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Romania

REFERENCES

Commission Opinion [COM(97) 2003 final - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(98) 702 final - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(1999) 510 final - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2000) 710 final - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2001) 700 final - SEC(2001) 1753 - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2002) 700 final - SEC(2002) 1409 - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2003) 676 final - SEC(2003) 1211 - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2004) 657 final - SEC(2004) 1200 - Not published in the Official Journal]Commission Report [COM(2005) 534 final - SEC (2005) 1354 - Not published in the Official Journal] Treaty of Accession to the European Union [Official Journal L 157 of 21.06.05]

SUMMARY

In its Opinion of July 1997, the Commission considered that after a period in which trade with Romania was not without difficulty, the new approach adopted by the authorities early in 1997 offered hope for improvements and showed a determination to adhere to the timetable laid down in the Europe Agreement for eliminating restrictions on bilateral trade. It called on the authorities to ensure that, in areas not covered by Community harmonisation, their national laws did not hamper trade. In particular, measures should be proportionate to their objectives. The Commission stressed that considerable efforts needed to be made before Romania could be said to be implementing the acquis fully and effectively.

The November 1998 Report noted that Romania had made progress in the transposition of New Approach directives but the majority of European standards still needed to be adopted.

In its October 1999 Report, the Commission considered that although progress on standardisation and transposition of the directives on motor vehicles had been achieved, there were still major problems in the transposition of sectoral directives due to the lack of framework legislation to implement the principles of the New and Global Approaches. Since then, as indicated in the November 2000 Report, little progress had been made.

The November 2001 Report noted that Romania had made little progress in the area of freedom of movement, except with regard to the legislation on the New and Global Approaches and public procurement. However, it had made substantial progress in the area of customs.

October 2002 Report, the Commission stated that Romania had made some progress in transposing sectoral legislation and harmonising legislation in the field of public procurement and had made significant progress in the field of customs. In its November 2003 report, the Commission considered that Romania has continued to make good progress in transposing the acquis.

The October 2004 Report noted that Romania had continued to make progress with regard to the free movement of goods, with the notable exception of enforcement of rules in the area of public procurement.

The October 2005 Report claims that, in spite of the progress already achieved, Romania must redouble its efforts with regard to horizontal and procedural measures and old approach legislation. Public procurement continues to be an area of serious concern.

The Treaty of Accession was signed on 25 April 2005 and accession took place on 1 January 2007.

COMMUNITY ACQUIS

Free movement of goods can only be achieved by removing measures which restrict trade, not only customs duties and quantitative restrictions, but all measures with equivalent, i.e. protectionist, effect.

Where technical standards are not harmonised, the principle of mutual recognition of national rules applies (in line with the Cassis de Dijon judgment).

For the purpose of harmonisation, the European Community has developed the " New Approach ". Instead of imposing technical solutions, European Community legislation is limited to establishing the essential requirements which products must meet.

EVALUATION

In 1998 Romania adopted two decrees on standardisation and accreditation activities and on conformity assessment infrastructure. These decrees provide a sound legal basis for standardisation and accreditation activities in line with EU principles. They also guarantee the separation of standardisation and accreditation functions, in that accreditation is now carried out by a national accreditation body (RENAR), independent of the Romanian Standardisation Institute (ASRO), which is a member of European Accreditation.

Progress was made on the institutional infrastructure in 2002, with the adoption of the framework legislation on conformity assessment. The 2003 report notes further progress in this field. According to the 2004 report, good progress has been made in the fields of accreditation and conformity assessment. Also in December 2003, implementing rules were adopted establishing the procedures for product conformity assessment and laying down the rules for the application and utilisation of the CE marking. The Standardisation Institute launched a programme for the adoption of European standards. This has begun to bear fruit. The 2001 report noted that the Romanian Accreditation Body had signed some multilateral recognition agreements and transposed about 15% of European harmonised standards. The report notes that transposition of European standards continued in 2003: more than 70% have been transposed. The 2004 report notes that mutual recognition clauses - which the Commission had wanted to introduce in 2001 - have been inserted into the new law on metrology and into implementing rules in various areas. As regards standardisation, good progress has been made by adopting European standards to meet the requirements for membership of CEN and CENELEC. According to the 2005 report, market surveillance structures are in place but they still need to be consolidated and better coordinated. In particular, the administrative capacity of the accreditation body RENAR needs to be strengthened.

