President Iohannis: Romanian regulatory bodies need to harmonize their operating framework

President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that Romanian regulatory bodies need to harmonize their operating framework.

"The year 2020 has been a difficult one from an economic point of view, with situations in which the prices of some essential products have reflected speculative, arbitrary behaviors and an insufficiently structured market in terms of competitive mechanisms and behaviors. The reports of the Competition Council show a consistent increase in the number of rounded off investigations that found, recognized and penalized anti-competitive practices in several sectors of the national economy. (...) The Romanian regulatory authorities need, in order to fulfill their mission fully and efficiently, a harmonization of their operating framework that equally meets the requirements of good governance and those on the proactive management of specific areas of competence," Iohannis said.

He pointed out that better collaboration between institutions is needed.

"I encourage the Competition Council to be one of the leaders in such a change," Iohannis said.

According to the head of state, the Competition Council is one of the key authorities in supporting the market economy based on free initiative and competition.

On Tuesday, Bogdan Chiritoiu took the oath of office as president of the Competition Council, and Dan-Virgil Pascu as vice-president of the institution, in the presence of the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, in a ceremony at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, agerpres reports.