The Law Commission and the Industry Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on Monday amended a bill submitted by the PSD in 2017 that reduces the number of mandates the president of the Competition Council can have. The bet for quick changes is to replace the current president of the Competition Council with Bohdan Chiritsa, who is serving his third term.

PSD, PNL and UDMR MPs from both commissions quickly amended the bill.

Currently, the law stipulates that the term of office of the members of the Competition Council is 5 years, with the possibility of renewing the authority regardless of the duration of the previous authority.

The changes made by the two commissions relate to the duties of the president, vice-presidents and competition boards as follows:

• Duties of members of the Plenum are established in accordance with the regulations approved by the Competition Council. The Chairperson, Deputy Chairpersons and Competition Advisers must be truly independent and of high professional standing and civic integrity.
• The term of office is 5 years with the possibility of extension only once.

To be appointed as a member of the Competition Council, a person must meet the following conditions:

• a) be a citizen of Romania;
• b) have full legal capacity;
• c) be considered fit for health;
• d) have a long-term higher education or the equivalent, confirmed by a diploma recognized by the Romanian state in accordance with the law;
• e) have at least 10 years of business or legal experience;
• e) not to be incapacitated or not to be tried for crimes committed with intent, for which the law prescribes punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 3 years or more, except in cases of rehabilitation, amnesty after a conviction or decriminalization of an act.

SEE THE REPORT AND AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPETITION LAW HERE

The number of members of the Competition Council is also increasing from 7 to 11 people.

It should be noted that the President of the Competition Council, Bohdan Chiritsou, is in his third term and was first appointed in 2009. If the law goes into effect, PSD and PNL intend to apply the law retroactively and demand his resignation, parliamentary sources tell HotNews.ro.

Another amendment stipulates that “after this law enters into force, the Presidential Administration, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate shall begin the procedures for appointing members of the Competition Council. Current members of the Council may be proposed and appointed to any of the positions provided for by this law.”

In fact, the draft law introduced by the PSD, PNL and UDMR is due to be discussed in plenary by the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday.

It should be noted that the decision-making forum in this case is the Senate. The project has already been appealed to the Central Committee and submitted to the president for re-examination. Once passed by the Senate, the law will be sent to President Klaus Iohannis for promulgation.