Romania's corporate governance must definitely be overhauled, Minister of European Investments and Projects Adrian Caciu said on Wednesday, mentioning that the procedure for appointments to the top management of state-owned companies, which the European Commission found to be incorrect, will be resumed so that the issue of the suspension of NRRP disbursements is sorted out in the shortest time possible.
"Romania's corporate governance reform must be carried out. If certain appointments were made incorrectly from the perspective of those who assess us, specifically the European Commission, the procedure must be resumed. There is only one way to do that - change the top management, resume the appointment procedure, which must be not only in accordance with EC and European rules, but must especially comply with the rules of the OECD, an organization we want to join. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that, if we momentarily solve a situation, we won't encounter it again because we have the negotiation with the OECD ongoing," said Caciu, when asked after the government meeting, what the Executive will do to solve the issues highlighted by the European Commission in the case of appointments to the companies' top management
Caciu reminded that the legislation on corporate governance was approved under NRRP milestone 439, which was positively assessed by the European Commission.
"The necessary legislation is already in place. Obviously, where past appointments do not agree either with the current legislation updated based on the NRRP benchmark, or with the Commission's recommendations or with what it will transmit us, the procedures must be resumed. The legal way will probably be defined by the government, but through the ministry in charge, the Energy Ministry," he added.
He added that Romania has six months to make these appointments in accordance with the requirements of the European Commission.
Asked why the necessary measures were not taken since June, when the European Commission's letter was received, Caciu cited the particular example of the Agency for the Oversight and Assessment of Public Enterprises - AMEPIP, and of Metrorex.
The European Commission approved on Tuesday a positive preliminary assessment of the six targets and 62 of the 68 milestones related to Romania's third payment request in the amount of EUR two billion (without pre-financing) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - the central element of the NextGenerationEU Programme. The Commission found that, at this stage, Romania has failed to satisfactory fulfill six milestones that include reforms of the management of state-owned enterprises, transport investments, and the reform of the fiscal regime of micro-enterprises. Therefore, the European Commission suggests the partial suspension of the disbursement.
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