First registration car tax: Brussels sends final warning

The European Commission has sent a final warning to the Romanian authorities regarding the first registration car tax, before taking the country to European Court of Justice. Romania has only have two more months to change the legislation regarding the vehicle registration tax.

In the first stage the officials have filed a notification letter to the Romanian authorities, a letter in which they explained that the vehicle registration tax discriminates against second hand vehicles. Yesterday the Brussels officials have decided to file a second letter to the Romanian authorities, addressing the same vehicle registration tax issue. In case the Romanian authorities will disregard the demands to modify the provisions of the vehicle registration tax legislation, the issue could be deferred to the European Court of Justice where Romania would be sued for infringing the Treaty of Accession.

Infringement

The European Commission has started yesterday the infringement procedure (violation of the Treaty of Accession) against Romania for the delays registered in the introduction of the 112 emergency phone number in our country, Rompres informs. 'The European citizens that travel for tourism or professional purposes in EU member states should be able to rely on the ability of the emergency services to locate them when they appeal for help. That is possible in most member states and that is why we have to make sure that the system works properly in all member states' Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Telecommunications, has stated. Because of this, the European Commission has sued Poland and Latvia in the Court of Justice. In Romania's case, the Commission has started the infringement procedure by filing an official notification letter. Last month the Commission has started a similar procedure against Bulgaria because the 112 emergency service is not available in that country. According to the relevant EU telecommunications legislation, all member states have to offer the possibility of freely appealing to the emergency services by dialing the single 112 phone number.

Moreover, member states have to make sure that the telecommunications operators will offer the emergency services information concerning the location of the ones that dial 112 from landline or mobile phones.

Gov't passes responsibility to mobile phone operators

Locating all callers to the "112" emergency number depends on the mobile phone operators in Romania, spokesperson for the Government Camelia Spataru stated at the end of the Cabinet meeting. "The core of the issue in this case is to create equal technical conditions for all callers to the 112 emergency number, particularly to mobile operators, to be identified. The technical solution rests with the mobile phone operators in Romania," Camelia Spataru pointed out. She added that the problems identified by the European Commission with the emergency call system will be analysed by officials for the Communication Ministry jointly with those of the National Regulatory Authority in Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI), of mobile operators and of the Special Communication Service (STS) - the operator of the national "112" system. As for the first registration charge, the Government announced that solutions will be identified before the European Commission two-month deadline expires.

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