An updated regulation on the licensing regime in Romania's power sector was recently adopted by ANRE, the national regulatory authority. On 17 March 2015, Order no. 12/2015 on the Regulation for granting licenses and authorizations in the electricity sector ("Order 12"), effective as of publication, was published in the Romanian Official Gazette no. 180/2015 and repeals the former regulation, ie Order no. 48/2013. ...more »

By Iulia Simion, Senior Lawyer at WOLF THEISS Rechtsanwälte GmbH & Co KG. In 2014, Law no. 17 (the "Law") was enacted. The Law enforced new prerequisites for the sale of agricultural land located outside the built up area of the citie...more »

"Biometric data", as defined in Opinion no. 4/2007 on the concept of personal data, which was established under Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, refers to biological properties, physiological characteristics, living traits or repeatable actions that are both unique and measurable. The biometric data of an individual may be provided, inter alia, by fingerprints, retinal patterns, facial structure, voices, but also hand geometry, vein patterns or even some deeply ingrained skill or other behavioral characteristic, such as a handwritten signature, the manner of speech and even walking....more »

The transactions of 2014 have confirmed the optimistic expectations from the beginning of the year, which forecasted an increase of the M&A market based on the slight economic increase from the first part of the year. With two of the largest transactions (i.e. divestment of the Lafarge / Romcim assets as part of the conditions required by the Lafarge-Holcim merger clearance by the European Commission and sale of the Enel assets in Romania) still pending at the end of 2014, last year has nevertheless proven to be one of the most prolific in M&A transactions until the beginning of the economic crisis....more »

By Adriana Radu, Head of Telecom, Media and Technology Team and Oana Apopei, Attorney at Law at Schoenherr & Asociatii Government Emergency Ordinance no. 77/2009 on organization and exploitation of games of chance ("GEO 7...more »

The Law no. 121/2014 on energy efficiency (“the Law”) which transposes the 2012/27/EU Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 25, 2012 on energy efficiency into national law and creates the legal framework for the development and implementation of the national policy in the field of energy efficiency was published in the Official Gazette no. 574/2014. The Law aims to increase energy efficiency in Romania, targeting a reduction by 19 percent of energy consumption by 2020. In this regard, the Energy Efficiency Department is set up under the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), the body being responsible for drafting legislative proposals, promoting the development of energy services market, monitoring the implementation of the national plan for energy efficiency and cooperating with various authorities involved in the process....more »

As frequently happens, application of provisions as regards customs law may prove difficult for both the Romanian authorities and taxpayers. Recently, the president of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) has adopted a series of new rules on access to the NCTS-RO transit application in view of modernizing and facilitating the submission of customs declarations. The said rules have been enforced by the Order no. 2783/2014 published in the Official Gazette of Romania on September 12 and effective since September 15, 2014. ...more »

The Romanian real estate market shows signs of recovery, especially due to the significantly increased number of office projects and of transactions with agricultural lands. Also, the market is safeguarded from the immobility of the residential segment by retailers which are continuously expanding. Separately, the trend to acquire lands for future developments, as a result of the currently accessible prices which render the acquisitions profitable, is particularly noteworthy. Moreover, banks have started to create their own real estate management vehicles, while various small and medium sized investment funds allocate capitals between euro 20 and 50 million for the acquisition of assets from banks, within enforcement or insolvency proceedings....more »

Lucian Cumpanasu, Managing Partner of Cumpanasu & Dejescu law firm, explained to Which Lawyer in Romania the current directions in the green energy field. The year 2014 has not bring us, so far, good news for the players interested in the renewable energy market in Romania, irrespective of the position they approach the domain (investors, developers, EPC, traders etc.). The first semester gave us the confirmation of certain amendments to the reference regulatory framework announced since last year, but we did not exaggerate if we say that the “surprise” amendments – as often happens to us – were present....more »

Laura Neacsu, Senior Associate and Coordinator Energy Practice at Noerr, reviews the recent developments in the domestic renewable energy market, affected by successive legislative changes. A healthy investment climate on the E-RES Market, but also on the Romanian market in general, can be built only on a predictable, transparent and stable legal framework. Such stability and predictability were expected to come along with the much awaited new year. The whole E-RES investment environment expected Romanian authorities to finish the amendments begun, to finalize the decisions initiated and to provide the E-RES market with parameters of a support scheme on which business plans may be drafted and implemented within the legitimate expectations at the time such plans were born....more »