GUIDE FOR INVESTORS: ENVIRONMENT AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURE FOR PRIVATISATION

Institutional framework

The competencies and responsibilities of the privatization process pertain to the Government, the Romanian Development Agency (RDA) and the public institutions involved.

The public institutions involved, namely the STATE OWNERSHIP FUND, the ministries and local public authorities carry out the privatization process.

To this aim, the public institutions will:

The State Ownership Fund, as public institution subordinated to the Government, targets the reduction of the state presence in the economy by selling shares held by the state in all state-owned companies, with the exception of strategic ones or selected companies in the case of which the Government decides otherwise.

Legislative framework

In view of an efficient and accelerated privatization process, in the first semester of this year, the legislative framework was up-dated and completed. Thus, the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 88/1997, approved by the Law no.44/1998, was modified and completed at the end of the first semester this year. The purpose was to eliminate the provisions that have been proven to delay or even block the privatization process. Thus, the Law no.99/1999 concerning measures to accelerate economic reform was passed.

The Government Decision no.450/1999 approved the Methodological Norms for the enforcement of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 88/1997 concerning companies privatization.

With respect to the environment auditing procedure, the MWFEP Order no.184/1997 was issued; the document details the procedure for environment audits of level 0,I and II for privatization and the necessary procedure to obtain the environment permit.

Another MWFEP Order, no.709/1999, was issued under the title “Order concerning the content of the environment permit for privatization”.

Other legislative documents which must be observed by the companies and also by the investor are: “MWFEP Order no.125/1996 for the approval of the regulation procedure of economic and social activities with impact on the environment” and, obviously, the “Environment Protection Law no. 137/1995; there are also some other orders on the environment parameters: water, air, soil.

In compliance with the new legislation, environment-related obligations have been extended also to the privatizing companies where the state holds less than 50%. The previous legislation provided for a compulsory environment procedure for privatization only for companies in which the state or the local public authority held more than 50% of the capital. Now the limit is 33.33% (the control level).

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