conjunction  with  a  better 
allocation of the cohesion policy funds to the first steps 
of  waste  hierarchy.  Avoid  building  excessive 
infrastructure for the treatment of residual waste. 

  Urgently address the issue of illegal landfilling. 
  Focus  on  implementation  of  the  separate  collection 

obligation to increase recycling rates. 

  Extend and improve the cost-effectiveness, monitoring 
and  transparency  of  existing  EPR  schemes  and 
eliminate free-riding. 

  Ensure enforcement of law related to waste.  
  Complete the missing Waste Prevention Programme. 

It 
is therefore not surprising that the use of the dedicated 
EU  funds  to  improve  waste  management  has  been 
extremely low, mainly due to the lack of capacity of the 
large 
final  beneficiaries  to  prepare  and 
investment  projects,  lack  of  ownership  and  due  to  the 
long times spent on tender procedures.  

implement 

Estimates  show  that  full  implementation  of  the  existing 
waste  legislation  could  create  more  than  29,100  jobs  in 
Romania  and  increase  the  annual  turnover  of  the  waste 
sector by over EUR 3 billion. Moving towards the targets 
of the Roadmap on resource efficiency could create over 
34,200  additional  jobs  and  increase  the  annual  turnover 
by over EUR 3.6 billion.32  
The  key  recommendations  (roadmap)  made  in  201333  in 
the  context  of  the  Commission's  compliance  promotion 

32 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document.   
33 BiPRO, 2013. Support to Member States in improving waste 

management based on assessment of Member States' performance. 
Study for the European Commission, p. 47  

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Romania  10 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats.  

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation34 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

By the end of 2015, 22.56% of the national land area of 
Romania  was  covered  by  Natura  2000  (EU  average 
18.1%),  with  Birds  Directive  SPAs  covering  14.83%  (EU 
average  12.3%)  and  Habitats  Directive  SCIs  covering 
16.68% (EU average 13.8%). There were 539 Natura 2000 
sites in Romania, including 9 marine sites. The terrestrial 
sites  consisted  of  148  Special  Protection  Areas 
designated  under  the  Birds  Directive,  and  382  Sites  of 
for  the 
Community 
(SCI´s)  designated 
protection  of  habitats  and  other  species. 
In  2016 
Romania resumed the designation process by designating 
new SPAs and proposing new pSCIs 

Importance 

34 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

The  implementation  of  the  Nature  Directives  represents 
a  considerable  challenge  for  the  country.  The  Romanian 
administration of Natura 2000 appears to struggle with a 
lack  of  administrative  capacity  and  there  are  also 
problems  due  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  and  data.  Only  a 
minority  of  the  Natura  2000  sites  are  managed  by 
professional  bodies,  the  majority  having  only  voluntary 
administrators.  A  specialised  agency  responsible  for  the 
Natura 2000 sites in Romania has been discussed since its 
accession to the EU but has not concretized.  

Figure 5: Sufficiency assessment of SCI networks in 
Romania based on the situation until December 2013 
(%)35 

The  implementation  of  Natura  2000  goals  is  further 
affected  by  a 
lack  of  spatial  planning.  The  2015 
assessment  of  the  SCI  part  of  the  Natura  2000  network 
showed that there were insufficiencies in designation36 as 
depicted  in  Figure  537.  The  sufficiency  of  the  2016 

35 European Commission, internal assessment. 
36 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. A scientific reserve is given when further 
research is needed to identify the most appropriate sites to be added 
for a species or habitat. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

37 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Romania  11 

13%  of  the  breeding  species  showed  short-term 
increasing  or  stable  population  trends  (for  wintering 
species this figure was 27%).  

Figure 7: Short-term population trend of breeding and 
wintering bird species in Romania in 2012 (%)42 

designation is currently being assessed. 

According to the latest report on the conservation status 
of  habitats  and  species  covered  by  the  Habitats 
Directive38,  63%  of 
the  habitats'  biogeographic 
assessments  were  favourable  in  2013  (EU  27:  16  %).  On 
the other hand, 28 % are considered to be unfavourable–
inadequate39  (EU27:  47%)  and  7  %  are  unfavourable  – 
bad (EU27: 30%).  

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species 
in Romania in 2007/2013 (%)40 

The  elaboration  of  Natura  2000  management  plans  was 
supported from a dedicated budget line under the 2007-
2013 Operational Programme Environment administered 
by  the  Ministry  of  Environment.  By  the  end  of  2016 
altogether 201 management plans were approved by the 
Romanian  authorities.  On  the  other  hand  no  SAC  was 
designated by that date.  

As  for  the  species,  19  %  of  the  assessments  were 
favourable  in  2013  (EU  27:  23%),  66  %  unfavourable-
inadequate  (EU27:  42%),  and  6%  unfavourable-bad 
in  Figure  641.  No 
(EU27:  18%).  This 
is  depicted 
unfavourable assessments for species and habitats were 
showing a positive trend in 2013.  

Figure 7 depicts that, as far as birds are concerned, only 

38 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

39 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 
of the Habitats Directive. 

40 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively. The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of Romania 

41 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 
changes are not genuine as they result from improved data/ 
monitoring methods. 

It was found that habitats in Romania have achieved the 
best  conservation  status 
the 
conservation  status  of  species 
is  the  worst.  The 
implications  of  these  findings  are  still  to  be  fully 
addressed  in  the  protection  and  management  of  the 
Natura 2000 sites.  

the  EU,  while 

in 

In  addition,  the  media  have  been  reporting  repeatedly 
about  significant  illegal  logging  in  the  country.  The 
Commission is still assessing these reports, as well as the 
initiatives reported by the Romanian Government to fight 
illegal logging through extended administrative measures 
aimed at improving checking/inspection capacity and the 
legal  framework.  The  Integrated  Information  System  for 
Wood Tracking (SUMAL) has been improved by enabling 
the  public  to  report  to  the  emergency  number  112  any 
vehicles  suspected  to  be  loaded  with  wood  materials  of 
illegal origin. 

Beyond  Natura  2000  areas,  the  natural  environment  of 
Romania  is  characterized  by  a  variety  of  traditional 
landscapes.  Extensively  managed,  high-nature  value 
farmland  and  forests  support  remarkable  biological 
diversity,  but  such  areas  are  under  threat  due  to 
agricultural 
intensification  and  the  abandonment  of 
traditional, extensive management practices. 

42 Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of 

Romania 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
.  

Suggested action 

  Complete the Natura 2000 designation process and put 
in place clearly defined conservation objectives and the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites,  and 
provide  adequate  resources  for  their  implementation 
in  order  to  maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
community interest to a favourable conservation status 
across their natural range. 

  Strengthen the administrative capacity to improve the 
designation  and  management  of  protected  sites. 
Strengthen communication with stakeholders. 

  Enhance efforts to collect reliable data and to improve 

the quality of the assessments. 

