Vice Premier Gheorghiu: 'Some State Companies, Like Petrotrans, Can No Longer Be Saved'

Adevărul reports on the stark assessment by Vice Premier Oana Gheorghiu regarding the dire state of certain Romanian state-owned companies. Gheorghiu's candid remarks point to an irreversible situation for entities like CFR Marfă and Petrotrans, emphasizing the need for decisive state action to cut losses and avoid prolonged, costly bankruptcies.

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There are companies that can no longer be saved. We are talking about CFR Marfă, we are talking about Petrotrans.

The Vice Premier's critique is particularly sharp concerning the prolonged liquidation processes. She cited Petrotrans, a company in bankruptcy since 2007, as a prime example where the system benefits liquidators, accountants, and archiving firms through open-ended mandate contracts. Gheorghiu highlighted the absurdity of liquidators earning fees for nearly two decades and the state continuing to pay significant sums for a defunct pipeline, while the company's assets, including the pipelines themselves, have been lost or stolen.

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The liquidation procedures over time have been very long, and from these have benefited, usually, the liquidators, who collect a fee every month, regardless of how long the procedure lasts, because the mandate contracts were not, from my perspective, contracts signed with responsibility, in which to set a maximum period for this liquidation, this bankruptcy to end.

From a Romanian perspective, this exposé on state-owned enterprise mismanagement and the inefficiencies of the judicial and administrative systems is a recurring theme. The article implicitly criticizes the lack of accountability and the systemic issues that allow such situations to fester for years, draining public funds. Gheorghiu's position as Vice Premier lends significant weight to these criticisms, suggesting a high-level recognition of the problem and a potential push for reform.

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Thus, in the absence of firm contracts in favor of the Romanian state, here we are, reaching 19 years of bankruptcy in which the insolvency company has earned fees, the accounting company has earned fees, a company that does archiving has also earned some money.

The mention of CFR Marfă alongside Petrotrans indicates that these are not isolated incidents but potentially symptomatic of broader challenges within Romania's state-owned sector. The article, by detailing the financial drain and the loss of assets, serves as a warning call to the government and the public about the urgent need for restructuring or liquidation of non-viable state enterprises. The tone is one of frustration and urgency, reflecting a sentiment that the current approach is unsustainable and detrimental to the national interest.

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And since 2014, I hope I'm not mistaken about the year, the Romanian state has been paying a fee of 20, almost 28,000 euros to a family that owns land under which theoretically passes a Petrotrans pipeline.