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Innovative cases have led the competition authority to rethink and adapt its intervention methods to new economic realities, which has required innovative solutions in the regulatory framework, said Bogdan Chiriţoiu, president of the Competition Council, at the conference "Competition: innovative solutions in the regulatory framework", organized by the public institution together with the Faculty of Law of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.
Bogdan Chiriţoiu stated: "Regarding legislation, although I know that many are against it, including those from the European Commission and the OECD who have asked the Government to assume, even through the PNRR, the reduction of the number of emergency ordinances, I am in favor of legislating through these ordinances when absolutely necessary. The legislative process through Parliament takes a long time and if we want to start things in a certain sector, it can be done through an emergency ordinance, which is a perfectible law. We see what works and what doesn't, and then after a few months it can be modified by the Legislature. Everyone talks about ex-ante analysis and let's see after, but we are not able to do something like that. And then you come up with something quickly, you see in the implementation that there are mistakes and you correct them quickly. The emergency ordinance is a more innovative instrument of legislation, compared to the classic one through Parliament which takes time. And then why not adapt? I think we could use the use of emergency ordinances justified, at least more creatively."
The President of the Competition Council briefly presented several unconventional practices and strategic approaches as relevant examples of institutional flexibility in a dynamic economic context, as well as data from the activity report for last year.
Bogdan Chiriţoiu said: "I have heard this opinion: that we judge companies in the national market and that we thus hinder the development of Romanian companies. Let me present you some data. We have issued fines of over 70 million lei, in cases where we have had more aggressive approaches, investigations such as those in cement, those regarding illegal exchanges of information on customers, those in the pharmaceutical field regarding the blocking of generic drugs by large pharmaceutical chains. But we have two cases in the labor market, where wage increases were blocked by blocking hiring. In most of our cases, we see competition as an instrument to keep prices at a reasonable level, we see if wages are not allowed to increase, under competitive conditions, to the level that the market would take them. (...) In the field of state aid, last year we approved 300 measures, with multiannual budgets amounting to a total value of 84 billion lei. Compare the total value of the fines applied last year by the Competition Council, 70 million lei, that is 14 million euros, with the value of state aid - 84 billion lei, that is 17 billion euros that we have approved and then you will find that those who accuse us of only having an objective of sanctioning are wrong. I specify that the entire PNRR is on state aid. If the PNRR is not implemented, it cannot be reproached that the opinions from the Competition Council or DG Competition were not issued. Both we and the officials from Brussels have given all the requested approvals for the projects financed from the PNRR".
• Regulatory innovation, essential for strengthening a fair and functional competitive environment
In opening yesterday's event, Dorel Mihai Paraschiv, vice-rector of ASE, said: "We are pleased to host this major event that brings together outstanding professionals in the field of economic law and competition regulation, we are talking here about university teachers, researchers, practitioners and doctoral students in a framework designed to encourage debates and working thinking. This conference becomes a solid platform for the exchange of ideas and proposals applied in the field of competition law and beyond. As you know, the Academy of Economic Studies strongly supports the development of scientific research and inter-institutional partnerships. We are pleased to be part of this initiative that reflects our commitment towards promoting academic excellence and real contribution to solving current concerns in society. The theme of today's conference is one of utmost relevance, and the dialogue generated around innovative solutions in the case of regulation is essential for strengthening a fair and functional competitive environment. We live in a time when markets compete rapidly, and regulatory mechanisms must keep pace with technological, economic and social changes. To respond to these challenges, it is essential to cultivate dialogue, reflection and openness to innovation. Exactly what this conference aims to generate".
At his turn, Mircea Abrudean, interim president of the Senate, said: "We live in an economic context full of uncertainties, in which old rules are being prescribed on the fly, the market is evolving rapidly, technology is changing the way we do what we do, and regulation must keep up without slowing down innovation. Fair competition is not just an economic principle, but it is the guarantee that good ideas, honest effort and creativity can win. The Competition Council has intervened in recent years in strategic sectors, starting from the banking system, passing through energy, telecom and reaching large retailers, to sanction unfair practices and to protect small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Moreover, it has given a signal that in Romania laws matter and that they must be respected and applied with seriousness and rigor. And this matters for citizens, for the business environment, and for young people who want to build a solid career in a fair and transparent market. But the effort does not belong to a single institution. It requires real collaboration between Parliament and Government, regulators and the economic environment. Only together can we build a framework that supports development and transforms challenges into opportunities. The Senate supports the activity of the Competition Council, including in the harmonization of national legislation with European legislation, and we have a solid partnership based on professionalism and results".
• Five pillars necessary for an entrepreneurial ecosystem
Entrepreneurship is the greatest development opportunity for our country, in terms of the human capital held and which can be put to much better use and in terms of the fact that the private business environment contributes to increasing competition which is reflected in better products and services for consumers, said Iulian Stanciu, executive president of eMAG Romania.
Iulian Stanciu stated: "I think that According to The Economist, Western European countries allocated over 5% of GDP for defense until 1990. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, these allocations went down to 2% of GDP, because Western Europe began the construction of citizen-centered public policies with a very strong focus on social benefits. In addition to many benefits, these also had negative consequences: a decrease in innovation and a reduction in entrepreneurship. Europe is suffering at the moment. Europe spends less than 2% of GDP on research compared to the US which spends 3.6%. The difference comes from private research which needs venture capital, it needs much more diversified capital, as well as larger, unified markets and less regulation to allow investments in research to be capitalized on through scaling. We see how the great global powers are turning very quickly towards entrepreneurial development. Europe is showing signs of turning in this direction too, as is evident from the Letta and Draghi reports published last year, through deregulation, by stimulating private initiative, by investing in assumed and innovative technologies. An entrepreneurial ecosystem means five pillars: public policies, financing, culture, education and markets".