  Mitigate  the  current  pressures  on  natural  resources 
caused  by  the  intensification  of  agriculture,  by  proper 
funding  of  agri-environmental  measures  under  the 
Rural  Development  Programme  and  especially  for  the 
maintenance of High Nature Value Farming.  

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

At  the  country  level,  a  project  on  "Demonstrating  and 
promoting  natural  values  to  support  decision-making  in 
Romania" has  been 
implement  the  EU 
launched  to 
initiative on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and 
their Services (MAES). The project includes a public policy 
analysis  of  the  level  of  integration  of  the  concept  of 
ecosystems43 and ecosystem services in different sectors: 
biodiversity,  climate  change,  fishing  and  aquaculture, 
agriculture  and  sustainable  development,  transport, 

Romania  12 

energy,  regional  development,  tourism,  and  marine  and 
forest  for  the  period  2014-2020.  An  analysis  and  data 
management  for  the  MAES  process  is  being  developed. 
Methodological guidance has been provided for mapping 
and assessing ecosystems at national level.  

Suggested action 

  Ensure  government  support  to  the  mapping  and 
assessment of ecosystems and their services, valuation 
and  development  of  natural  capital  accounting 
systems. 

  Improve  such  accounting  systems  based  on  best 

practice.  

Green infrastructure  

The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure44  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 
The  Lower  Danube  Green  Corridor45  (LDGC)  aims  to 
coordinate national efforts and cross-border cooperation 
among  the  Lower  Danube  countries  for  the  protection 
and restoration of wetlands and floodplain habitats. The 
governments of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova 
have  committed  to  establishing  a  large-scale  ecological 
corridor  of  up  to  1  million  ha  of  existing  and  new 
protected areas and 223 608 ha of areas proposed to be 
restored  to  natural  floodplains.  A  number  of  protection 
and  restoration  activities  have  been 
implemented 
demonstrating the multiple benefits of healthy wetlands 
such  as  wildlife  habitat,  fish  breeding  grounds,  water 
purification and local tourism opportunities. 

In the Territorial Development Strategy of Romania 2035 
there  is  a  clear  reference  to  green  infrastructure  as  an 
efficient  way  to  adapt  to  climate  change  and  diminish 
natural risks compared to physical or grey infrastructure. 
Specific  measures  include  the  protection  of  natural 
habitats  (by  ensuring  diversity  of  and  interconnectivity 
between  natural  areas,  particularly  in  the  context  of 
Natural  2000  management)  and  the  development  of 
green  spaces  in  urban  areas  as  well  as  of  green  belts  in 
the surroundings of major cities.  

44 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

43 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 
45 See SWD52013)155, p. 21 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Romania  13 

of the Natura 2000 network48. 

infrastructure  are 

for 
initiative:  WWF 

instance 
Benefits  of  green 
illustrated  through  the  following 
in 
partnership  with  the  Ukrainian  NGO  RachivEcoTur 
implemented  the  "Open  Borders  for  Bears  between 
Romanian  and  Ukrainian  Carpathians"  project  in  the 
regions of Maramures, Romania, and Ivano-Frankivsk and 
Zakarpatska,  Ukraine.  The  goal  of  the  project  was  to 
reduce  habitat 
identify  the  critical 
corridors  and  the  related  reconstruction  needs  and 
secure  sustainable  use  of  natural  resources.  The  critical 
habitats  and  wild  life  corridors  are  components  of  a 
Green Infrastructure delivering multiple benefits.  

fragmentation, 

The  benefits  from  the  project  include  e.g.  identification 
and 
implementation  of  tools  to  effectively  manage 
natural  resources  that  contribute  to  the  conservation  of 
the  critical  habitats  and  corridors  for  bears,  and  for 
sustainable development of the communities. 

Soil protection  

further 

soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
the 
prevention  of 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
and  extremely 
increasingly 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

A  national  assessment  has  started  funded  by  the  EEA, 
Norwegian  Grants  and  EU  through  DG  Environment’s 
service  contract  “Mapping  of  Ecosystems  and  their 
Services in the EU and its Member States” (MESEU).  

The  Romanian  Master  Plan  for  Transport  in  Romania 
2030  mentions  the  need  to  respect  conservation 
measures  in  future  projects  including  integrating  non-
infrastructure  measures,  and 
structural  and  green 
avoiding  negative  impact  on  protected  areas,  forested 
areas  as  well  as  non-protected  areas  where  species  of 
community 
identified  by  reconsidering 
planning of routes46. 

interest  are 

Cooperation 
The  Hungary-Romania 
Programme  aimed 
relations  between 
to 
landscape,  habitats  quality  and  ecosystem  services  as 
perceived by local communities47. 

Cross-Border 
identify 

investment 

Specific  barriers  for  the 
implementation  of  green 
infrastructure in Romania include: limited understanding 
of the way natural ecosystems function, which translates 
into  limited  capacity  to  conceive  green  infrastructure 
projects;  lack  of  figures  and  examples  on  both  socio-
economic  and  environmental  benefits  to  convince 
decision-makers  of  the  opportunities  of  investing  in 
green  infrastructure;  lack  of  pre-planning  mentality  and 
poor  use  of  integrated  spatial  planning  processes.  If  the 
large 
(motorways, 
speedways, railways, water and sewage networks, waste 
management facilities, etc.) needed in the near future is 
not  properly  planned,  integrated  and  assessed,  it  will 
threaten habitat connectivity. In this respect, a thorough 
implementation  of  Operational 
development  and 
Programmes  taking  Green  Infrastructure  into  account 
should  be  envisaged.  For  example,  the  new  Regional 
Operation  Programme 
is 
considering  smart  growth,  but  fails  to  take  into  account 
Green Infrastructure and the functionality and coherence 

for  the  Western  Region 

infrastructure 

in 

46 Trinomics, 2016. Supporting the implementation of the European 

Green Infrastructure Strategy. Study for the European Commission, 
draft country fact sheet Romania 

47 Trinomics, 2016. Supporting the implementation of the European 

Green Infrastructure Strategy. Study for the European Commission, 
draft country fact sheet Romania 

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Romania 
in 2012. 

48 Trinomics, 2016. Supporting the implementation of the European 

Green Infrastructure Strategy. Study for the European Commission, 
draft country fact sheet Romania 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Figure 8: Land Cover types in Romania 201249 

Protection. 

Romania  14 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 
SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use 
for 
the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)53 aims 
to  achieve  Good  Environmental  Status  (GES)  of  the  EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
subregion. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES54  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy is to establish a Programme of Measures (2016). 
All these different elements of their marine strategy have 
to  be  reported  to  the  Commission,  which,  in  turn, 
assessed  whether 
these  elements  constitute  an 
appropriate framework to meet the requirements of the 
MSFD. 

