Info-brief: EUTR enforcement in Romania

The document outlines Romania's legal framework for the EUTR, including the roles of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the National Environmental Guard, the administrative penalty regime for operators and traders, and the challenges faced by NGOs in challenging authority inaction or operator legality.

• The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) in Romania is implemented through Decision n° 470 of 4 June 2014, with subsequent amendments including Decision 787/2014 and Government Emergency Order No. 51/14.09.2016, the latter of which introduced new penalties following a European Commission infringement procedure.
• The Competent Authority (CA) is the Ministerul Mediului și Schimbărilor climatice (MMSC), with the Departamentul pentru Ape, Păduri şi Piscicultura handling products under the first four EUTR Annex codes and the Garda Nationala de Mediu handling the remainder. As of the report's knowledge, no full-time staff had been assigned to the EUTR.
• Romania employs a tiered administrative fine system: operators placing illegal timber on the market face fines of 15,000 to 20,000 lei (€ 3,335 to € 4,445); those failing to implement a due diligence system (DDS) face 5,000 to 15,000 lei (€ 1,130 to € 3,335); and those using a DDS incorrectly face 1,000 to 8,000 lei (€ 225 to € 1,780). Traders can be fined up to 8,000 lei for traceability breaches, and monitoring organisations up to 15,000 lei.
• Enforcement activity was limited, with the Romanian CA issuing 23 sanctions as of December 2015. Furthermore, there are no publicly available rules or specific formats for submitting substantiated concerns (SCs).
• NGOs face practical difficulties in challenging CA inaction in administrative courts, although they have standing. They can file criminal complaints directly with police or prosecutors, but NGO reports may be rejected as evidence if not based on verifiable information.
• A significant weakness in implementation is that the due diligence obligation does not apply to all timber products regulated by the EUTR, specifically those not corresponding to the first four codes of the EUTR Annex.

APA

ClientEarth (2017). Info-brief: EUTR enforcement in Romania. https://www.clientearth.org/media/nawh2qtq/2017-01-16-eutr-enforcement-in-romania-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Info-brief: EUTR enforcement in Romania. 2017. https://www.clientearth.org/media/nawh2qtq/2017-01-16-eutr-enforcement-in-romania-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Info-brief: EUTR enforcement in Romania |date=January 2017 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/nawh2qtq/2017-01-16-eutr-enforcement-in-romania-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2017infobrief, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Info-brief: EUTR enforcement in Romania}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/nawh2qtq/2017-01-16-eutr-enforcement-in-romania-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }