Romania has achieved remarkable economic progress over the past two decades, driven by strong productivity growth and an increasingly open, investment-friendly economy. However, productivity gains have slowed significantly since the global financial crisis and regulatory complexity remains a key constraint for entrepreneurship and competitiveness. This chapter presents the current economic context in Romania, highlighting current trends related to productivity, business dynamism, and product market regulation. It also provides an overview of recent and ongoing reforms in the licensing sector aimed at improving the business environment.
Business Licensing Reforms in Romania
Abstract
Romanian has made significant economic progress over the last two decades. The country has been catching up with OECD economies, almost halving the gap in GDP per capita (Figure 1.1) driven by strong productivity growth (OECD, 2024[1]). Romania’s impressive economic performance is in part the result of progress in improving the business climate. Since the start of its transition to a market economy in 1990, the Romanian economy has become increasingly sophisticated and open, on the back of high levels of foreign direct investment.
Real GDP per capita, thousand USD, constant PPPs
Source: OECD National Accounts database.
Similar to other countries, Romania suffered the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which weakened the country’s fast improvements in living standards, by causing a decline in GDP of 3.7% in 2020. In addition, the high inflation of the past years, especially high energy and food prices, has slowed down output growth in 2023 and 2024.
With the fiscal deficit projected to remain elevated at 9.3% of GDP through 2026 despite consolidation efforts, reforms are needed to improve Romania’s economic outlook and reinforce fiscal consolidation measures (Figure 1.2) (OECD, 2025[2]) (OECD, 2025[3]) (European Commission, 2025[4]).
Note: Unit Panel A: Annual % change. Unit Panel B left Y axis: % GDP Maastricht definition, right Y axis: % GDP.
Source: Panel A: Eurostat HICP - monthly data. Panel B: OECD Economic Outlook 118 database.
Labour productivity has been the main driver of Romania’s economic dynamism over the past two decades, increasing by an average of 4.5% annually and enabling a significant catch-up in productivity levels (OECD, forthcoming[5]). These gains have been supported by both capital accumulation and improvements in total factor productivity (TFP), allowing firms to produce more with the same or fewer resources, reduce unit costs, and enhance competitiveness in global markets. This strong productivity performance has underpinned one of the fastest GDP growth rates among OECD economies, driven by deeper integration into global markets, Romania’s accession to the European Union in 2007, and sustained capital inflows. As a result, income convergence has accelerated, with GDP per capita (PPP) rising from around 46% of the OECD average in 2004 to 76% in 2024 (OECD, forthcoming[6])
Despite these strong gains, Romania’s productivity growth has slowed markedly in recent years. Annual productivity growth, while still above the EU average, has more than halved in the 2010-24 period compared to 2000-07 (Figure 1.3). Since the global financial crisis, Romania has experienced weak business dynamism and low levels of investment. Productivity improvements have relied heavily on capital accumulation, often supported by EU-funded projects, rather than technological progress, which continues to lag behind (OECD, 2024[1]). An international comparison reveals that the catch-up over the last 20 years has been important but that the productivity level is still below the OECD and EU average (Figure 1.4).
Labour Productivity growth for the periods 2000-2007 and 2010-2024
Note: Labour Productivity Growth for these periods refers to average annual productivity growth, measured as GDP per hour worked, at constant prices.
Source: OECD Labour Productivity Database, 2025.
Note: Labour Productivity Growth for these periods refers to average annual productivity growth, measured as GDP per hour worked, at constant prices.
Source: OECD Labour Productivity Database, 2025.
In addition, productivity varies significantly across economic sectors with, for example, the ICT sector contributing 7.6% to gross value added in 2024 with an employment share of only 2.8%. Similarly, the regional labour productivity levels differ substantially ranging from 147% of the national average in Bucharest to only 43% in the North East (OECD, 2024[7]). Moreover, differences persist between foreign affiliates operating in Romania and domestic firms. Gross value added per person for domestic firms is at nearly half the level of the foreign affiliates (OECD, forthcoming[6]). These differences are also reflected in export shares that are concentrated in large and foreign-controlled enterprises while a large number of small and local firms remain less productive and substantially domestic-oriented.