Romania's  marine  waters  are  part  of  the  Black  Sea 
marine  region  and  the  country  is  party  to  the  Black  Sea 
Convention. The main threats to the Black Sea region are 
land-based  sources  of  pollution  (e.g.  nutrients  coming 
from the River Danube). In addition, given the role of the 
Black  Sea  region  as  a  transit  route  for  major  oil  and  gas 
exports, oil spills or accidental pollution may also become 
increasingly  important.  Finally,  the  Black  Sea's  fish  stock 
has  deteriorated  dramatically  over  the  past  three 
decades,  with  the  diversity  of  commercial  fish  caught 
shrinking  from  about  26  species  to  six.  This  is  due  to 
eutrophication,  the  introduction  of  alien  species  and 
overfishing55.  

Romania  has  been  diligent  with  the  implementation  of 
the  MSFD.  Regarding  the  last  deliverables  under  the 
MSFD  (initial  assessment,  determination  of  GES  and 
environmental  targets),  Romania  made  considerable 

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas). 

The annual land take rate (growth of artificial areas) was 
0.15%  over  the  period  2006-2012,  well  below  the  EU 
average  (0.41%).  It  represented  1,917  hectares  per  year 
and  was  mainly  driven  by  housing,  services  and 
recreation as well as industrial and commercial sites50. 

The percentage of built up land in 2009 was 1.58%, well 
below the EU average (3.23%)51. 

The soil water erosion rate in 2010 was 2.84 tonnes per 
ha per year, close to EU28 average (2.46 tonnes) 52. 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse pollution. 

An  updated  inventory  and  assessment  of  soil  protection 
policy  instruments  in  Romania  and  other  EU  Member 
States is being performed by the EU Expert Group on Soil 

49 European Environment Agency. Land cover 2012 and changes country 

analysis [publication forthcoming] 

50 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

51 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change, Figure 1 

53 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
54 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
"The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive" 

55 European Environment Agency, 2015. State of the Environment 

52 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 

report – Black Sea region  

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Romania  15 

Directive. 

Suggested action  

  Continue  work  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES  in 
particular 
including 
for  biodiversity  descriptors, 
through regional cooperation by using the work of the 
relevant Regional Sea Convention. 

develop 

  Identify and address knowledge and information gaps. 
  Further 

(and 
approaches 
quantifying) impacts from the main pressures in order 
to  lead  to  improved  and  more  conclusive  assessment 
results for 2018 reporting. 

assessing 

  Continue to integrate monitoring programmes already 
existing  under  other  EU  legislation  and  to  implement 
joint  monitoring 
at 
(sub)regional level.  

programmes 

developed 

  Enhance, 

in 

cooperation  with  Bulgaria, 

the 
comparability  and  consistency  of  monitoring  methods 
within its marine region.  
report  and 
programme of measures. 

the  national 

implement 

  Urgently 

  Ensure that its monitoring programme is implemented 
without  delay  and  is  appropriate  to  monitor  progress 
towards its GES. 

efforts  to  set  quantitative  targets  when  data  was 
available  and  to  give  a  GES  description  consistent  with 
other  EU 
legislation.  However,  weaknesses  were 
identified  in  the  definition  of  GES:  for  instance  Romania 
initially  only  defined  GES  for  5  out  of  the  11  MSFD 
descriptors.  

A  number  of  EU-financed  projects  facilitate  cooperation 
and  support  implementation  of  the  MSFD  in  the  Black 
Sea 
to  pursue 
coordination at regional level to improve the quality of its 
next deliverables under the MSFD. 

region.  Romania  should  continue 

all 

for 

apart 

descriptors 

Romania  established  a  monitoring  programme  of  its 
in  2014.  However,  the  monitoring 
marine  waters 
from 
programmes 
eutrophication,  contaminants  and  contaminants 
in 
seafood  need  further  refinement  to  constitute  an 
appropriate framework to monitor progress towards the 
GES.  In  addition,  Romania  reports  that  its  monitoring 
programme will not be in place before 2018, the date by 
which the next assessment of Romania's marine waters is 
due. 

In  2012,  Romanian  marine  protected  areas  covered 
1887.5  square  kilometres  of  their  marine  waters  in  the 
Black Sea. The country's six nationally designated Marine 
Protected Area sites almost entirely overlapped with the 
Natura 2000 sites56.  

the  Black  Sea  particularly 
the  basis  of 

The  Transboundary  Diagnostic  Analysis  of  the  Black  Sea 
confirms (2007) that isolation from the flushing effects of 
the  open  ocean,  coupled  with  its  huge  catchment,  has 
susceptible 
made 
to 
this  analysis, 
eutrophication.  On 
eutrophication/nutrient  enrichment  is  acknowledged  by 
the  Strategic  Action  Plan 
the  Environmental 
Protection and Rehabilitation of the Black Sea adopted in 
Sofia,  on  17  April  2009  as  one  of  the  four  priority 
transboundary  problems  and  one  of  the  Ecological 
Quality Objectives of this Plan is therefore to reduce it. 

for 

The Commission financed a project to help the Black Sea 
countries  address  this  problem,  in  cooperation  with 
HELCOM57. 
In  its  reports  on  the  implementation  of the  MSFD58,  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  to  assist  Romania  in  its 
implementation  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 

56 2012 Data provided by the European Environment Agency to the 

European Commission – Not published 

57 European Commission, 2014. Environmental monitoring of the Black 

Sea with focus on nutrient pollution, Final report  

58 Report from the Commission "The first phase of implementation of 
the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The 
European Commission's assessment and guidance" COM(2014)097 & 
Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
Romania  16 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation59,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 

(-10%) ensure emissions from these pollutants are within 
the  currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings.61 
These  trends  must  continue  if  Romania  is  to  achieve 
compliance with air quality standards, too. 

At  the  same  time,  air  quality  in  Romania  continues  to 
cause  concern.  For  2013,  the  European  Environment 
Agency  estimated  that  about  25  330  premature  deaths 
were  attributable  to  concentrations  of  fine  particulate 
matter62,  430  to  ozone  concentrations  and  1  900  to 
nitrogen  dioxide  concentrations63.  This  is  also  due  to 
exceedances  above  the  EU's  air  quality  standards  as 
shown in Figure 964. 

For 2013, exceedances above the EU air quality standards 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

that  up-to-date 

standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
ensure 
information  on  ambient 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
for  emission 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants. 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly in Romania60. Reductions between 1990 and 
2014  for  sulphur  oxides  (-79%),  nitrogen  oxides  (-53%), 
ammonia  (-46%)  as  well  as  volatile  organic  compounds 

59 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
60 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive) 

have  been  registered  related  to  nitrogen  dioxide  in  two 
air  quality  zones  (Bucharest  and  Brasov),  and  related  to 
in  three  air  quality  zone 
particulate  matter(PM10) 

61 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 
2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

62 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many human sources, 
including combustion 

63 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning methodology) 

64 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
(Bucharest, Iasi and Ilfov).  

