Preliminary assessment of the third payment request of Romania (2024)

c roads, introduced the interdiction and sanctions for drivers adopting an aggressive behaviour in traffic. Recitals (g) and (h) in Article 102(3) and Article 108(3) introduced sanctions for failure to comply with priority and overtaking rules overtaking or unjustified driving on the emergency lane. This Government Ordinance was published in the Official Journal No. 89 on 28 January 2022 and entered into force on 31 January 2022, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of  legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. iii. Law No. 302 of 15 November 2022 amending GEO 195/2002 on traffic on public roads amended Article 64(1) of GEO 195/2002 and allowed the traffic police to order the removal of illegally parked vehicles. This Law was published in the Official Journal No. 1107 on 17 November 2022 and entered into force on 20 November 2022, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. iv. Law No. 134 of 13 May 2022 amending GEO 195/2002 on traffic on public roads established traffic rules on expressways and extended categories of vehicles banned from express roads. This Law was published in the Official Journal No. 477 on 13 May 2022 and entered into force on 16 May 2022, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. v. Articles 110(4), 160 and 161 of GD 1075/2021 introduced prohibitions for drivers of electric scooters, similar to those in place for bicycle drivers. Articles 118(2), 120(d) and 135(g) of GD 1075/2021 further introduced priority and safety measures applicable when overtaking a bicycle or an electric scooter, drivers of motor vehicles, other than those moving on two wheels, regulating manoeuvres allowed when overpassing the longitudinal marking separating the traffic directions or separating the lanes on the same direction, including in what regards speed limit allowed. This Government Decision entered into force on 6 October 2021 with its publication in the Official Journal No. 954, in accordance with Article 12(3) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. vi. Government Emergency Ordinance No. 13 of 4 February 2020 amending GEO 195/2002 on traffic on public roads sets the applicable legal regime for the circulation of electric scooters on public roads. Specifically, rules of conduct for electric scooter drivers and correlative sanctions for non-compliance were established to prevent the involvement of electric scooter drivers in traffic accidents. It also specified the new rules when overtaking a bicycle or an electric scooter and the obligations for vulnerable users as provided for in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of Article 70, and in Articles 73 and 74(1). This Emergency Ordinance entered into force on 11 February 2020 with its publication in the Official Journal No. 102, in accordance with Article 12(3) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. vii. Article 6 of Law No. 85 of 12 April 2022 amending GEO 195/2002 on traffic on public roads defined distinct bicycle lanes and the national roads for cyclists. This law was published in the Official Journal No. 366 of 13 April 2022 and entered into force on 16 April 2022, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. viii. Article I (1) of Law No. 278 of 4 October 2022 introduced a new paragraph 8 under Article 72 (7) of GEO 195/2022 mandating appropriate lightning for unmarked pedestrian crossings by means of intelligent systems differentiating them from the roadway. This law was published in the Official Journal No. 967 on 4 October 2022 and entered into force on 7 October 2022, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. - phasing out from the national register of old/deficient vehicles, Article 2 of Ministerial Order No. 2261 of 23 August 2022 set up a programme aiming to scrap old vehicles of 15 years or more, while Article 21 of the same act requires these vehicles to be removed from the national register. This Ministerial Order entered into force on 24 August 2022 with its publication in the Official Journal No. 832, in accordance with Article 12(3) of Law 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. -increased safety inspections and checks. According to the national legislation, Ministerial Order No. 2133 of 8 December 2005 approved the Regulations regarding the periodic technical inspection of vehicles registered in Romania. Based on Article 1 of its Annex, this vehicles inspection consists of: i) technical inspection regarding road safety; ii) technical inspection on environmental protection, and iii) technical inspection regarding the classification based on the category of its use and destination. Within this framework, the national authorities adopted Ministerial Order No. 1218 of 1 July 2022 amending Ministerial Order No. 2133 of 8 December 2005 and introducing new requirements with regard to vehicles checks. The Ministerial Order introduced a new Article 29^1, which requires as of 20 May 2023 that public institutions and services for technical inspection are required to collect and report data on CO2 emissions for vehicles, including data regarding the identification number of a newly registered vehicle after 1 January 2021, equipped with devices for on-board monitoring of the consumption of fuel and/or energy. Furthermore, the Ministerial Order modified paragraphs 7.1.3 – 7.1.6 in Annex No. 2 - section A, introducing the requirement to use specialized equipment to carry on certain inspections such as checks regarding safety belts, load allowed and pre-tension system, airbags or additional restraint systems. The Ministerial Order also introduced a new requirement under paragraph 7.13 of the same annex, which introduced further checks on configuration, status and performance for the vehicles’ eCall system using specialized equipment. The eCall system allows the automatic notification of the authorities, through a 112 call, in cases a vehicle was involved in a serious accident. Ministerial Order No 1218/2022 was published in the Official Journal No. 711 of 15 July 2022, and entered into force on 4 August 2022, based on the provisions of its Article VIII. The overall goal for road safety shall aim for a 50% reduction of fatalities in road accidents by 2030 vs 2019, in line with the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030. The Council Implementing Decision states that the overall goal for road safety shall aim for a 50% reduction of fatalities in road accidents by 2030 as compared to 2019, in line with the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030. The Recovery and Resilience Plan provides that the general objective for road safety is to have a 50% reduction in road fatalities by 2030 compared to 2019, in line with EU commitments (page 34 and 42). In light of the purposive interpretation of this requirement from the Council Implementing Decision, this element is interpreted as setting out a legally binding requirement that the goal for road safety is a 50% reduction of fatalities in road accidents by 2030 compared to 2019, in line with the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030. The authorities approved the National Road Safety Strategy by Government Decision No. 682 of 25 May 2022. The strategy sets the objective of reaching a 50% reduction of fatalities and seriously injured persons in road accidents by 2030 compared to 2019, in line with the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 (Next steps towards ‘Vision zero’), as mentioned under its section 5 - Objectives (page 18). The annexes to the strategy provide a set of actions to be implemented by 2030 for reaching this objective of road safety. Additionally, the authorities approved Law No. 383/2022 regarding some measures to improve the efficiency of road traffic monitoring, and Article 1(3) of this Law establishes that, by implementing e-SIGUR, the authorities aim to achieve the objective of the National Road Safety Strategy to reduce by 50% the number of fatalities and seriously injured persons in road accidents until 2030 compared to 2019. Furthermore, as further detailed on page 4 of the Statement of reasons of Law No. 383/2022, this objective is set as a first step towards reaching the objective of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 to reduce the number of deaths in road accidents to almost zero by 2050. On this basis, it is considered that this constitutive element of the milestone is satisfactorily fulfilled. Furthermore, in line with the description of the measure, this reform shall be implemented via secondary legislation and related entry into force of enforcement measures. These measures are complementary to measures for road safety in urban areas included in the “Local Fund” component. In accordance with the evidence provided for by the national authorities already presented above, the authorities provided a wide set of primary and secondary legislation demonstrating the entry into force of enforcement measures and sanctions on road safety offences. The measures foreseen under this reform are complementary to road safety measures included in component 10. Local fund, which addressed road safety locally for urban and functional areas, whereas component 4. Sustainable transport envisaged measures targeting road safety overall at national level. Moreover, the policies and measures implemented at local level need to be compliant with the reforms set under the sustainable transport component on road safety. For instance, the monitoring of road offenses by automatic equipment foreseen under this milestone are complementary to the intelligent transport systems and other infrastructure to increase road safety, reduce travel time and traffic congestion locally. In addition, the overall goal of a 50% reduction of fatalities in road accidents by 2030 compared to 2019 is complementary to the target assumed under the Local fund component to reach a 25% reduction in the number of people killed by 2025 or seriously injured as a result of road accidents in urban areas compared to the baseline year 2019. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled Related Measure: Electricity market reform, replacement of coal in the energy Number: 115 mix and support for a legislative and regulatory framework for private investment in renewable electricity production Name of the target: Decommissioning of lignite-fired power-production capacity Quantitative Indicator: Megawatts (MW) Baseline: 1695 Target: 2355 Time: Q4 2022 Context: The objective of reform C6.R1 is to decarbonise the energy sector, with a focus on power generation. The reform covers two sub-elements: the coal phase-out and the increase of renewables electricity generation capacity. Target #115 is part of the first reform element which aims to phase- out coal and lignite-fired power plants by 2032. The first element of reform C6.R1 includes four milestones and targets. Target #115 follows target #113 and milestone #114, and will be followed by target #119, which requires the decommissioning of a cumulative capacity of 3 780MW out of 4 590 MW total coal/lignite fired installed power- production capacity. The reform has a final expected date for implementation on 30 June 2026. Target #115 requires the cumulative shutdown of 2 355 MW of coal and lignite-fired installed electricity production capacity out of which 2 025 MW shall be decommissioned and 330 MW shall be mothballed