Commission Report 2002 (Romania)

Chapter 9: Transport policy

Romania has made progress in legal alignment, but administrative capacity in road transport still has to be strengthened in order to enforce the adopted legislation. In line with the Action Plan, training programmes are being implemented at both managerial and execution level and steps are being taken to strengthen the capacity for roadside inspections. The measures planned to retrofit haulage vehicles with speed limitation devices and recording equipment are ongoing, but monitoring should be reinforced. Although a framework law on maritime and inland transport was adopted, considerable efforts still have to be made to ensure alignment with the acquis. With the Romanian fleet rated as a very high risk in the latest Paris MOU report, the situation remains worrying with regard to implementation of the maritime safety acquis. However, as foreseen in the Action Plan, a new body, the Romanian Naval Authority, has been set up through the merger of the existing bodies, which should avoid duplication and dilution of responsibilities. No progress has been made with restructuring and modernising the Romanian Danube fleet and further efforts are necessary to improve the administrative capacity of the inland waterway sector. In the railway sector, Romania is line with most of the requirements of the revised railways acquis. Romania has partially met the Accession Partnership priorities in this area. The measures set out in the Action Plan are being implemented as planned.