Noise 

Romania  17 

For  2014,  the  Romanan  authorities  have  communicated 
exceedances  above  the  EU  air  quality  standards  related 
to  particulate  matter  (PM10)  in  one  zone  (Bucharest). 
Furthermore, the target values and long-term objectives 
regarding  ozone  concentrations  are  not  being  met  in 
several air quality zones65. 

The  persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements  (for 
PM10), which have severe negative effects on health and 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
Commission  through  infringement  procedures  covering 
all  the  Member  States  concerned,  including  Romania. 
The  aim  is  that  adequate  measures  are  put  in  place  to 
bring all zones into compliance. 

It is estimated that the health-related external costs from 
air  pollution  in  Romania  are  above  EUR  10  billion/year 
(income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not  only  the 
intrinsic  value  of  living  a  full  health  life  but  also  direct 
costs to the economy. These direct economic costs relate 
to  4.5  million  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to  sickness 
related  to  air  pollution,  with  associated  costs  for 
employers  of  EUR  257  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR  31  million/year 
(income adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) 
of EUR 106 million/year (2010)66. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in order to achieve full compliance with air quality limit 
values  -  and  reduce  adverse  air  pollution  impacts  on 
health, environment and economy. 

  Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to comply with 
currently applicable national emission ceilings67 and/or 
to 
(and  ozone 
(NO2) 
concentrations), 
inter  alia,  by  reducing  transport 
related emissions - in particular in urban areas. 

reduce  nitrogen  dioxide 

  Reduce PM10 emission and concentration, inter alia, by 
reducing  emissions  related  to  energy  and  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels,  to  transport  and  to 
agriculture. 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues68.  To alleviate  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
requirements, 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Romania's  implementation  of  the  Environmental  Noise 
Directive69  is  delayed.  The  noise  mapping  for  the  most 
recent  reporting  round,  for  the  reference  year  2011,  is 
mostly  complete.  Action  plans  for  noise  management  in 
the  current  period  have  been  adopted  for  53%  of 
agglomerations,  3.7%  of  major  roads  and  33.33%  of 
major  railways.  For  airports,  the  Romanian  authorities 
have fulfilled all their obligations. 

Suggested action 

  Complete the missing noise maps and action plans. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
is 
waters 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis70  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all water  bodies 

65 See The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 

68 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Repository 

66 Based on the Impact Assessment for the European Commission 

Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

67 Under the provisions of the revised National Emission Ceilings 

Directive, Member States now may apply for emission inventory 
adjustments. Pending evaluation of any adjustment application, 
Member States should keep emissions under close control with a 
view to further reductions. 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

69 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports.  

70 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

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Romania  18 

across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological  modifications  to  water  bodies  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

River  Basin  Management  Plans 
(RBMPs)  are  a 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 
In  its  first  River  Basin  Management  Plans71  Romania 
reported  the  status  of  3262  rivers,  131 
lakes,  2 
transitional, 4 coastal and 142 groundwater bodies. 64% 
of  natural  surface  water  bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high 
ecological  status  and  only  38%  of  heavily  modified  or 
artificial  water  bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high  ecological 
potential.  94%  of  surface  water  bodies,  90%  of  heavily 
modified  and  artificial  water  bodies  and  87%  of 
groundwater bodies achieve good chemical status. 100% 
of groundwater bodies are in good quantitative status. 

The main pressure on Romanian surface waters is diffuse 
pollution  that  affects  33%  of  water  bodies.  Flow 
regulation and morphological alterations affect 13% and 
point sources of pollution affect 8% of water bodies.72  

The  Romanian  River  Basin  Management  Plan  has  a 
number of deficiencies that result in uncertainties about 
the  status,  and  the  link  between  identified  pressures, 
objectives and measures is not always clear. In particular 
there  are  weaknesses  in  methods  for  assessment  and 
classification of the status. A number of exemptions were 
applied  without  transparent  justification.  The  planned 
measures  are  expected  to  result  in  improvement  of 
ecological and chemical status of surface water bodies by 
4% and 1% respectively. The measures should also bring 
improvement  of  ecological  potential  of  artificial  and 
heavily  modified  water  bodies  by  9%  and  improvement 
of chemical status by 3%. In terms of ecological status, it 
has  to  be  noted  that  the  progress  regarding  individual 
status  quality  elements  may  be  masked  due  to  the 
application  of  the  ‘one-out  all-out’  rule.  This  level  of 
improvement  of  ecological  status  has  also  to  be  seen  in 
relation to the fact that Romania is still under transitional 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

71 More information on the implementation status and more specific 
recommendations can be found at European Commission, Water 
Framework Directive Implementation Reports  

72 More information on the implementation status and more specific 
recommendations can be found at European Commission, Water 
Framework Directive Implementation Reports 

periods  for  the  implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste 
Water  Treatment  Directive  which  has  driven  to  a  large 
number of exemptions. 

No  change 
groundwater can be expected.  

in  chemical  and  quantitative  status  of 

No  change 
groundwater can be expected. 

in  chemical  and  quantitative  status  of 

theoretical  availability  of 

Romania is considered rich in water resources as it has a 
much  higher 
freshwater 
resources  than  the  European  average.  The  water 
exploitation index for the period 1998-2007 was less than 
5%  of  available  water  resources,  which  means  that  it  is 
not a water stressed country (around 20%)73. 

However, the actual usable water resource is one third of 
this,  which  makes  Romania  a  country  with  relatively 
scarce usable water resources74. This is largely due to the 
widespread  contamination  of  water  reserves  caused  by 
the  domestic,  industrial  as  well  as  agricultural  sectors, 
and it is aggravated by the severe drought events of the 
past years75.  

resources, 

Romania has an integrated water strategy for the period 
2010–2035,  which  covers  various  policy  areas  affecting 
as  urban  development, 
water 
such 
environmental  protection,  agricultural  and 
forest 
development,  transport 
infrastructure,  tourism  and 
construction.  

Since 2013, Romania has a revised action programme in 
place implementing the nitrates directive and applying to 
the  whole  national  territory.  The  revised  legislation  has 
brought  significant  improvements  as  compared  to  the 
previous  action  programme  implementing  the  Nitrates 
Directive.  The  Romanian  authorities  decided  to  apply 
whole  territory  approach  instead  of  nitrate  vulnerable 
zones  designation  and  changed  some  measures  of  the 
Action Programme, with significant improvements. 

At  the  same  time,  the  enlargement  of  the  agricultural 
territory  subject  to  mandatory  rules/measures  brings 
some  challenges  in  terms  of  effective  implementation 
and enforcement of measures, which is key also in view 
of the possible intensification of the agricultural sector. A 
recent  Court  of  Auditors  report  "Danube  river  basin  II: 
Quality of water" stated there is a lack of ambition in the 
Member States concerned including Romania to address 
causes of pollution. It stated that Member States are not 
using all the possibilities offered by the Nitrates Directive. 