Low productivity is also correlated with poor levels of digitalisation of Romanian SMEs, which account for 99.8% of the total number of active companies generating 68.6 % of total non-financial private sector employment and around 60.5% of value added (European Commission, 2025[8]). Local firms have been slow in adopting technological and digital innovations. The country falls short in important areas such as digitalisation of businesses, where it scores 23.8 compared to the EU average of 37.6 (EIB, 2023[9]). This gap is also reflected in the percentage of companies using cloud technology, which is less than half the rate of the EU average. Similarly, the use of data analytics in businesses lags 11 percentage points behind the EU average of 33% and adoption of AI is at the lowest level in the EU with on 3% of businesses adopting it (European Commission, 2025[4]).
According to the 2024 SME surveys on the “State of the economic environment” conducted by the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, businesses face persistent challenges, including shortages of skilled labour force and the migration of young workers to other European countries. (Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2022[10]). Additionally, obstacles included bureaucracy inefficiencies, limited transparency, and unpredictability in government policies.
The service sector has been growing fast in Romania, generating 63.3% of the value added to the economy in 2022 (compared to 31.8% generated by industry and manufacturing and 4.9% generated by agriculture, fishing and forestry). Employment in the commerce and services sectors represents 36% of total employment (OECD, 2022[11]). Services, however, have on average lower productivity growth (Figure 1.5). Productivity tends to be lower in services than in other sectors like manufacturing across OECD countries, due in part to higher transaction costs, limited economies of scale and lower knowledge spillovers and competitive pressures. However, cross-country differences point to significant room for policy improvement, including through better product market regulation, a more competitive environment and greater firms’ entry and exit (Sorbe, Gal and Millot, 2018[12]).
Furthermore, informality also impacts negatively productivity and business dynamism. The size of the informal economy is estimated to have declined since the early 1990s, when it was estimated to account for approximately 36% of GDP (Medina and Schneider, 2018[13]). Recent estimates suggest that informality remains relatively high, accounting for approximately 29% of GDP (Schneider and Asllani, 2022[14]).
Note: Evolution of labour productivity growth computed as real labour productivity per person at the sector level (sectors at 1-digit corresponding to the NACE REV.2 sections). The data for “Services” refer to the aggregate data for “professional scientific and technical activities” and “administrative and support service activities” (NACE M-N).
Source: Eurostat.
The simplification of regulatory frameworks to conduct business in Romania remains a priority (OECD, 2024[1]). Romania’s performance in the Product Market Regulations (PMR) indicators highlights how the complexity of business regulation is contributing to hold the country back from achieving larger productivity gains. Figure 1.6 compares Romania and OECD average PMR scores for some of the low-level indicators for Administrative and Regulatory Burden and Regulations. Both the assessment of impact on competition and the indicator on “Communication and Simplification of Administrative and Regulatory Burden” are more restrictive than the OECD average.
PMR Indicators: Low-level Indicators for Regulations and Administrative and Regulatory Burden
Note: Value from 0 to 6, where 0 is the least and 6 is the most restrictive value.
Source: Product Market Regulation. Indicators (OECD, 2024[15]).
Romania shows weaker outcomes in licences and permits as well as Administrative Requirements for Personally-owned enterprises, further highlighting that licences and permits pose a significant challenge to entrepreneurs and businesses (Figure 1.7). The challenges related to obtaining licences and permits affect all types of businesses, but especially SMEs and start-ups which do not have the resources to navigate this complex business environment. These firms’ exposure to excessive red tape is usually higher and their capacity to complete complex filings or to challenge public authorities’ opinions or interpretations of regulations is low, compared to large-scale domestic or international corporations (OECD, 2023[16]).
