Government of Romania

Romania cannot be really a European country without resolving the property problem that drags on for about 15 years.

At the end of March 2005, a Government decision established an inter-ministerial working Group on the coordination of elaboration, improvement and implementation of the legislation upon the restitution of the real estate property, taken abusively in the period 6 of March 1945 – 22nd of December 1989. This Group has finalized the property laws amendment and elaborated a draft law regarding the allocation of compensations.

The projects are available, since today, on the Government site, www.gov.ro. The presentation in electronic format aims to assure the access of the persons that are interested to know, analyze and amend the content of these laws. Therefore, the agenda of the Minister Delegate, Mr. Bogdan Olteanu, nominated President of the inter-ministerial working Group, contains consultations with the parliamentarian groups, as well as a public debate.

At the end of May 2005, the Government will assume the responsibility in the Parliament for the package of laws that will include besides the projects mentioned above, the projects referring to the lands and forests, elaborated by the working group led by the Minister of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, Mr. Gheorghe Flutur.

“Till the middle of May, we will have a format that includes the remarks of the persons interested in it. I don't search a personal project, I want to get to a good project, that would finally solve, this problem so important for the Romanian society”, has underlined today, the Minister Delegate for the Liaison with the Parliament, Mr. Bogdan Olteanu, within the press conference.

The main principles of this laws package regarding the modification of the property regime are the following:

a. the rule for the restitution in kind of all buildings that are in the state property in the moment of law adoption;
b. the allocation of just and equitable compensations;
c. the compensations will not be limited;
d. the lodgers' interests will not be affected, the legislative framework regarding the lodgers' protection will be integrally maintained.

The modification of Law 10 stipulates also the restitution of the buildings that are headquarters of political parties, embassies, public institutions. For public institutions, and particularly for schools and hospitals, there are provided destination maintaining deadlines up to five years. The Government has started the necessary financing identification procedures for news schools, hospitals, public institutions construction, and the works are to be finalized during these deadlines.

“In the end, it is about a choice. Instead of paying compensations and spending for some old buildings modernization, we will invest in modern schools and hospitals. Just these days, my colleague, in charge with the World Bank projects in Romania, the Minister Cristian David, is in Washington in this purpose”, has added Mr. Bogdan Olteanu.

“The novelty of this project is the modality of compensating the former owners who cannot receive the goods back. According to the draft law, the first step is the establishment of a Fund dedicated to the compensations afferent to the buildings taken abusively, within 30 days deadlines since the moment the law is entering in force. At the same time, the Ministry of Public Finance will prepare an auction in order to select the society in charge with this Fund administration, and that will be a prestigious international society. The auction will take place this autumn, following that the payment titles issue would be functional at the beginning of 2006. Until the designation of this society, a management company, constituted as part of the Ministry of Public Finance, will administrate the Fund”, has underlined the Minister Delegate Bogdan Olteanu.

According to the project, there will be assured the rapid capitalization of compensations, transforming these in shares at the mentioned Fund, quoted to Bucharest and foreign Stock Exchange. In less than a year and a half from the adoption of the law, the compensation beneficiaries will fructify the title, transforming it into money. “The creation of the Fund, that will include shares to the extremely attractive companies that are in state patrimony, will assure a benefic development of the capital market in Romania. The public budget will not be involved anymore in the owners' compensation”, has mentioned in the end the Minister Bogdan Olteanu.