73 European Environment Agency, 2010. Use of Freshwater resources  
74 More information on the implementation status and more specific 
recommendations can be found at European Commission, Water 
Framework Directive Implementation Reports 

75 Policy Research Corporation, 2009. The economics of climate change 
adaptation in EU coastal areas – Romania. Study for the European 
Commission 

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Romania  19 

it  only  concerned  the  expiry  of  the  first  transitional 
deadline in 2010 – was not promising, as only one out of 
1852  agglomerations  in  Romania  was  reported  to  be  in 
full  compliance.  Romania  will  therefore  have  to  make  a 
considerable effort to improve compliance in the coming 
years, as the final deadline in the Accession Treaty is end 
of 2018.  

Figure 11: Urban waste water Romanian situation 2012 
– Final deadline 201880 

The implementation level of the Drinking Water Directive 
is  low76.  For  example,  72%  of  the  large  water  supply 
zones  were  not  sufficiently  monitored  (2010).  However, 
the  drinking  water  quality  is  overall  acceptable,  and 
enforcement is, in general, working, i.e. remedial actions 
in  case  of  non-compliance  are  taken.  Nevertheless,  in 
rural areas, missing infrastructures lead to the absence of 
distribution  systems. 
In  addition,  there  have  been 
Accession Treaty exemptions on several parameters until 
the end of 201577.  

As  shown  in  Figure  10,  in  2015,  in  Romania  out  of  50 
bathing waters, 32.0% were of excellent quality, 46.0% of 
good  quality  and  20%  of  sufficient  quality.  One  bathing 
water was of poor quality or non- compliant78. 

It  shows  that  the  number  of  bathing  waters  with 
excellent water quality status has slightly improved since 
2014. 
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201579 

Only slightly more than half of the population has access 
to  water  supply  (55%  of  the  population).  In  most  of  the 
installations  used  for  water  supply  and  treatment  are 
based  on  outdated  and  ineffective  technologies.  As  a 
result,  such  publicly  supplied  water  may  suffer  from 
bacteriological 
infestation,  turbidity,  and  ammonia, 
nitrates and iron content.  

Romania  is  also  still  under  transitional  periods  for  the 
implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive,  therefore  with  limited  compliance  obligations. 
The outcome of the last reporting exercise – even though 

76 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666 

77 European Commission, 2014. Reporting requirements and Synthesis 

Reports  

78 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

in 2015, p. 26 

79 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016 

Figure  11  shows  the  total  generated  load  at  Member 
State  level  (in  population  equivalent  and  regardless  of 
load  that  remains  to  be 
agglomerations)  and  the 
addressed by Romania.  

An  adequate  and  targeted  use  of  EU  funds  would  be 
desirable  in  order  to  facilitate  reaching  compliance,  not 
only  as  regards  construction/improvement  of  treatment 
plants  but  also  on  renewal/enlargement/construction  of 
collecting systems. 

issues  are 
The  most  significant  water  management 
related  to  the  organic  pollution  caused  by  untreated 
wastewater  from  agglomerations81,  industrial  units  and 
agricultural  farms,  by  nutrient  pollution,  caused  mainly 
by  agglomerations  and  agricultural  activities,  by 
hazardous  substances  pollution  due  to  industrial  or 
agricultural 
from 
and 
hydromorphological  alterations.  The  implementation  of 
the  UWWTD  is  the  most  important  measure  to  reduce 

the  pressures 

activities, 

80 European Commission, 2016. Urban waste water, 8th implementation 

reports  

81 ANAR. 2012. Romanian Waters: National Administration. See Annex 1 
to Chapter 3 Water 3.5.1 Structure of wastewater discharged in 
2012-Table 3.5.1.-1: Summary of wastewater volumes discharged in 
2012 on economic activities and Table 3.5.2.1 Summary of pollutant 
load discharged in 2012 on economic activities 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
both organic and nutrient pollution. 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

Romania  20 

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
cities  to 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas.84  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

Implementation 

Romania is one of the seven countries taking part in the 
"Structured 
Information 
Framework",  which  helps  Member  States  with  the 
implementation  of  the  UWWTD  and  more  particularly 
with  reporting  of  information  for  the  next  reporting 
exercise.  

and 

The flood protection and control activities represent also 
one of main water management issue in Romania.  12.7% 
of Romania’s territory is covered by floodplains which are 
prone  to  flood  events.  The  country's  flood  management 
activities involve a mixture of short-, medium- and long-
term policies to protect life, assets and the environment. 
Most  of  flood  hazard  maps  for  the  river  basins  were 
prepared  with  EU  funds  and  became  available  in  March 
2014. Technical studies identifying the measures required 
to  further  reduce  the  exposure  to  the  flood  risks  of  the 
vulnerable  activities  are  under  preparation  and  are 
subject  of  the  first  Flood  Risk  Management  Plans  of  the 
river  basins.  Between  2002  and  2013,  for  the  20  floods 
recorded  the  total  direct  costs  were  EUR  3.6  billion 
(damages found for 10 out of 19 floods)82.  

Romania is called to address flood management including 
with  Green  Infrastructure  approaches  under  the  ERDF, 
Rural  funds  and  state  budget.  Green  Infrastructure  can 
play an important role regarding flood management as it 
represents  a  cost-effective  solution  to  flood  protection 
'grey'  measures.  Given  the 
compared  to  traditional 
natural capacity of floodplains to absorb large quantities 
of  water,  maintaining  or  restoring  wetlands  should  be 
pursued  as  a  logical  response  against  flood  risk  besides 
classical measures. 

Suggested action 

  Improve  the  water  policy  in  line  with  the  intervention 
logic  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive,  i.e.  to  do  a 
more detailed assessment of the link starting from the 
significant  pressures 
improve 
monitoring  to  know  the  status  of  water  bodies  and 
design effective Programmes of Measures.  

identification 

to 

  Continue to prioritise the investments for urban waste 
in  order  to  meet  the 

water  treatment  plants 
transitional deadlines set in the Accession Treaty. 

  Better  define  the  basic/mandatory  measures  that  all 
farmers  should  adhere 
the  additional 
supplementary  measures  that  can  be  financed  to 
reduce pressures from agriculture83. 

to  and 

82 RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 

Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European 
Semester. Study for the European Commission, Annex 1: Country 
fiches 

83 Commission Staff Working Document, Report on the Implementation 
of the Water Framework Directive River Basin Management Plans – 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 

Romania (SDW(2012)379 final  

84 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 

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Romania  21 

including air quality and housing85.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201786. 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU.  

supporting 

Romania  has  signed  and  ratified  almost  all  MEAs.  It  has 
signed  but  not  yet  ratified  the  Nagoya  Protocol87.

