The European Commission (EC) will initiate an infringement procedure against Romania this year, as the country has not made any progress in terms of municipal waste since 2014, according to local G4media.ro.

The landfills located around big cities in Romania are real bombs for the environment, but also for the health of the people, according to the preliminary conclusion of EC experts included in a recent internal report. For this reason, the infringement procedure cannot be avoided in 2020.

The Romanian authorities were reportedly announced several times last year that the infringement procedure will be triggered in 2020. However, even in this situation, Romania failed to present a concrete plan showing that progress will be made in 2020. “For this reason, Romania’s access to all funds for the environment could be blocked, and this could be more than a partial blockage or a symbolic penalty,” sources from the European Commission told G4media.ro.

Most major cities in Romania have problems with landfills that represent a real threat for the environment and people’s lives, among them those where the waste from Bucharest, Craiova and Deva is stored. These platforms are dangerous for the environment because the waste is rarely selected, there are no facilities to remove the toxic gases released by the garbage, and the substances used to treat the waste often reach the soil.

An alternative to the landfill site is a modern waste incinerator. Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea announced the intention to build such a plant that would cost EUR 230 million (with EUR 180 million being European funding) and should be ready by 2023. However, the European funding could be blocked if the EC starts the infringement procedure against Romania.

newsroom@romania-insider.com

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