PMR Indicators: Low-level indicators for administrative requirements and regulatory burden
Note: Value from 0 to 6, where 0 is the least and 6 is the most restrictive value.
Source: Product Market Regulation Indicators (OECD, 2024[15]).
Over the last decade, Romania has made progress in revising its regulatory and compliance assurance mechanisms to improve the business environment. In particular, reforms have simplified business registration at the National Trade Register, introduced a Single Industrial Licence Law, developed an Integrated Environmental Authorisation and introduced some improvements in the Building Permit. Romania has also made progress on digitalising public services. This overview presents the recent reforms and outlines the institutional framework and key initiatives that the proposed changes to the licensing system can build upon and further develop.
The National Trade Register Office
The National Trade Register Office (ONRC) is the Romanian institution, subordinated to the Ministry of Justice, in charge of keeping a Trade Register and supporting natural and legal persons in the process of registering to the Trade Register. Its activity is regulated by the Law no. 265/2022 (Portal Legislativ, 2022[17]). In 2012, the National Trade Register has started to provide its services digitally, through the establishment of an online platform called “portal.onrc.ro” (National Trade Register Office, 2014[18]). The introduction of a digital platform for company registration has laid the basis for a simplified and increasingly digitalised process to set up businesses in Romania. The use of on-line services has increased over time and accelerated significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where all services were transferred on-line.
Law no. 265/2022 also stipulates that the corporate tax registration takes place simultaneously with company registration at the Trade Register. However, although the registration of new companies for VAT can be done through the same procedure as incorporation, the VAT certificate itself is not issued to the company. Given that the VAT certificate (as a distinct document) is needed in certain cases1, the companies must also undergo a separate procedure with the National Fiscal Administration Agency, which issues the VAT certificate.
Starting from August 2024, new features were added to the digital registration procedure at the National Trade Register Office. The registration procedure has been substantially simplified. Nonetheless, some technical features of the application portal create inefficiencies for applicants. For instance, the application procedure requires applicants to insert the passport number. However, the system only accepts numerical values, even though some countries’ passports use alpha numerical values.
The Single Industrial Licence Law and the Office for Industrial Licensing
In 2019, the government initiated a reform to simplify licensing in the industrial sector, aiming to reduce administrative burdens and improve the business environment. The reform process focused on identifying key bottlenecks in the existing licensing framework (OECD, 2022[19]) (OECD, 2022[20]). Building on the assessment and in line with the commitments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) (Milestone 243), the government introduced the Single Industrial Licence Law (SIL), through the Emergency Ordinance 140/2022, subsequently approved by the Parliament under Law no. 98/2023. The SIL consolidates licencing procedures for starting industrial activities and improves predictability. This reform is expected to contribute to Milestone 244 of the NRRP by lowering the average time needed to comply with regulatory requirements for business operations (Box 1.1).
The Emergency Ordinance 140/2022, approved by the Law no.98/2023 (Portal Legislativ, 2023[21]), foresees three types of industrial licence, differentiated by the type of impact and risk that the industrial activity has. Moreover, it integrates all the rules around the process of obtaining an industrial licence, acting as a single regulation that contains a comprehensive list of all the requirements. By stipulating the conditions for obtaining the licence, it eliminates the possibility of lower rank regulations introducing additional requirements.
The SIL law stipulates a variant of “silence is consent” for low-risk industrial licences unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, it requires the adoption of the “once-only” principle, enabling firms to be required to supply the same information or documents to public institutions only once. Moreover, under the SIL law, double checks are expressly forbidden, which implies that the applicant will not be requested to provide documents and comply with conditions and/or requirements which have already been provided. Additionally, it sets the necessary legislative amendments for the full implementation of an Electronic Single Point of Contact, including a definition of its main features.