85 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
86 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

87 Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable 

Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on 
Biological Diversity. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
Romania  22 

Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

equivalent  to  an  increase  by  1.26  and  1.7%  of  GDP  in 
2018 and 2030, respectively. The largest potential source 
in  vehicle 
of  revenue  would  come  from 
taxation. The suggested increase of vehicle taxation could 
account for EUR 2.6 billion of additional revenue by 2030 
(real 2015 terms), equivalent to 1.26% of GDP.  

increases 

Figure 12: Environmental tax revenues as a share of 
total revenues from taxes and social contributions 
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201492 

In 

the 

The latest ESTAT data for Romania has environmental tax 
revenues  amounting  to  2.42%  of  GDP  in  2014  (EU28 
average:  2.46%  of  GDP).88 
same  year 
environmental tax revenues accounted for 8.76% of total 
revenues from taxes and social security contributions (up 
from 7.47% in the preceding year and much higher than 
the  EU28  average  of  6.35%)  as  shown  in  Figure  12. 
Romania's  environmental  tax  revenues  have  increased 
continuously  since  2011.  The  implicit  tax  rate on  energy 
remains  lower  than  the  EU  average  (136  versus  233), 
indicating  an  energy-intensive  economy  and  scope  for 
improving energy efficiency. 

Given  that  Romania  faces  problems  with  achieving 
environmental  goals  for  water,  waste  and  air,  further 
actions in the area of environmental taxation are justified 
due to the considerable potential for additional revenue 
from environmental taxes89.  

A  2016  study  suggests  that  there 
is  considerable 
potential for shifting taxes from labour to environmental 
taxes90.  Under  a  good  practice  scenario91  these  could 
generate an additional EUR 2.19 billion by 2018, rising to 
EUR 4.38 billion by 2030 (both in real 2015 terms). This is 

88 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed June 2016 
89 European Commission, 2015. Tax Reforms in EU Member States 2015, 

Institutional Paper 008 Sept. 2015, p.68 

90 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 2016. 
Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential for the 
EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting tax rates 
within the EU Single Market rules and this report is not suggesting 
concrete changes as to the level of environmental taxation. It merely 
presents the findings of the 2016 study by Eunomia et al on the 
potential benefits various environmental taxes could bring. It is then 
for the national authorities to assess this study and their concrete 
impacts in the national context. A first step in this respect, already 
done by a number of Member States, is to set up expert groups to 
assess these and make specific proposals. 

91 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State.  

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 

Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

92 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
this  money 

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  in  the  EU 
equals to approximately 14% of GDP93. A substantial part 
of 
is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of 
public  spending  and 
innovative 
businesses.  The  Commission  has  proposed  EU  GPP 
criteria94. 

foster  sustainable 

Romania  had  adopted  in  April  2016  a  law  dedicated  to 
green  public  procurement  and  a  set  of  criteria  in  the 
procurement  of  green  products  and  services  categories 
will be further established. 

In 2017, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests 
will  start  a  consultation  with  stakeholders  for  the 
selected  categories 
the 
strategically  directions  of  the  National  Action  Plan  for 
Green Public Procurement (GPP). 

for  developing  and 

set 

Currently,  the  Ministry  of  Environment  in  partnership 
with  Regione  Basilicata  (IT),  Fondazione  Ecosistemi  (IT), 
Regione  Lazio  (IT),  and  Regione  Sardegna  (IT)  are 
developing  a  LIFE  project  to  promote  instruments  and 
actions  for  planning, 
improving,  and  best  practice 
transfers for green public procurement  

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
funding  strategies  and 
climate  objectives 
programmes 
territorial 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

in  their 
for  economic, 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)95  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investment96  (EFSI)  may  also  support  implementation 
and spread off best practice. 

Romania  23 

Figure 13: European Structural and Investment Funds 
2014-2020: Budget Romania by theme, EUR billion97 

The  lack  of  stability  of  the  administrative  structures 
coupled  with  insufficient  implementation  capacity  often 
delay  structural  reforms  and  affect  the  effective  use  of 
EU  funds.  Based  on  the  last  available  information  from 
investments 
the  2007-2013  period, 
(OP) 
approved  under  the  Operational  Programme 
Environment were not fully implemented and a relevant 
number of projects were not completed.  

the  expected 

to 

improve 

Under  the  2014-2020  period,  investments  will  continue 
the  quality  of 
supporting  Romania 
environment and promote the sustainable use of natural 
  Waste  management,  water  supply  and 
resources. 
wastewater 
nature 
biodiversity 
protection, risks prevention and management will be the 
main sectors targeted by the investments.  

treatment, 

and 

93 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 
94 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

95 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

96 EIB: European Fund for Strategic Investments 

The  global  budget  allocation  for  Cohesion  Policy  for  the 
2014-2020  period  is  EUR  22.4  billion,  out  of  which  EUR  
3.8  billion  are  allocated  for  environmental  investment 
(see  Figure  13).  For  the  period  2014-20  there  is  no 
separate  OP  for  environment  as  was  the  case  for  the 
period  2007-13,  but  environment  is  part  of  the  Large 
Infrastructure  OP,  together  with  transport  and  energy, 
for  which  the  Managing  authority  is  the  Ministry  of 
European Funds. Romania is also targeting environmental 
implementation gaps with its ESIF investment OPs. 

97 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

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Romania  24 

review its implementation of this. 

The  EIA/SEA  and  water  ex-ante  conditionalities,  which 
are preconditions to access EU funding, were expected to 
be  fulfilled  by  the  end  of  2016.  The  waste  ex-ante 
conditionality  is  not  fulfilled  as  the  waste  management 
plan  (WMP)  and  the  waste  prevention  programmes 
(WPP)  are  not  yet  available.  Effective  economic 
instruments are also missing, i.e. the lack of transparent 
and  effective  Extended  Producer  Responsibility  (EPR)  or 
equivalent  system  is  in  place  to  cover  the  operational 
costs  of  separate  collection  and  recycling  of  the  main 
waste streams. The Action Plan included in the Roadmap 
is the minimum necessary to ensure achievement of the 
targets on preparation for reuse and recycling. 

The  planned  environmental  investments  are  focused  on 
the  right  priorities,  such  as  building  the  necessary 
and 
environmental 
rehabilitation, the development of the tools to meet the 
management  and  monitoring  requirements,  increasing 
urban green areas and improving mobility. 

infrastructure, 

depolluting 

However,  due  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  environmental  major  projects  have  not  yet 
been completed and should be finalized under the 2014-
20 programming period. 

