Having in view
R o m a n i a ’ s
accession to the
European Union
( ‘EU’) in 2007,
the Romanian
authorities have
taken important
steps to align
the
legal
framework to the
EU legislative
system. As a
result of this
process, since
2004
the
regulations in the oil and gas sector were
changed in order to provide a solid
framework for the energy market and to
reach a very important goal consisting in
the privatization of oil and gas state
companies.
Such privatization goal was partially
implemented during 2004-2005, when
the State divested large stakes of its
participation in companies such as ‘
Petrom’, ‘ Distrigaz Nord’ or ‘ Distrigaz
S u d ’. T h e p r i m a r y a i m o f s u c h
privatization is the opening and
deregulation of the energy market in line
with the EU requirements.
Ro m a n i a h a s c o n s i d e ra b l e n a t u ra l
resources for a country of its size,
i n c l u d i n g c o a l , i r o n o r e , c o p p e r,
chromium, salt, uranium, antimony,
mercury, gold, silver, lead, barite, borate,
c e l e s t i n e ,
f e l d s p a r ,
limestone,
magnesite,
marble, perlite,
pumice and
pyrites ( sulfur)
and a long
history
of
mining, dating
back to Roman
times.
The
country has
undertaken farr e a c h i n g
programs to
restructure its mining sector prior to and
after joining the European Union. One
aspect of restructuring has been the
closure of loss-making mines, which are
often located in communities where the
mining industry is the dominant employer,
and the significant downsizing of the
workforce. Mitigation efforts implemented
at the time of mine closure were doubled
by Romania’s efforts to attract investors
in the mining sector, able to provide
adequate guarantees as regards the
usage of best available and
environmentally friendly technologies and
the assistance of local communities in
order to achieve sustainable
development. However, despite some
privatization attempts, the mining sector
in Romania is still largely controlled by