Progress on sector-specific legislation was mixed until 2000 due to the lack of framework legislation that would have systematically implemented the principles of the New and Global Approaches. The 2001 report noted that Romania had finally adopted this framework legislation introducing the principles of the New and Global Approaches into national legislation.

In the areas covered by the New Approach, transposition of the Community acquis has slowed with regard to toys, lifts, gas appliances, pressure vessels, electromagnetic compatibility, low voltage equipment, medical equipment, pleasure craft and legal metrology. Recent progress related to the adoption of the framework legislation providing for the implementation of the acquis. The 2004 report notes that progress has been made in this field as regards the acquis on low voltage electrical equipment, electromagnetic compatibility, lifts, radio and telecommunications terminal equipment, legal metrology, toys, gas appliances, simple pressure vessels and machinery. According to the 2005 report, alignment with the acquis is generally considered to be acceptable. However, additional efforts are needed in several areas. Conformity assessment bodies still have to be accredited.

As far as the "old approach" directives are concerned, some progress has been made in relation to detergents, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals (emergency legislation), foodstuffs (framework legislation and labelling) and glass. However, no progress has been noted in the areas of pre-packaging, wood and textiles. Limited progress was made in 2002 on the transposition and implementation of the acquis on legal metrology and pre-packaging. The process of transposition had accelerated considerably for food safety and foodstuffs legislation. In 2003, progress is reported regarding motor vehicles, cosmetics, legal metrology and chemicals. According to the 2005 report, Romania has transposed most of the Community acquis into its national legislation, but it has yet to complete alignment with regard to good laboratory practice and cosmetics.

As regards food safety and foodstuffs, the majority of the transposed vertical foodstuff directives entered into force in September 2002. In 2005, increased efforts will be required for genetically modified organisms (GMO), hygiene rules, mineral water and monitoring of dried fruit imports.

Finally, the new legislation on public contracts has entered into force, although the implementing provisions have not yet been applied. Full alignment with the acquis has not yet been achieved in 2005. The 2004 directives have yet to be transposed and a comprehensive legal framework, including harmonised rules on concessions and public-private partnerships, e-procurement and an efficient remedies mechanism, has yet to be drawn up. The Commission notes that the implentation of public procurement legislation is a source of serious concern. Administrative capacity must be considerably strengthened and modernised to avoid any potential abuse or failing. The public procurement agency, the national authority responsible for the regulation and monitoring of public contracts was created in July 2005.

Negotiations on the chapter on freedom of movement have been provisionally closed. Romania has not requested any transitional arrangements.

As regards the negotiations on the chapter on customs union, progress was made in 2001 in aligning Romanian legislation with the Community Customs Code and its implementing provisions. In November 2001, provisions were adopted on the application of the Romanian Customs Integrated Tariff (TARIR), which was based on the EC Integrated Tariff (TARIC). The 2004 report notes that Romania has made limited progress in transposing the customs acquis over the reporting period with regard to alignment with the acquis adopted after 2001. As regards administrative and operational capacity, a new organisational and functional structure of the customs authority was adopted in March 2004. Limited progress has been noted in the area of cooperation with traders. Romania needs to make further progress with regard to developing administrative capacity and fighting corruption within the customs administration. According to the 2005 report, Romania meets the requirements resulting from the accession talks relating to customs legislation. The Commission notes that increased efforts are needed to strengthen the administrative and operational capacity of the customs authority, in particular with regard to training officials, customs procedures and the fight against corruption.

Last updated: 06.01.2006

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