The  National  Rural  Development  Program 
(EARDF 
amounts  overall  to  EUR  3.252  billion  -  40%  of  the  total 
budget  to  environmental  measures),  but  only  11%  is 
dedicated  to  agri-environment-Climate  measures.  The 
RDP has a sound intervention logic which makes the link 
with its contribution for implementing the environmental 
legislation.  Romania  should  still  complete  the  RDP  with 
adequate environmental safeguards, make adjustment to 
the agri-environment climate measure and make sure the 
RDP  covers  proper  funding  and  coverage  once  Natura 
2000  management  plans  and  the  2nd  RBMPs  are 
approved. 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas  for  Romania  (as  for  all  Member  States)  are,  first, 
using Rural Development funds to pay for environmental 
land  management  and  other  environmental  measures, 
while  avoiding  financing  measures  which  could  damage 
the  environment;  and  secondly,  ensuring  an  effective 
implementation of the first pillar of the CAP with regard 
to  cross  compliance  and  1st  pillar  'greening'.  The  Direct 
Payment envelope of Romania is EUR 8 949 million98), 30 
%  of  which  (2  740)  is  allocated  to  greening  practices 
beneficial  for  the  environment.  An  environmentally 
ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar  greening  would 
clearly  help  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in 
areas  not  covered  by  rural  development, 
including 
intensive  area,  and  if  appropriate  the  Romania  could 

98 According to Commission delegated regulation (EU) No 994/2014 of 

13 May 2014  

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
 
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

Romania  25 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
innovation,  establishing 
science, 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills99.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

is 

that 

crucial 

regional  and 

local 
central, 
It 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities,  skills  and 
training  to  carry  out  their  own  tasks  while  cooperating 
and  coordinating  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

level 

In  2000,  a  study  showed  that  significant  changes  were 
required  to  achieve  adequate  levels  of  cooperation 
between  ministries  and  coordination  between  the 
in  Romania,  to  achieve 
national  and  county 
adequate 
implementation  of  the  EU  environmental 
legislation100.  Although  since  then  substantial  EU  funds 
have been made available to improve environmental and 
other Cohesion Funds-related themes in particular in the 
2007-2013 programming period101, it seems that, overall, 
there is considerable room for improvement in terms of 
administrative  capacity.  To 
structural 
strengthening  public 
weaknesses,  a 
administration  was  adopted  in  2014  together  with  an 
action  plan  for  its  implementation  in  2014-2020102.  The 
strategy  addresses  the  dedicated  ex  ante  conditionality 
for the new programming period of the EU structural and 
investment  funds103.  Implementation  seems,  however, 
starting with substantial delay.  

strategy 

tackle 

the 

for 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments into effect. The "Make it Work initiative", a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
legislation  can  be 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective  governance  within  central,  regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

99 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

Perceptions  on  the  quality  of  public  services,  the  civil 
service, policy-making and implementation, as well as the 
credibility  of  the  government’s  commitment  to  policies, 
which  are  captured  by  the  'government  effectiveness' 

100 Ecotec, 2000. Administrative Capacity for Implementation and 
Enforcement of EU Environmental Policy in the 13 Candidate 
Countries. Final Report to the European Commission  

101 Between 2007 and 2013, over EUR 1 billion was available for capacity 
building(including for local governments) through a programme for 
Administrative Development and a programme for Technical 
Assistance.  

102 European Commission, Commission Staff Working Document 

Country Report Romania 2015 Including an In-Depth Review on the 
prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances   
103  Ex ante conditionality 11: The existence of a strategic policy 
framework for reinforcing the Member States' administrative 
efficiency including public administration reform. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Romania  26 

indicator,  are  well  below  the  EU  average.104  There  is  a 
lack  of  trust  among  political  and  administrative  layers, 
resulting in weak ownership of decisions and policies. 

in  Romania  are 
Environmental  policy  developments 
mainly  driven  by  EU  Regulations  and  Directives.  An 
important part of the implementation challenge is timely 
transposition  of  EU  environmental 
law  by  national 
authorities  into  national  legislation.  Romania  sometimes 
transposes  environmental  directives  belatedly.  The 
legislation  is  generally  correctly  transposed  and  when 
instances  of  non-conformity  occur, 
country 
cooperates and amends its legislation accordingly. 

the 

Implementation  remains  however  the  real  challenge  as 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  Romania,  although  a  new 
Member  State,  is  among  the  countries  with  the  highest 
number  of  environmental  infringements  mainly  in  the 
areas  of  waste  management 
(e.g.  operation  of 
substandard  landfills),  air  pollution  (e.g.  exceedances  of 
PM10 emission limit values), non-adaptation of old large 
combustion plants to EU standards, and authorisation of 
projects without the necessary assessments and permits.  

The  number  of  complaints  is  increasing.  Complaints  and 
petitions  received  are often related  to the authorisation 
of  energy  projects  (wind  farms  in  Dobrogea  region, 
micro-hydropower  plants  in  Natura  2000  areas)  and  the 
operation of industrial installations. 

Suggested action 

region, including rural areas. 

Impact  assessments  are 
important  tools  to  ensure 
environmental  integration  in  all  government  policies.106 
Romania  uses  regulatory  impact  analysis  (RIA)  on  all 
legislative  projects  to  be  approved  by  the  Government. 
The RIA in principle covers also environmental impacts. In 
practice,  it  seems  that  such  impacts  are  usually  only 
presented qualitatively and not in-depth, and there is no 
quality control in place.107 Romania has fully aligned the 
strategic  environmental  assessment 
for  plans  and 
programmes (SEA) and environmental impact assessment 
for  projects  (EIA).  The  transposition  of  the  revised  EIA 
Directive  will  be  an  opportunity  to  streamline  the 
regulatory  framework  on  environmental  assessments, 
and  enhance  the  quality  of  the  impact  assessments 
carried out.  

to  avoid  overlaps 

The  Commission  encourages  the  streamlining  of  the 
environmental  assessments 
in 
environmental  assessments  and  accelerate  decision-
making,  without  compromising  the  quality  of  the 
environmental  assessment  procedure.  The  Commission 
has  issued  a  guidance  document  in  2016108  regarding 
the  setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint  procedures 
that are simultaneously subject to assessments under the 
EIA  Directive,  Habitats  Directive,  Water  Framework 
Directive, and the Industrial Emissions Directive.  

Suggested action 

  Improving 

of 

the 

the  administrative  capacity  and 
involved 

the 
coordination 
in 
implementation  is  urgently  needed  to  reverse  this 
trend  and  avoid  hefty  penalties  in  medium  and  long 
term. This will also contribute towards addressing such 
implementation gaps. 

agencies 

  Romania  should  speed  up  the  implementation  of  the 
strategy for strengthening public administration, within 
which environment should be given due attention. 

Coordination and integration 

There is a need to enforce coordinated implementation. 
For  example,  water  supply  is  frequently  given  higher 
priority  than  sanitation.  However,  households  can  only 
be  connected  to  the  water  supply  network  if  they  are 
already hooked up to a sewerage disposal system. These 
discrepancies often lead to illegal household connections, 
in  addition  to  which  the  lack  of  sewage  disposal  places 
intense stress on groundwater and surface water.105 

In  the  area  of  waste  services,  the 
introduction  of 
contracts at county level would allow better planning of 
waste  collection  services  for  the  entire  municipality  or 

104 World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators 2015 
105 UNECE, 2012. Environmental Performance Reviews - Romania  

  Romania 

should 

further 

coordinated 
implementation, in particular with regard to water and 
waste  management  as  well  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
impact assessments. 

enforce 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 

106 Article 11 of the TFEU provides that "Environmental protection 

requirements must be integrated into the definition and 
implementation of the Union's policies and activities, in particular 
with a view to promoting sustainable development." 

