Romania's interim economy minister contests 104,832 lei fine, says delays predate his 98-day tenure

The fine and the watchdog

Romania's Agency for Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Enterprises (AMEPIP) imposed a fine of 104,832 lei on interim Economy Minister Irineu Darău for failing to complete selection procedures for administrators at five state-owned companies by the 31 March 2026 deadline. Darău described the penalty as "the largest sanction ever applied to a minister" and announced on Thursday evening, 23 July 2026, that he had challenged it in court.

AMEPIP — the authority that oversees the corporate governance of state companies and checks compliance with the rules on the selection of administrators — has imposed a fine of 104,832 lei on me, the largest sanction ever applied to a minister. I have challenged this fine in court. I am not doing it because a minister should be above the law, but on the contrary! I believe the law must be respected by everyone. Above all, the institutions that apply it are not allowed to mock procedures, the letter of the law and its interpretation.

A 98-day tenure blamed for years of delay

Darău took office as minister on 23 December 2025. By the AMEPIP deadline of 31 March 2026, he had served only 98 days. The minister argues the delays he is being sanctioned for stretch back much further, some procedures had been stalled for nearly two years and spanned the mandates of three to four previous ministers.

The delays they are imputing to me had already been accumulating for a very long time: some procedures had delays of almost two years and spanned the mandates of three to four different ministers. Practically, I am being charged for hundreds of days when I was not even a minister.

Steps taken after taking office

After assuming the mandate, Darău says he reorganised the selection committees by issuing orders to modify their composition, specifically to unblock the procedures and to introduce the experts requested by AMEPIP itself. The committees resumed their activity as a result of these measures, according to the minister.

Accusations against the watchdog

Darău contends that AMEPIP itself had legal obligations without which the selections could not proceed. The agency was required to designate its representatives to the committees within a very short timeframe. In some cases, he claims, it delayed by over two months. The minister also states that AMEPIP terminated the contract of the independent expert needed to carry out the selections and that official minutes show part of the delays were caused by postponements and the non-participation of representatives designated by the authority.

In several of these procedures, AMEPIP itself had legal obligations without which the selections could not continue. The institution was supposed to designate its representatives to the committees within a very short deadline. In some cases, it delayed by over two months.

What comes next

The fine has been formally contested in court. One of the companies cited by AMEPIP is Romfilatelia, where, according to Darău, the Ministry of Economy was not a direct shareholder. The court challenge will determine whether the penalty stands or whether the minister's argument, that liability and fault do not transfer with the mandate, prevails.