The Electronic Single Point of Contact for industrial licences (PCUEL) is expected to build the basis to digitise licensing applications and connect different authorities. Following the timeline set out in target 244 of the NRRP, the platform is expected to be functional by the end of 2025. The necessary infrastructure and capabilities for the PCUEL platform are still in the process of being developed. Once effectively implemented, future reform of business licensing could leverage and expand the PCUEL platform to benefit from its existing features and unify all licensing applications into a single platform.
Source: Law no. 98/2023.
The Emergency Ordinance no.140/2022 on the Single Industrial Licence also provides for the creation of a body functioning as single interface between the investor or applicant and the administration for the purpose of obtaining the licence. The Office for Industrial Licensing (the Office) is the competent authority responsible to issue, amend, suspend, renew or withdraw the single industrial licence. The Office, established through the Emergency Ordinance 140/2022, is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025. Subordinated to the Government and the Prime Minister, this specialised body is led by a President, Secretary of State, and a Vice-President, Undersecretary of State (Portal Legislativ, 2022[22]).
The tasks of the Office, as provided by the legislation, are numerous. They include collaborating with competent authorities to perform technical evaluations for the classification of the industrial activities into risk categories; ensuring the uniform application of the legislation; using mass communication means and tools to ensure awareness of the public about the licensing process; supporting the competent authorities in the process of simplifying procedures; and mediating between the applicant and/or holders of the single industrial licence and the authorities. Furthermore, the Office will report to the Government every six months regarding the activities of the Office and the single industrial licence. It will establish and manage the single electronic point of contact for the activities of granting, renewing, modifying, suspending and withdrawing the single industrial licence.
The SIL law and the establishment of the Office are expected to significantly streamline procedures for obtaining licences for industrial activities. The application, together with the underlying documentation, would be submitted via the Single Electronic Point of Contact for Industrial Licences (PCUEL) and would be addressed to the Office. The responsibility to solve the application request belongs to each of the competent authorities involved in the process of issuing the single industrial licence, according to their own responsibilities. All the communication between the applicant and the competent authorities is to be carried out via this Single Electronic Point of Contact. Moreover, in such cases, the single industrial licence and/or any response from the competent authorities is to be sent also via the Single Electronic Point of Contact.
Environmental permits
Environmental permitting has undergone some changes in Romania over the last 10 years. The objective of revising the regulatory framework for environmental permits was to align the Romanian system with the relevant EU legislation. A key result of this revision is the Integrated Environmental Authorisation.
The Integrated Environmental Authorisation has consolidated in one single permit several environmental requirements regarding all the environmental aspects of the activities, such as air emissions, water and soil emissions, noise and odour, waste management, energy efficiency requirements, as provided by the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (European Parliament and Council, 2010[23]).
The Integrated Environmental Authorisation is required for certain industrial and agricultural activities with significant potential impacts on the environment. This authorisation is issued by the County Environmental Protection Agency; however, the County Environmental Protection Authority is obliged to inform the National Environmental Protection Agency before making the final decision to issue the Integrated Environmental Permit. The procedure for obtaining this authorisation is outlined in the Ministerial Order no. 818/2003. Law 278/2013 on the industrial emissions that was subsequently modified by the Emergency Ordinance no.101/2017 and by Law no.141/2023. The Emergency Ordinance of 2017 revised some definitions in Romanian law to ensure consistency with the EU terminology. Meanwhile, Law no.141/2023 complemented Law 278/2013 by increasing fines for non-compliance with industrial emission regulations and introducing new criminal offences for environmental violations. It also eliminated the possibility for the offender to pay half of the value of the fine if the payment is done within 48 hours since the offence was discovered or since the fine report was communicated to the offender.
