Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan presented today the measures regarding the reform of state-owned companies, in a press conference at the Victoria Palace, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Dragoş Anastasiu.
PM Bolojan: Full Transparency in State-Owned Enterprises
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan emphasized the importance of administrative efficiency and transparency in managing state-owned companies:
“Managing these companies has a significant impact. As relevant actors, any improvement in their management benefits our country and budget. Every saved subsidy or additional profit from reduced spending means more money for the state,” he said.
According to Bolojan, the second package of fiscal measures aims to reform companies where the Romanian state is a shareholder. These companies will be required to cut losses, revise performance benchmarks, and generate profit.
He added that the legislation will be amended so that boards of directors have fewer members and their compensation is capped.
The second wave of reforms—expected to be finalized by the end of July—targets local administration, state-owned enterprises, the pension system, and the healthcare sector. Key proposals include staff cuts in city halls, limits on hospital bonuses, new taxes on polluting vehicles, and tighter rules for special pensions. The government promises fiscal discipline and less budgetary waste.
As for concrete measures, Bolojan announced two main directions:
- Transparency in company management – Ministries will publish economic data that reflect the performance of both companies and their leadership.
- Management reform – Legislative changes will be made, including capping executive compensation and reducing board size.
Performance Indicators Will Be Revised – “Those Who Don’t Accept Them Should Leave”
Another point raised by the PM was the application of performance indicators:
“In the coming period, each ministry will revise performance indicators to ensure they are meaningful, not superficial. If directors don’t accept the new indicators, it signals a professionalism issue. Those who refuse to accept them should leave,” Bolojan said.
“An important aspect is the proper management of state-owned companies. Considering that the management of these companies has a significant economic impact—especially in sectors like energy—any improvement in their administration is a major gain for our country and the state budget.
Any reduction in subsidies is an additional saving. Any extra profit generated by cutting expenses means greater investment capacity.
The good governance of these companies is one of the key elements in this second reform package.
These measures target several important aspects related to proper administration. First, ensuring transparency in the management of state-owned companies. All ministries will publish data about who manages these companies and what their earnings are. I don’t believe this should be a source of shame for those leading the companies; having this information made public is simply a matter of normalcy.
The second aspect concerns corporate management, which will be addressed through legislative changes, both in terms of reducing the number of board members and capping certain earnings. We’re dealing with a situation where, by exploiting legal loopholes, compensation levels have rapidly escalated from reasonable amounts to the legal maximums—causing public dissatisfaction.
Performance indicators will be reviewed by each ministry to assess whether they are relevant or superficial. It’s clear that in many cases, these indicators are not meaningful. The new indicators will either be accepted by company leaders—which would show their goodwill—or, if they refuse, it will point to a lack of professionalism. We will use all legal means to ensure that those who do not accept them leave their positions.
AMEPIP must be strengthened so that by the end of summer we have a fully functional agency, because good governance of Romania’s companies is a necessity.
In the coming days, I will be available to answer your questions”, said the Prime Minister, who left the press conference without taking questions.
Deputy PM Highlights Inefficiencies and Lack of Transparency in State-Owned Enterprises
Deputy PM Anastasiu pointed out efficiency issues and the lack of clear data for many state-owned companies. He noted that AMEPIP (the Romanian authority overseeing state enterprises) has only recently begun issuing sanctions.
“What we’re seeing overall is inefficiency around these companies. There are a few that are profitable, but many lack financial reporting, have low profits, or are operating at a loss. As of yesterday, fines have started being issued. AMEPIP had not sanctioned anyone until now.”
Regarding the recruitment and selection process for company leadership, Anastasiu stated that new transparency standards will be imposed:
“We need to take major steps to make recruitment and selection fully transparent. This will help build trust—not just among citizens and the government, but also with the European Commission.”
He also explained the significant discrepancies between the performance of similar companies in Romania and other European countries, citing airport staffing as an example:
“We have a performance problem. We looked at several airports, comparing passenger numbers and staff size with Romania. In some European airports, similar passenger traffic is managed with far fewer employees. In Romania, we might have 1,400 employees, while another airport does the same job with 780. That’s a performance issue, not just a board-level issue.”
Hundreds of State Enterprises Post Losses Despite Subsidies
The Deputy Prime Minister said Romanian authorities have made progress in collecting and making public data on state-owned enterprises. The centralized information will be published soon:“We’ve made progress in data collection and transparency. Key data about state enterprises have been centralized and will be published tomorrow or the day after,” Anastasiu said.
According to him, Romania has 1,326 public enterprises registered with AMEPIP: 1,182 local and 144 central. Of these, 842 are LLCs. Anastasiu emphasized that a small portion of these companies account for nearly all economic activity:
“If we filter by central and high-impact local companies, we have 315 public enterprises that generate 96% of total business turnover. Out of 256,000 employees, 173,000 work in these 315. Total revenue across all companies is €127 billion. The top 315 account for €13.6 billion—96% of revenues.”
Referring to subsidies and profits, the Deputy PM highlighted stark discrepancies:
“Total subsidies: €14 billion, with the top 315 receiving 13.6%. Profits: €15 billion, but that’s before deducting subsidies. For the top 315, subtracting subsidies leaves €1 billion in profit. Losses: 266 enterprises post losses despite receiving subsidies.”
Memorandum to Boost Efficiency in State-Owned Companies
Deputy PM Dragoș Anastasiu stated that the government will adopt a memorandum to improve the performance of state-owned companies, including the creation of a dedicated reform task force:“This memorandum, which will be approved in the coming days, establishes a working group for improving state-owned companies’ efficiency,” he explained.
“We want fewer subsidies, better quality services, and more revenue for the state budget—just like any private company would aim for,” he said.
He emphasized that state-owned companies follow a governance system and are monitored by a dedicated institution:
“They have a kind of governance and are overseen by an institution that tracks performance to make them more efficient.”
Anastasiu added that legislative changes are coming, but only after consultations with European institutions:
“We will amend the legislation—any changes will be discussed with the European Commission and OECD.”
Romania Penalized €330 Million Under PNRR
Regarding the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Anastasiu acknowledged delays in meeting certain milestones, which led to a €330 million penalty:
“We’ve fallen behind on several milestones under the PNRR, resulting in a €330 million penalty that must be recovered by November 30.”
However, he said technical discussions have already begun to address the issue and that initial feedback from European partners is positive:
“Technical talks have started, and we’ve received encouraging signals that proposed changes will be accepted—we don’t want to alter the essence of corporate governance.”
