Romania To Eliminate Barriers To Opening Hypermarkets, After EU Pressure

These restrictions must be eliminated by September, says a memorandum of understanding between the Government and the European Commission, drawn up following the EC's April-May evaluation in tandem with the International Monetary Fund.

Current rules, adopted in 2004, say opening a retail structure larger than 1000 square meters requires authorization from a committee made up of local authorities, professional associations, consumer protection authorities and one representative of the economic agents in the vicinity.

Applications for the opening of such a store must also include "a market and impact study," comprising the reason why that particular site has been chosen for the store, a commercial plan of the area, a typological description of the stores in the area, its demographic and social characteristics (population structure, income, consumption habits), the impact of opening a new store from an urban planning, socio-economic and commercial perspective, as well as its impact on existing trade, to protect existing sale structures and prevent competition problems.

Contacted by MEDIAFAX, attorney Laura Mocanu, head of the privatization and competition department at the "Bostina si Asociatii" law house, said these rules apply only to large retail structures, not to wholesale or cash and carry stores. On the other hand, wholesalers and cash-and-carry stores such as METRO can be involved in the authorization process for a large retailer about to open in their vicinity, she said.

Current Romanian legislation appears to protect existing stores, despite community rules on competition, said Mocanu.

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