Building permits
For many years, obtaining a building permit in Romania was considered to be one of the most lengthy and cumbersome procedures. Strategic planning/zoning in Romania is governed by Law 350/2001 regarding urban planning and several other general and local regulations and plans, which include the general urban plan (PUG), the zoning urban plan (PUZ) and the detailed urban plan (PUD). These documents determine, among other aspects, the construction and zoning parameters such as the percentage of land occupation (POT); the coefficient for land utilisation (CUT) and the maximum height permitted. Given that the building permit is issued by local authorities, the requirements and necessary documents for obtaining this permit can vary across municipalities. To date, the procedure for requesting the building permit is considered to be time-consuming because it requires the applicant to obtain the necessary preliminary licences from different other competent authorities and submit them together with the other required documents. Digital submissions to complete these procedures are limited. Reducing the complexity of licensing framework in the construction sector has been a priority for different governments in Romania and some reforms have been recently proposed or adopted.
In 2022, the Construction Law no. 50/1991 was amended with the introduction of Law no. 176/2022. The main changes of the Law no.176/2022 refer to the validity of the building permit. The prior legislation provided that the building permit could be subject to a single extension of the validity period of maximum 12 months. In addition, the approval of the extension request was conditional on the payment of a fee equal to the 30% of the fee paid to obtain the building permit in the first place. The art.3 of the amending Law no.176/2022 provides that the building permit can be extended for up to 24 months, free of financial charges. Moreover, regarding the procedure for requesting an extension of the building permit’s validity, the timeframe for submitting such requests has been extended to 45 working days prior to the original expiry date of the building permit. (Portal Legislativ, 2022[24]).
The Romanian Parliament also started discussing a draft reform of the Urban Planning, Urbanism and Construction Code in 2023. The objective of this reform is to simplify the process of obtaining the building permit for applicants and to reduce the pressure on local administrations. On 30 April 2025, the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 31/2025 entered into force. It aims at simplifying urban planning and construction procedures and to accelerate investments (Portal Legislativ, 2025[25]) by addressing both the urban planning documentation stage (PUG, PUZ, PUD) through changes to Law no. 350/2001 regarding territorial development and urban planning (the “Urbanism Law”), and the construction permitting stage through relevant changes to the Construction Law no. 50/1991 (the “Construction Law”). The objective is to establish clear deadlines for issuing the necessary endorsements within the construction permitting process, complemented by the introduction of a “silence-is-consent” mechanism if some of these deadlines are not complied with. However, this mechanism does not apply to all endorsements of approvals. For example, the recently introduced paragraph 4^3 of Art.32 specifies that “the opportunity notice cannot be considered to have been issued upon the expiry of the deadlines provided for in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2, through tacit approval.”
The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 31/2025 aims to streamline the building permit issuance process by at least reducing processing times by at least 50% and eliminating cascading approval requirements, which have been contributing to significant delays. The ordinance introduces clearer provisions for clarification, completion, or amendment of the permitting documentation submitted for approval. A key improvement is the shift from sequential to simultaneous approval process, which is expected to accelerate procedures. The potential impact of these changes on reducing processing times will depend on the effective implementation of the provisions and adequate preparation and training within the public administration.
Digitalisation of administrative procedures
The Authority for Digitalisation of Romania (ADR) and the Inter-ministerial Committee for e-Governance and Red Tape Reduction (CERB) are responsible for the digital transformation in the public sector. ADR was established in 2020, with the task of simplifying the provision of digital government services by managing and coordinating information systems such as the e-government portal. However, limited decision-making powers have weakened ADR’s effectiveness (OECD, 2023[26]). Alongside ADR, the CERB is the coordinating body for advancing the implementation of digitalisation initiatives (Box 1.2).
The Committee for e-Governance and Red-Tape Reduction (CERB) was established by Prime Minister Decision no. 331/2021. The Committee is composed of 29 members and is chaired by the Prime Minister. The President of the Romanian Digitalisation Authority and the State Councillor from the Prime Minister's Chancellery act as Vice Presidents. In recent years, the CERB has played a significant role in presenting, debating, and approving major e-governance and red tape reduction initiatives.
The responsibilities of the CERB include:
Identifying key areas for intervention to simplify administrative procedures for businesses and citizens and to reduce intra- and inter-institutional bureaucracy.
