The National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) and the Competition Council (CC) to be merged into a single institution - the Regulatory and Reform Authority.
PAS MP Dumitru Alaiba announced this during a briefing on Monday. He noted that both of these institutions, which are critical for the smooth functioning of a market economy, are ineffective and unproductive. “The expenses of the Competition Council amount to 26 million lei in 2021 alone. This body has existed since 2007 and has not featured a single high-profile case, while its task is important - to protect competition, to ensure equal conditions in the market. The inaction of the Competition Council is costly for all citizens, they pay inflated prices for goods and services,” the MP said. At the same time, ANRE's annual budget is 85 million lei in 2021, and it has an equally important task: to ensure order and predictability in the energy market. “This institution also does not yield results year after year. Too often, ANRE has acted politically when it shouldn't have done it, and claimed to be independent when it was obliged to protect the public interest. The inaction of ANRE is costly for citizens and entrepreneurs who pay inflated tariffs and prices for energy resources,” Alaiba stressed. According to him, within the framework of the announced reform, ANRE and the CC will be united into a strong, effective and independent institution. According to him, similar models exist in European practice, and Moldova will apply the experience of Estonia, where such an institution has been operating since 2008. It is headed by only 3 directors (in ANRE and in the CC - 5 each), but it provides effective sectoral regulation and high-quality protection market competition. Alaiba noted that it is necessary to hold consultations with industry experts and broad public consultations, hear reports on the activities of ANRE and the CC at a meeting of the profile parliamentary commission on economy, budget and finance and complete the development of a package of legislative changes. The bill is to be registered in parliament in the next two weeks. // 04.10.2021 – InfoMarket
