Romania: 919 Municipalities Risk Losing State Funds Over Ghiseul.ro Registration

Romania's digital administration is struggling to keep pace, with a significant number of local government bodies lagging in adopting online services. As of early August, 919 out of 3,187 municipalities had not yet registered on the Ghiseul.ro platform, the national system for online public service payments and transactions.

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Until August 25, all municipalities must be enrolled in the Ghiseul.ro platform. To date, over a quarter of Romania's municipalities have not fulfilled this legal obligation, namely 919 out of 3,187.

Interim Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu issued a stern warning, stating that these unregistered municipalities risk having state funding suspended if they do not comply by the August 25 deadline. The law mandates registration, and failure to do so carries financial penalties.

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Over 2.5 million Romanians cannot benefit today from the advantages of digitalization and are forced to go physically to the town hall.

Gheorghiu highlighted the direct impact on citizens, noting that over 2.5 million Romanians are currently unable to access digital services. This forces them to make physical trips to local government offices for transactions that could be handled online, causing inconvenience and inefficiency.

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In case of non-compliance with the deadline, the law provides for the suspension of local budgets, both from income tax shares and from amounts allocated from the state budget, intended for the equalization of local budgets, with some exceptions.

All 919 non-compliant municipalities received an official notification on August 5, reminding them of the 20-day window remaining to register. Gheorghiu emphasized that widespread adoption of Ghiseul.ro is crucial for modernizing public administration, bringing efficiency, transparency, and trust. She also suggested that Romania urgently needs administrative reform and a reduction in the number of municipalities.

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Digitalization brings efficiency, transparency, and trust in public institutions.