The European Commission has decided on Thursday 25 July to send an additional reasoned opinion to Romania because it has not removed barriers to trade in natural gas between Member States as required by EU rules for the single market in natural gas (Articles 35 and 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU - Directive 2009/73/EC).
In July 2014, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to the Romanian authorities because national legislation was creating barriers to the free movement of goods within the EU's single market.
After assessing the latest amendments to Romania's energy law, the Commission found that an obligation to sell natural gas with priority given to the Romanian market was maintained, in violation of EU law. The current Romanian legal framework “creates unjustified barriers to exports of gas from Romania”, according to the Commission.
Romania now has two months to respond to the arguments put forward by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In addition, the Commission has sent reasoned opinions to Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom for incorrect transposition of the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)