European Commission harsh decision: Hunedoara Energetic Complex received illegal state aid / Government is obliged to recover 60 million euros from the energy producer

The European Commission has found that the energy company „Hunedoara Energy Complex” (CE Hunedoara) has received from Romania incompatible state aid, amounting to approximately EUR 60 million, through four publicly funded loans, – a Commission communication. According to him, at present, Romania must recover illegal aid and related interests.

Source: Hotnews, Profit

Exploring Neptune Deep, the main gas concession in the Black Sea, owned by ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom, could be prolonged after the oilists were unhappy with the offshore law

The state could extend the exploration of the Neptun Deep natural gas perimeter in the Black Sea, where concessionaires are ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom, by concluding in this regard an addendum to the oil agreement signed with the two companies, providing for two periods optional extension to allow the perimeter operator, ExxonMobil, to determine whether the success rate index for exploration can be reached to justify the shift to economic development of the deposits.

Source: Profit

Teodorovici: Ordinance on the Sovereign Investment Fund – in the Friday government meeting

Minister of Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici said on Thursday that the ordinance regarding the establishment of the Sovereign Investment Fund will be discussed in the Friday’s government meeting. „We have clarified all the issues that are still under discussion, and tomorrow I think we will also discuss the Sovereign Wealth Ordinance. (…) We set a valid general framework in order to be able, after a government decision, to set up the Sovereign Fund at case by case, „Teodorovici told Parliament.

Source: Agerpes

Ruling coalition split over two-round voting for local elections. ALDE votes next to the Opposition

ALDE MPs in the Chamber of Deputies (Romanian Parliament’s lower chamber) have voted for electing the mayors in a two-round voting on Wednesday. The draft law goes back to the special committees as it had entered the plenary session with a negative opinion proposal, and it has not received enough support. ALDE vice-president Varujan Vosganian has announced in the plenary sitting that the entire ALDE group had voted for returning to the two-round voting system for electing the mayors. The leader of the Social Democrats’ group said PSD is opposing the two-round vote.

Source: Romania Journal