Proposing specific measures for streamlining primary, secondary, and tertiary legislation and eliminating legislative redundancies, including unnecessary steps or bureaucracy within existing procedures, or measures that generate significant societal costs without offering equivalent benefits.
Monitoring and promoting implementation of tools to reduce bureaucracy.
In the field of e-governance, the CERB's tasks include: coordinating e-governance measures in the institutions responsible for the implementation, management and operation of electronic public services; providing a forum for the discussion of key initiatives, measures and projects related to e-governance to ensure compliance with common technical standards and regulations; ensuring coherence in the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of public policy on e-governance; prioritising and validating proposals related to e-governance and the operation of electronic public services within the relevant institutions.
The Committee meets every six months to discuss the relevant items in the agenda, which is based on the Members’ proposals.
The Authority for Digitalisation of Romania (ADR) was established in 2020, by means of the Government Decision no. 89/2020. The objectives of the ADR, as set out in Article 3, are to support the digital transformation of Romanian economy and society, to achieve e-governance of the public administration in Romania through interoperability of IT systems and to reach the objectives set out by the European Union financial assistance programs in this field of competence.
The ADR is responsible for designing and implementing strategies and initiatives in the field of digital transformation, as well as monitoring the actions taken and evaluating the results achieved. In addition, the ADR is responsible for producing and updating the Public services Catalog, used to monitor the digital transformation in Romania. It also prepares a periodic report on the digital transformation in Romania, also known as the Digitalisation report.
The ADR promotes the adoption of new technologies in the process of digitalisation of Romania and it represents Romania in international agreements in the field of information technology and society, or in meetings and events organised in its field of competence.
Furthermore, the ADR is responsible to develop normative, methodological, functional, operational frameworks required to transpose European norms and to comply with requirements of the European Union. Another key responsibility of the ADR is to draft normative act and monitoring compliance with the obligations in force. It is responsible to develop and implementing IT systems to support Romania’s digital transformation.
The ADR is led by a President, with the rank of Secretary of State who is appointed by the Prime Minister. The President is supported by two Vice-Presidents with the rank of Under Secretary of state, also appointed by the Prime Minister.
Source: Portal Legislativ (2021[27]) , Portal Legislativ (2020[28]).
Romania has made progress in the field of digitalisation of public services. Key on-going digitalisation reforms include the creation of the National Interoperability Platform (Box 1.3 below), which allows for inter-institutional, inter-sectorial and cross-border interoperability. The Platform is complemented by a Government Private Cloud initiative that aims at creating a unified digital infrastructure for the government institutions, improved efficiency and reduction of IT related costs (OECD, 2023[26]) (Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania, n.d.[29]).
Another on-going digitalisation initiative is the strengthening of the single electronic point of contact, in line with Milestone 246 of the NRRP “Digital platforms set-up, connected to a single electronic point of contact and fully operational”. The single points of contact were introduced at the European level by the Services Directive in 2006 (European Parliament and Council, 2006[30]) and by the Regulation 2018/1724 on establishing single digital gateway (European Parliament and Council, 2018[31]). Their main functions are the provision of information about the regulations and administrative procedures and to serve as a digital platform to complete the administrative formalities.
Romania’s electronic single point of contact is e-guvernare. The website has a section dedicated to the business environment, which provides information about how to start a business in Romania and some specific information on key topics such as taxes, financing, employment contracts, and recruitment (PCUe-Punctul de Contact Unic electronic, 2022[32]).
