Romania has received the formal approval for meeting the environmental requirements in the process of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forestry (MMAP) announced in a release on Tuesday.
"This is one of the most complex files to fulfill in the OECD membership process, and over 12 regulatory acts had to be adopted in order to comply and implement the imposed conditions. The favorable assessment of Romania in the OECD Committee for Environmental Policy confirms Romania's significant progress in improving the institutional and operational architecture and in developing an adequate and efficient toolkit in the field of environmental protection and waste management. We will continue to strengthen institutional capacity and inter-institutional cooperation in implementing environmental policies at all levels, for a safe and sustainable environment," declared Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu.
The MMAP ensured the coordination of the activities related to Romania's evaluation in the Committee for Environmental Policies, as the national focal point. The evaluation looked at relevant aspects regarding Romania's legal, institutional and policy framework in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as regarding waste management and resource productivity.
"Romania's OECD accession is a priority goal of the Romanian Government in 2026, pledged by the governing coalition under the coordination of the Romanian Prime Minister and facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs team at OECD level and the diplomatic missions of the member states on whose vote the accession depends. The relevant ministries are the ones that manage the technical content of the files, and today's opinion obtained by the Ministry of the Environment, one of the most difficult, highlights the extraordinary teamwork, the inter-institutional collaboration and is a direct validation of our administrative maturity, and a strong signal that Romania stands alongside developed countries. From the sectoral committees that evaluate us, we have so far obtained 19 formal opinions and 7 evaluations are pending; there is currently a government delegation in Paris to continue along this track on the fiscal and economic components," Minister of Foreign Affairs Oana Toiu said in the same release.
Upon receipt of this OECD formal opinion, Romania aligns itself with the organization's best standards regarding environmental policies and waste management.
Thus, the concrete measures adopted by Romania in the implementation of the Action Plans for the alignment of national legislation and policies with OECD standards were aimed at modernizing the regulatory framework, public policy instruments and strengthening the administrative capacity of competent authorities and inter-institutional collaboration in areas such as: environmental performance of public authorities and institutions; the National Green Public Procurement Program; promoting the use of renewable energy for heating in Romania; improving public access to environmental information; protecting and sustainably managing Romania's coastal zone; integration of environmental impact indicators in the National Strategy for Tourism Development for the period 2025 - 2035.
Other steps target strengthening the institutional and operational capacity of the National Environmental Guard and the National Forest Guard; closing non-compliant waste landfills; expanding digitalized waste management systems, integrated policies and expanding inspection capacity for waste management; recycling paper waste, including by increasing the weight of environmental criteria in the regulatory framework for green public procurement; promoting economic instruments, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Deposit Return System; strengthening control over cross-border waste shipments intended for recovery operations; improving monitoring, reporting and transparency systems for waste flows.
The ministry emphasized that these results were achieved through collaboration with multiple institutions, including the Ministries of Development, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Finance, Energy, Health, the Department for Sustainable Development, the National Environmental Guard, the National Forestry Guard, the National Agency for the Environment and Protected Areas, the Environmental Fund Administration, and the National Public Procurement Agency.
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