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Romania has permanently shut down two of its three industrial plants for which it has been referred to the court, which is why it is bizarre how the European Commission (EC) acted, Romania's Minister of the Environment, Waters and Forests Barna Tanczos said on Friday.
"This is a court referral for a case of infringement on three industrial plants - the Govora Power Plant and two power plants in Deva. Of the three combustion plants, two are permanently closed by Romania. That is why it is strange the action taken yesterday [December 2] because the two industrial plants are permanently closed. People were laid off, severance pay was granted. The Govora case is indeed special because a large part of the town is still connected to the district heating system, with tens of thousands of families receiving steam from this plant every winter. That is why the county council as the owner of that plant did not close, but it has had no modernisation funding. There was a transitional period to 2013, which was not met. The modernistaion works that were supposed to be conducted failed to materialise, and the European Commission decided to refer Romania to the court. There is no problem with the two plants permanently shut down. In the third case, we will try to explain to the European Commission that an upgrade has to be done there, provided that those people do not run out of heat during the winter," Tanczos told Digi24 private broadcaster.
The European Commission decided on Thursday to refer Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in two cases - for failing to comply with EU rules to tackle industrial pollution and to adopt an air pollution control programme, according to a press statement released by the commission.
AGERPRES