Regarding public policies, the head of eMAG showed that innovation involves expensive expenses for companies, expenses that many companies cannot afford. Iulian Stanciu argues that limiting the development of local companies by relating them to the size of the local market does nothing but discourage innovation and favor foreign players from large markets.
"Then research needs incentives through a very inspired policy. IT together with e-commerce have grown from under 1% of GDP to over 12% of GDP at the moment. Compared to agriculture which is under 4% of GDP. This sector, IT, is a net exporter, produces high added value and has development potential if stimulated. We need public policies that will help us grow from the current IT landscape to building intellectual property for Romanian products and services, given that 75-80% of Romanian IT professionals now work with companies that produce intellectual property for other countries and thus add value in other countries," said Iulian Stanciu.
• Iulian Stanciu, eMAG: Romanian investment funds, too little capitalized to support local entrepreneurs
He mentioned that public policies should also allow entrepreneurs to innovate, and that mistakes made in this regard should be tolerated.
"The focus of European legislation on protecting citizens is correct. It's just that in the digital economy, entrepreneurs should be allowed to innovate when they want to move fast. This concept is successfully implemented in the United States or China, less so in Europe, where mistakes made out of a desire to move quickly are penalized. If we talk about regulation, we see Europe is finally realizing that it has gone too far, and the current European Commission aims to reduce regulation and bureaucracy. In its desire to protect citizens through regulation, Europe has actually left them behind in terms of business and innovation," said the head of eMAG, who added that in terms of financing, Romanian investment funds have too little capital.
Iulian Stanciu specified: "The largest Romanian fund has exceeded 100 million euros, while in Poland there are funds that have over a billion euros each. That is why 90% of the transactions carried out in Romania are made by strategic investors and only 10% by investment funds. Why is it important? Because the moment you sell to a strategic investor, they shake your hand, you have given the key and you have left together with the entire team that forms the headquarters. And the company will be managed from somewhere else and no more added value will be created in Romania. We need part of the pension funds to reach investment funds, to finance the development of companies, entrepreneurship. We have a law on angel investors that has had no application rules for 10 years. Why is it important? Because young entrepreneurs, such as those in start-ups, need access to knowledge, application and financing. And that investor is exactly what the entrepreneur at the beginning of his journey needs today".
• Romanian entrepreneurs, seen as speculators?
As for culture, its orientation towards the wrong stigmatization results in a lack of innovation and the flight of money to a safe area, the entrepreneur also said, who accused that because of this we lose creative potential, we lose good people who leave the country and develop companies elsewhere.
"Mistakes are part of education, of evolution and are the fastest way to learn. Public perception of entrepreneurship has improved, but we still see the 1990s flare-ups, such as the display of sales tax, resurfacing. It starts from the premise that entrepreneurs are speculators who should be prosecuted. Such proposals seriously harm entrepreneurship", said Iulian Stanciu.
Regarding education, he showed that universities play an important role in entrepreneurial ecosystems and gave the example of the University of Guangzhou, China, where a Silicon Valley was built, which the Chinese call the global center of innovation, a center that launched the companies Ali-Baba, Temu and DeepSeek. The eMAG representative mentioned Innovation Labs, an initiative that facilitated the collaboration between the academic and private sectors in our country, an initiative that includes 22 universities and can accelerate innovation in the IT field.
Regarding markets, the last pillar of entrepreneurship, Iulian Stanciu stated that the European financial market does not function properly, being fragmented by the multitude of national regulations and over-regulations. According to him, national states have competed in adding regulations on top of European ones, making cross-border involvement in the development of entrepreneurship even more difficult. The eMAG representative criticized the fact that companies in China and Turkey do not respect European legislation and are reorienting themselves very quickly in the current trade war. Iulian Stanciu showed that during Donald Trump's first term, when it was overtaxed by the American president, China reoriented all its exports to the Asian market, and now, after April 2, 2025, it has chosen to flood the European market with products, bankrupting, through the prices applied, similar companies in EU countries and destroying the added value of each state's economies, which leads to a decrease in taxes and duties in public budgets.
Iulian Stanciu said: "Regarding car exports, representatives of Chinese companies have stated that by 2030 they want to surpass Dacia sales at the European level and they are very determined in this regard. If we talk about normal taxes, Chinese e-commerce companies do not pay a million euros per day. Their unfair practices include setting illusory prices, false promotional offers, market manipulation and failure to comply with quality and product safety standards".
Therefore, he believes that the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem must be stimulated through public and private initiatives.
During yesterday's conference, the Guarantee-Return System, an essential mechanism for the transition to a circular economy, was also discussed, with an emphasis on the impact on environmental protection and the identification of concrete solutions to optimize its operation in Romania. Another topic of debate was competition in digital markets, amid accelerated technological developments, and the way in which new business models influence the structure of markets and consumers behaviors.
The event was attended by representatives of the Romanian Parliament, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), members of European competition authorities, specialists from employer organizations and professional associations, as well as representatives of the legal and academic environment.
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