Competition Council president Bogdan Chiritoiu elected to ACER Board of Directors

President of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiritoiu, was elected on Friday as a member of the Board of Directors of the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

Speaking for AGERPRES in his new capacity, Chiritoiu said that his new position complements his activity within the Romanian competition watchdog.

"It is an honor that I was proposed by Romania and backed by several member states and came out second, so that we have a full member position on the ACER Board of Directors for a four-year period," he said.

According to Chiritoiu, ACER is a new model of agency, with improved governance.

"Its management includes representatives of the member states as well as of the European Parliament and of the European Commission. Contributing to the development of a new model of European agency is an interesting experience. ACER's mission is to contribute to the creation of the European energy market, one of the most important reforms currently underway in Europe and which will help European household and industrial consumer get access to cheaper and safer energy, leading also to an increased energy independence of Europe," Chiritoiu explained.

He added that his new tasks complement his activity at the Competition Council, because "this is also what we are trying to do in Romania, have a good collaboration between the energy regulator and the competition authority, combine regulation with market mechanisms promoted by a competition authority, such as the Council. There is a good synergy between the Council's activity and this new activity," he said.

There were eight governmental candidates running for three full member positions and two substitute positions on the ACER Board of Directors.

Following a call for applications, the ACER management received until the deadline set on October 18, 2019 eight candidacies: Stefano Besseghini (Italy), Vaclav Bartuska (the Czech Republic), Bogdan Chiritoiu (Romania), Lubomir Kuchta (Slovakia), Karin Lunning (Sweden), Pawel Pikus (Poland), Zhecho Donchev Stankov (Bulgaria) and Michel Thiolliere (France).

Chiritoiu got five votes out of 28. The French candidate, who placed first, had seven votes, and the representative of Sweden had four. The selection consisted of the evaluation of the CV and a letter of intent.

The ACER Board of Directors meets six to seven times a year in Brussels, Ljubljana or in the country of the institution's president.

Romania has previously had a representative in the ACER management - Razvan Nicolescu who served as Vice President of the ACER Board of Directors between 2010 - 2014.