This presentation presents the key findings of a 12-month project in Romania which aimed at identifying competition-distorting rules and regulations in selected sectors. Access the report at: oe.cd/1pj. Find out more about the project: http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/romaniacompetitionassessment.htm More about the Competition Assessment toolkit at www.oecd.org/competition/toolkit

1. Competition
Assessment Review
of Romania
Launch event – Bucharest, 28 June 2016
Key findings from the OECD Report

2. Background
2
Since joining the EU in 2007, Romania's
economy has made remarkable progress. In
2015, the country achieved one of the
highest growth rates of all EU.
In 2014, the OECD was asked by the
Romanian government to review three key
sectors of the Romanian economy to
identify regulations that may hinder the
competitive and efficient functioning of
markets:
Construction
Freight transport
Food processing

3. The project and results
3
Making use of the methodology in the OECD
Competition Assessment Toolkit, the
project team during a 12-month period
analysed 895 pieces of legislation and
assessed costs and benefits of regulations
restricting competition in the designated
sectors.
The study identified 227 potentially
problematic regulations and made
152 specific recommendations on legal
provisions that should be amended or repealed.
It also identified the sources of those benefits
and, where possible, provided quantitative
estimates.

4. 1 Initial mapping of all relevant legislation for the three sectors.
2 In-depth scan of legislation to identify potential obstacles to
competition. Economic overview of the relevant sectors.
3 Analysis of the selected regulations to assess the harm to competition
and understand policymakers’ objective. Qualitative and quantitative
(subject to availability of suitable data) estimate of benefits from
removing restrictions
4 Formulation of recommendations for the redesign or
abolishment of regulations shown to be harmful to competition.
5 Publication of a final report
Stages of the project
4

5. Summary of legal provisions
analysed by sector
5
Construction
Freight
transport
Food
processing
Legislation scanned 162 566 167
Restrictions found 95 85 47
Recommendations made 72 46 34
895 Pieces of legislation were scanned
227 Potentially problematic regulations were identified
152 Provisions where changes could be made to foster competition

6. The construction sector
6
In 2014, the construction sector:
• Represented 6.29% of Romania GDP
• Employed approximately 1 115 000 people
• From total turnover generated by companies active in this sector:
66.7% was generated by the construction of roads and railways,
17.0% by the construction of utility projects and
16.2% by the construction of other civil engineering projects.
For this sector:
165 Pieces of legislation were scanned
95 Potentially problematic regulations were identified
72 Recommendations were made

7. The freight transport sector
7
566 Pieces of legislation were scanned
85 Potentially problematic regulations were identified
46 Recommendations were made
In 2014, the freight transport sector:
Generated a turnover of approximately 5% of Romania GDP
Employed approximately 133 000 people
Had a modal split of freight transport in terms of volume of:
For this sector:

8. The food processing sector
8
167 Pieces of legislation were scanned
47 Potentially problematic regulations were identified
34 Recommendations were made
The food processing sector:
Generated EUR 1.4 billion of GVA in 2013, representing 10% of total
GVA generated by manufacturing and 1% of total economy
Employed approximately 156 613 people in 2014
Processing and preserving of meat, bakery and farinaceous products, and
dairy products are the most significant subsectors, representing a combined
output of approximately 65% of total sector output.
For this sector:

9. Where can Romania make
improvements to boost its
competitiveness and
encourage growth?
Main recommendations

10. Benefits of competition
10

11. Key Recommendations :
Construction sector
11
• Various recommendations against limitation of the number of participants
in public tenders.
• Abolish exceptions in construction legislation to apply the usual tender
procedure.
• Abolish the maximum prices for sand and gravel.
• Exempt stalls that only need to be supplied with electricity from the
obligation to obtain a building permit .
• Remove the national interdiction to execute construction or maintenance
works between 15 May and 15 September in the coastal areas.
• Implement a code of conduct to eliminate conflicts of interest when
professional associations are involved in the decision-making process and
control the activity of public authorities.
• Abolish outdated restrictions on the location of professional schools or
medical centres.

12. Key Recommendations :
Freight transport
12
Road
• Abolish unnecessary authorisations , such as the authorisation to repair, adjust,
reconstruct and dismantle vehicles that may unnecessarily limit the number of
operators and increase costs.
• Abolish the requirement for road transport operators to display on their vehicles
a plate containing information on the dimensions and maximum weight
authorised for the vehicle.
• Modify the requirements for obtaining a copy of the transport licence.
Rail
• Modify unclear provisions regarding access to railway infrastructure and the
independence of the infrastructure manager.
Inland waterway and maritime freight transport
• All tariffs set by the port authorities should be supervised and approved ex ante
by an independent regulatory body.
• Port safety services, such as pilotage and towage, should not be granted directly
by the port authority, but instead they should be tendered in an open and
transparent procedure.

13. Key Recommendations :
Food processing
13
• Eliminate 10 m2 minimum areas in stores for the sale of bread and grant
operators greater flexibility with respect to the conditions in which they sell
bread, so long as they can ensure food safety.
• Revise rules concerning staff training.
• Review licence regimes in order to provide clear deadlines by which
authorities must decide on applications for licences.
• Review control regimes to eliminate double controls by different
authorities.
• Clarify ambiguous legislative provisions to remove uncertainty for market
operators and reduce the potential for arbitrary decisions and corruption.
• Repeal outdated legislation, especially domestic rules that are redundant in
the light of EU regulations with the same regulatory content that became
effective when Romania joined the European Union.

14. Synthesis of positive effects of lifting
the regulatory barriers to competition
14

15. Conclusion
15
If the recommendations detailed in the report are
implemented:
• Cumulative, long-term impact on the Romanian
economy of lifting all the restrictions identified as
harmful, including those that were more technical in
nature, will be significant.
• Positive quantifiable effect of at least
EUR 434 million (efficiency gains and lower prices on
goods and services for consumers).
• The recommendations in these sectors will also
positively affect the ability of businesses to compete in
the longer term.

16. OECD
Competition
Assessment
Review of
Romania
2016
Full report
available at:
oe.cd/1pj