Preliminary assessment of the first payment request of Romania

22. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 84/2003 establishing C.N.A.I.R. 23. Order 1952/2018 regulating the procedure for monitoring the implementation of the provisions for the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 109/2011 on the corporate governance of public enterprises. 24. Results of the procurement procedure for services for the recruitment and selection of candidates for the appointment of board members. 25. Framework agreement for the procurement of services for the recruitment and selection of candidates for the appointment of board members. 26. Substantiation note to Government Emergency Ordinance no. 109/2011 on corporate governance of public undertakings. 27. Ministerial Order no. 1345 issued on 28 July 2022 on the constitution of the selection panel for the selection of candidates for managements positions at C.N.A.I.R and C.N.I.R.

Analysis:

The objective of this reform is to enhance the quality of transport investments and services by improving the corporate governance and the performance of the State-Owned Enterprises operating in the transport sector, notably for those in charge of roads, railways and metro.

The evidence provided by the Romanian authorities addresses the requirements included in the description of Milestone M78 in the CID Annex as follows:

1. The entry into force of the legislation on the reform of the National Company of Highways and National Roads in Romania - S.A. (C.N.A.I.R) and the creation of a new Road Investment Project Management Company (C.N.I.R);

Law no. 50/2021 for the approval of the Emergency Ordinance no. 55/2016 on the reorganisation of the National Company of Highways and National Roads in Romania - S.A. (C.N.A.I.R) and the establishment of the National Road Investment Company - S.A. (C.N.I.R) was published in the Official Journal on 29 March 2021 and entered into force on 1 April 2021.

As detailed below, this shall allow to focus a specific entity (C.N.I.R) on the efficient management and prioritization of the new road investments, while the other entity (C.N.A.I.R) shall focus on the management and maintenance of the existing road network.

2. Clear performance indicators, aligned with the Boards’ mandates and KPIs, sanctions and incentives in case of non-compliance, to assess the financial performance (revenue, profitability, involvement of State’s budget) and the performance of the service provided (e.g. via user satisfaction survey) for both companies;

On 11 July 2022, the Commission received Ministerial Orders no. 1272 and 1273 approving letters of expectations which set legally binding and enforceable performance indicators (KPIs) for C.N.I.R and C.N.A.I.R respectively.

Based on articles 1 and 9 of the Government Decision no. 722/2016 on methodological norms of corporate governance (annex 2), the KPIs are defined as “performance indicators enlisted in the annex to the Boards’ mandate contract” which are to be used to evaluate the efficiency of the administrators of the public companies. As such, the alignment of performance indicators with the Boards’ mandate is ensured.

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