107 RPA, 2015. Study on the potential of impact assessments to support 
environmental goals in the context of the European Semester, Study 
for the European Commission 

108 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
including 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
liabilities  can 
(e.g. 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law109 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
liability  rules)  and 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 14.  

include  administrative  action 

liability 

Figure 14: Environmental compliance assurance 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL110, EUFJE111, ENPE112 and EnviCrimeNet113, 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices. 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)  114  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 

109 European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
110 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law 

111 European Union Forum of judges for the environment 
112 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment 
113 EnviCrimeNet 
114 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 

Romania  27 

"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
There 
information  giving 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation115 .  

Romania  has  taken  some  significant  steps  to  underpin 
risk-based compliance assurance: 

  The  main  pillar,  the  National  Environmental  Guard 
(NEG) has ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification. 
  NEG  has  established  a  risk-based  approach  to 

environmental inspections116. 

The  NEG  coordinates  a  network  of  environmental 
volunteers 
(Environmental  Volunteer  Corps)  which 
consists  of  about  1000  registered  volunteers  and  is  an 
innovative  tool  for  citizens'  involvement  in  compliance 
assurance  work.  The  main  functions  of  the  Corps  relate 
to  notification  of  identified  breaches  of  environmental 
law  to  the  competent  authorities,  awareness  raising, 
participation  in  compliance  assurance  activities  carried-
out  by  the  NEG  and  provision  of  specific  technical 
expertise. 

Up-to-date information would is lacking in relation to the 
following: 

 

  data  collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions; 
the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  both  at  the  strategic 
level  and 
in  specific  problem-areas  highlighted 
elsewhere in this Country Report, i.e. non-compliant 
landfills,  the  threats  to  protected  habitat  types  and 
species, poor air quality, poor drinking water and the 
pressures  on  water  quality  from  diffuse  water 
pollution and inadequate waste-water treatment; 
tools  for  ensuring  cooperation  and  coordination 
between NEG and other relevant authorities, such as 
memoranda  of  understanding  and  protocols,  are  in 

 

115 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

116 However, IMPEL has observed that the risk criteria used have a 

generic character and do not sufficiently consider local and regional 
contexts, see IMPEL IRI Romania Report, 2014, p. 42 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
that 

indicates 

place.  However,  evidence 
the 
potential  for  data  collection  and  sharing  and  joint 
compliance  monitoring  and  enforcement  actions  is 
not sufficiently used117. Romania is very active within 
IMPEL.  It  was  the  first  Member  State  to  have  been 
the host of two Impel Review Initiative (IRI) projects 
and  it  has  hosted  the  first  IMPEL  IRI  on  nature 
protection inspections.  

For  the  period  2007-2013,  Romania  reported  four  cases 
of 
the 
environmental  damage  handled  under 
Environmental  Liability  Directive.  Romania  shows  an 
interest  in  implementing  the  Directive  effectively,  as 
demonstrated by a pioneering role in setting up a training 
programme.  However,  more  support  measures  are 
needed. There is no mandatory financial security (to pay 
for  remediation  where  an  operator cannot)  and  there  is 
insufficient insurance on offer.  

Suggested action 

  Improve 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed, as outlined above. 

greater  participation  of 
competent 
in  the  activities  of  ENPE,  EUFJE  and 

  Encourage 
authorities 
EnviCrimeNet.  
  Step  up  efforts 

in  the 

implementation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  with  proactive 
initiatives, in particular by setting up a national register 
of  ELD  incidents  and  drafting  national  guidance.  It 
should  moreover  take  further  steps  to  ensure  an 
effective system of financial security for environmental 
liabilities  (so  that  operators  not  only  have  insurance 
cover available to them but actually take it up). 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

117 IMPEL IRI Romania Report, 2014, p. 17 and 41.  

Romania  28 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
for  decentralised 
It 
before  a  court. 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

interest 
to 

legal  review  system, 
in  environmental  matters, 

The  Romanian 
including  court 
is  clear  and 
actions 
predictable.  The  legislation  grants  broad  standing  to 
individuals and groups, including NGOs, by requiring only 
a 
in  order  to  take  an 
legitimate  public 
the  court.  However,  one 
environmental  case 
shortcoming  seems  to  be  the  lack  of  timely  judicial 
proceedings, an issue which concerns, however, all areas 
of law. This problem could only be tackled with a general 
reform of the judicial system, making it in particular more 
efficient.  However,  the  costs  of  judicial  proceedings  are 
considered as prohibitively high. In Romania no legal aid 
is available for environmental cases118.  

Suggested action 

  Take the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  the  costs 
of legal challenges involving EU environmental law are 
line  with  the 
not  prohibitively  expensive,  and 
requirements  of  EU 
law  as  well  as  the  Aarhus 
Convention. 

in 

Access 
evidence 

to 

information,  knowledge  and 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
through 
to 
dissemination 
electronic means. 
The  Aarhus  Convention119,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive120  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive121 

and 
increasingly 

public 
the  public, 

authorities 

118 See study on access to justice in environmental matters 2012/2013 
119 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

120 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information 
121 http://inspire.ec.europa.eu  

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Romania  29 

  Critically  review  the  effectiveness  of  its  data  policies 
into 
taking 

'best  practices' 

them, 

and  amend 
consideration.  

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive.  

instruments 

create  obligations 

together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan122.  The  first 
two 
to  provide 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

accessibility  of 
State, 
For  each  Member 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed.  

the 

Romania's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public 
leaves room for improvement.  Romania has indicated in 
the  3-yearly  INSPIRE  implementation  report123  that  the 
necessary  data-sharing  policies  allowing  access  and  use 
of  spatial  data  by  national  administrations,  other 
Member  States'  administrations  and  EU 
institutions 
without  procedural  obstacles  are  available  but  not  yet 
fully 
implemented.  Romanian  public  authorities  are 
obliged  to  share  spatial  data  free  of  charge  between 
public administrations. Lack of resources, knowledge and 
collaboration  has  delayed  the  implementation.  A  recent 
update  of  the 
for  the  National 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information,  backed-up  by  the 
necessary funding for implementation should address the 
existing bottlenecks and implementation gaps.     
Assessments of monitoring reports124 issued by Romania 
and  the  spatial  information  that  Romania  has  published 
on  the  INSPIRE  geoportal125  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
and 
for 
information 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  The  larger  part  of  this  missing 
spatial  information  consists  of  the  environmental  data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
reporting 
EU 
environmental law. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

framework 

evaluation 

needed 

legal 

the 

of 

Suggested action 

122 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

123 European Commission, INSPIRE reports 
124 Inspire indicator trends  
125 Inspire Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – Romania