The government has extended the deadline for employees to buy up to a 10 percent stake in Electrica Oltenia and Electrica Moldova by one year. The new deadline for the two energy companies is December 31, 2013. The deadlines for employees to buy stakes in the formerly state owned electricity generation companies have been pushed back each year since they were privatized in 2005.

Czech energy company CEZ bought Electrica Oltenia and German firm E.ON bought Electrica Moldova in 2005. According to sources in the industry quoted by the Romanian media, E.ON could challenge whether the sale of stakes in Electrica Moldova to employees is constitutional in Romania's Constitutional Court, after taking the case to a court of arbitration in Paris, France. The French court gave the go ahead for E.ON to challenge the constitutionality of the entitlement of employees to a 10 percent stake.

Meanwhile, Electrica is also taking E.ON to court, complaining that the German company has broken the privatization terms.

editor@romania-insider.com