The European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Romania (a formal request to comply with EU law) for failing to fully comply with the Landfill Directive and the Waste Framework Directive. The Landfill Directive requires Member States to take the necessary measures to close and rehabilitate a landfill which has not been granted a permit.

Under the Waste Framework Directive, Member States must recover and dispose of waste in a manner that does not endanger human health and the environment, prohibiting the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste.

Romania’s Accession Treaty gave authorities until 16 July 2017 to comply with these rules with respect to 101 landfills. As this obligation was not fully respected, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Romania in October 2020. So far, Romania has closed and rehabilitated 92 landfills.

The timeline for the closure and rehabilitation of the remaining nine landfills is 2026-2028 for five of them and is uncertain for the remaining four. Therefore, the Commission has decided to issue a reasoned opinion to Romania, which now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures.

Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.