EC slams Romania for IT&C regulator interference

The European Commission has launched an infringement case against Romania due to the Government’s interference in the independence of the telecom regulator

March 2009 - From the Print Edition

This follows the former Tariceanu Government’s decision in September 2008 to sack the head of the National Authority of Communications (ANTRCI), Dan Georgescu, without giving a transparent reason. When The Diplomat approached the Government to ask the justification for the sacking, we were given a blunt refusal.
Following the dismissal, Georgescu appealed against the decision at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, which ruled that the sacking was unlawful and he should be reinstated in his position.
However, while the court was in session, the Government chose to restructure the agency into the National Authority for Communications (ANC), legally making Georgescu’s former job no longer existent.
The European Commission (EC) called this “a serious violation” of the regulator’s independence.
“It is worrying to see the government of an EU member state nullifying, in 2008, the effects of a court ruling,” said EU Telecom Commissioner Viviane Reding.
The Commission sent two letters in September and October last year to bring the case to the attention of the Romanian government, but received no “satisfactory” response.
The EC condemned the restructuring as “hasty” and said a “more sustainable institutional solution” was necessary.
The new Government has indicated it may overturn the emergency decree which transformed the name and role of the telecom regulator overnight.
Now the Commission is in close contact with the Romanian authorities to identify ways to bring Romanian legislation into line with European Union law, according to an EC spokesperson.