Currently, according to the user guide available on the website, the platform allows physical persons, companies and users from competent authorities to create an account. Representatives of businesses with an account can create a request by choosing the procedure they need to complete from a list of available information and operating procedures. Certain procedures (operating procedures) allow the user to launch the request. The user can upload documents on the portal and, once the request has been submitted, he/she receives a notification regarding the successful submission. Applicants also receive a notification when the competent authority’s employee starts processing the request. By accessing their personal accounts, applicants can monitor the status of their requests and other information about their application. In case competent authorities require additional information and clarifications, the applicants are notified and prompted to answer to the administration’s request through the portal (Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania, n.d.[33]). Further functionalities such as integrating Romanian and EU digital authentication methods, are under development (Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania, 2024[34])
Despite these features, this platform does not effectively serve as a comprehensive one-stop shop for completing all business formalities, such as licensing procedures. As highlighted in Chapter 2, licensing institutions often provide separate online application systems to request licences on their institutional websites or allow for email licensing applications. The new Single Point of Contact for industrial licences is expected to be integrated into the e-guvernare platform and benefit from its functionalities.
The National Interoperability Platform was launched by the Authority for Digitalisation of Romania in 2021.The main goal of this project is to establish interconnection between the databases of Romanian public administration.
The objectives and functions of the National Interoperability Platform are set out in the Law 242/2022. The National Interoperability Platform enables public authorities to access and share information and data through the platform, with the objective of complying with the once-only principle. The use of the National Interoperability Platform de facto forbids public authorities from requesting citizens to provide information and data already held by the public administration. The participation of State institutions to the National Interoperability Platform is mandatory, while it is voluntary for private entities, such as Bar Association and Chambers of Commerce.
The Law lays down the principles for the functioning of the system as well as the objectives of the Platform. The National Interoperability Platform aims at increasing the degree of interconnection and interoperability between the information systems of public authorities and institutions, thus facilitating the exchange of data between public authorities to reduce bureaucratic and administrative burdens on natural and legal persons. The system also aims at strengthening the transparency of the use of data by public authorities and institutions.
The Law provides reference to the rules for achieving interoperability in information and communication technology (NRRI). The NRRI includes all the obligations and actions for public authorities to allow for interoperability of their IT systems. In addition, it provides a set of features which should be adopted by all the authorities, such as definitions, vocabulary, specifications.
The key underlying principles of the National Interoperability framework include reuse of IT components, data and information, increased efficiency and effectiveness, administrative simplification of the administrative processes in the provision of public services, security and privacy (confidentiality, authenticity and security in the exchange of data), administrative openness (the data is published as open data) and non-discrimination (ensure access to public services to all people, including those who are not digitalised).
The functioning of the National Interoperability Platform is based on a set of basic registers which allow the exchange of information in digital format. The basic registers included in the platform are, among others, the National Information System for the Registration of Persons, the Central Trade Register and the integrated system of cadastre and land book. All the basic registers should be integrated in the National Register of Registers.
The Law on the National Interoperability Platform applies to both central and local public authorities and institutions and it identifies the Authority for Digitalisation of Romania (ADR) as the responsible body for the implementation, regulation and evaluation of the National Interoperability Platform.
Source: Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (2021[35]), Portal Legislativ (2022[36]), OECD (2023[26]).
Local Operating Act
In Romania, as a unitary state, nearly all licences are regulated and issued by central authorities at the national level which is why this project focuses exclusively on these national licences. Nevertheless, there exists a local licence (called Operating Act based on Government Order 99/2000) that that falls out of the scope of this project but is still required for some activities. As a report by the Romanian Competition Council analyses (Romanian Competition Council, 2023[37]), this local permit creates a further barrier to access for entrepreneurs.
The challenges that entrepreneurs face when applying for the local licence are in parts similar to the shortcomings of the national licensing system. In addition, the licence is granted by the mayor of the area the commercial activity is to be carried out. It depends on regulations drawn up by the local public administration authorities and therefore, each municipality applies its own rules in relation to the process of issuing and extending the licence. For example, some municipalities ask for previous licences by other authorities that others do not.
Albeit not part of the project, it might be possible to transfer some of the benefits from the recommended reforms included in this report at the national level to the local level. This could include use of the licensing platform or the interoperability platform. Thereby, the recommendations of this project could also positively impact the local licences and potentially pave the way for simplification at this level of Government.
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← 1. The customs authorities request it, for instance, during import formalities.