until the end of 2025. This correspond to the shutdown of 660 MW in addition to the 1 695 MW of coal and lignite-fired installed electricity production capacity that had to be decommissioned under target #115. Evidence provided: The following evidence was provided by the Romanian authorities: i. Summary document duly justifying how the target (including the relevant elements of the target, as listed in the description of target and of the corresponding measure in the Council Implementing Decision annex) was satisfactorily fulfilled;  ii. Decision 1357/25.05.2023 issued by the National Energy Regulator (‘ANRE’) modifying License no. 1085 for the commercial exploitation of capacities for the production of electricity and heat in cogeneration, issued to the operator CE Oltenia ('CEO’), withdrawing Power Unit No. 3 – 330 MW from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant from operation and mothballing Power Unit No. 7 – 330 MW from the Turceni Thermal Power Plant; iii. Address CEO-SE Roviniari No. 449/SER/12.05.2023 in which CE Oltenia is notifying the Transmission System Operator (‘TSO’) Transelectrica of the definitive withdrawal of Power Unit No. 3 – 330 MW from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant from operation and the mothballing of Power Unit No. 7 – 330 MW from the Turceni Thermal Power Plant; iv. Certification No. 27295/30.05.2023 from the TSO Transelectrica in which the National Power Transmission Company Transelectrica certifies the withdrawal of Power Unit No. 3 – 330 MW from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant from operation and the mothballing Power Unit No. 7 – 330 MW from the Turceni Thermal Power Plant; v. Ministerial Order no. 326/2024 issued by the Ministry of Energy amending the Annex to Order No. 112/2024 of the Minister for Energy approving the rules on regulating the activation of lignite-fired electricity generation capacity provided for in Article 4 (1) (a) of Government Emergency Order No nr.108/2022 on decarbonising the energy sector; vi. Notification No. 1075/DG/12.05/2023 of CE Oltenia informing the Ministry of Energy about the withdrawal of 330 MW of production capacity from operation and the mothballing of 330 MW of production capacity; vii. Notification No. 1074/DG/12.05.2023 of CE Oltenia informing ANRE about the withdrawal of 330 MW of production capacity from operation and the mothballing of 330 MW of production capacity; viii. Address No. 34444/25.07.2023 containing the attestation by the TSO Transelectrica of physical separation of Power Unit no. 3 of the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant from the national electricity systems; ix. Decision of the CE Oltenia Directorate No. 54/29.06.2023 to decommission and capitalise by way of scrapping fixed assets related to Power Unit no. 3 from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant. Analysis: The justification and substantiating evidence provided by the Romanian authorities cover all constitutive elements of the target. A cumulative 2 355 MW of coal and lignite-fired installed electricity production capacity have been shut down, out of which 2 025 MW have been decommissioned and 330 MW have been mothballed. With its Decision 1357/25.05.2023 modifying License no. 1085 for the commercial exploitation of capacities for the production of electricity and heat in cogeneration, granted to the operator CE Oltenia, the National Energy Regulator (ANRE) withdrew the licence for Power Unit No. 3 – 330 MW from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant to operate and amended the licence for Power Unit No. 7 – 330 MW from the Turceni Power Plant, requiring that the latter be kept mothballed until the end of 2025. The withdrawal and mothballing were certified by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) Transelectrica in its Certification No. 27295/30.05.2023. The measures are further demonstrated by the notifications No. 1075/DG/12.05/2023 and No. 1074/DG/12.05/2023 by CE Oltenia respectively notifying the Ministry of Energy and ANRE of the withdrawal of 330 MW of production capacity from operation and the mothballing of 330 MW. When added to the decommissioning of 1 695 MW of coal and lignite-fired installed electricity production capacity achieved under target #113, positively assessed in the context of Romania’s first payment request, the decommissioning of 330 MW of capacity and the mothballing of 330 MW of capacity amounts to a total shutdown of 2 355 MW of coal and lignite-fired installed electricity production capacity, out of which 2 025 MW have been decommissioned and 330 MW have been mothballed. Reassurance that the decommissioning of Power Unit no. 3 – 300 MW from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant is permanent has been provided by way of: (i) Address no. 34444/25.07.2023 containing an attestation by the TSO Transelectrica that the power unit is physically separated from the national electricity systems; (ii) Decision of the CE Oltenia Directorate no. 54/29.06.2023 to decommission and capitalise by way of scrapping fixed assets related to Power Unit no. 3 from the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant. The mothballed capacity is to be decommissioned by the end of 2025 […] Ministerial Order No. 326/2024 issued by the Ministry of Energy on the activation of mothballed energy production capacity specifies that the approved period of the conservation status of Unit No. 7 runs from 1 June 2023 until 31 December 2025 at the latest. Moreover, all relevant decisions and notifications related to the mothballing of 330 MW of electricity generation capacity specify 31 December 2025 as the end date of the approved conservation status. Most importantly, in