Romania's Consiliul Concurentei (Competition Council of Romania) has intensified its enforcement programme, issuing a fresh wave of investigations in early 2025. Sectors under particular scrutiny include retail, energy, digital platforms, and fast-moving consumer goods. Companies that have not reviewed their internal compliance policies since 2023 face a material risk of investigation – and the penalty exposure under current competition legislation can reach a substantial share of annual turnover.
The Competition Council is Romania's primary authority responsible for enforcing competition legislation, investigating cartel behaviour, reviewing merger notification obligations, and sanctioning market dominance abuses. Penalties issued in 2024 and early 2025 reflect a deliberate escalation in enforcement intensity. International companies active in Romania must assess their exposure to these rules without delay.
This alert explains which business categories are affected, the applicable threshold criteria, and the immediate steps international companies should take to manage their compliance position.
What has changed – the enforcement shift and its context
Romania's competition authority has announced a multi-sector enforcement push running through 2025 and into 2026. The authority is exercising its powers under competition legislation that aligns closely with EU antitrust rules. Three trends define the current enforcement environment.
First, the authority has expanded its use of dawn raid powers. Unannounced inspections are now conducted across a broader range of industries than in prior years. The authority has coordinated several of these actions with the European Commission, meaning that exposure extends beyond domestic proceedings.
Second, the leniency programme has been actively promoted. The programul de clementa (leniency programme) allows companies involved in cartel activity to seek a full or partial reduction in fines. The authority has signalled that leniency applications filed early in an investigation receive the most favourable treatment. Companies aware of historic price-fixing or market-allocation conduct should treat this window as time-sensitive.
Third, the authority has begun formal proceedings against several companies alleged to have abused a position of market dominance. Conduct under scrutiny includes exclusionary pricing, refusal to supply, and discriminatory contract terms imposed on downstream partners. For international groups with strong local market positions, this trend creates direct exposure.
For companies managing corporate disputes in Romania, it is worth noting that competition investigations can generate parallel civil claims from affected counterparties under Romanian civil procedure rules.
Who is affected – threshold criteria and business categories
The current enforcement push affects companies meeting any of the following conditions.
- Companies operating in retail, energy, pharmaceuticals, digital services, or fast-moving consumer goods – the authority's stated priority sectors for 2025.
- Businesses holding a significant share of a defined product or geographic market, which may constitute market dominance under Romanian competition legislation.
- Groups that have completed acquisitions in Romania without assessing merger notification thresholds under domestic competition rules.
- Companies party to distribution, supply, or pricing agreements that may contain clauses restricting competition.
- Entities that have received leniency-related information from a business partner and have not yet sought legal advice on their own position.
Merger notification obligations apply when the combined turnover of the parties exceeds thresholds set by Romanian competition legislation. These thresholds apply per transaction. Groups that have completed multiple acquisitions without individual filings face cumulative risk. The authority has taken the position that failure to notify a qualifying transaction constitutes a standalone infringement, regardless of whether the underlying merger raises substantive concerns.
For a comprehensive assessment of your company's exposure under competition law in Romania, engaging a lawyer in Romania with direct experience of Competition Council proceedings is the most effective first step.
What to do now – immediate action items
International companies active in Romania should treat the following steps as urgent priorities. The compliance deadline for voluntary internal review is effectively immediate: the authority can open an investigation at any point, and the strength of any leniency application or cooperation credit diminishes once proceedings are formally initiated.
- Audit existing agreements. Review all distribution, supply, agency, and pricing agreements for clauses that restrict resale prices, allocate territories, or limit customer access. These clauses are the most frequent trigger for investigations under Romanian competition legislation.
- Assess market position. Determine whether any group entity holds a dominant position in a Romanian product or geographic market. Dominance itself is not prohibited, but unilateral conduct by a dominant company is subject to heightened scrutiny.
- Review past transactions for merger notification gaps. Identify acquisitions completed in the past three years and verify whether any should have been notified to the Competition Council. Proactive disclosure carries significantly better outcomes than discovery by the authority.
- Prepare a dawn raid protocol. Ensure that senior management and on-site staff understand their rights and obligations during an unannounced inspection. A written protocol, distributed and rehearsed before any investigation, materially reduces the risk of inadvertent obstruction.
- Evaluate the leniency programme. If the company has knowledge of cartel conduct involving competitors or business partners, obtain legal advice on whether a leniency application is appropriate. The first applicant receives the most favourable treatment under the programme.
Companies with operations across multiple EU jurisdictions should also consider how a Romanian competition investigation interacts with proceedings in other member states. The European Competition Network enables the sharing of information between national authorities. An investigation opened in Romania can therefore inform parallel reviews elsewhere. Our analysis of competition enforcement developments in Portugal illustrates how these cross-border dynamics operate in a comparable EU civil law environment.
To receive an expert assessment of your company's competition law exposure in Romania, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
About Ferraz & Whitmore
Ferraz & Whitmore is an international law firm based in Lisbon, advising business clients across 46 jurisdictions. Our team combines Portuguese civil law expertise with English common law tradition to deliver cross-border legal solutions in competition law, regulatory compliance, and antitrust matters. We advise international companies facing Competition Council investigations, leniency programme decisions, and merger notification requirements in Romania and across EU member states. The firm's competition practice covers enforcement proceedings, compliance programme design, and dawn raid preparedness across both civil law and common law systems. As a law firm in Romania and across the EU, Ferraz & Whitmore supports in-house legal teams and C-suite executives who need results-oriented counsel when enforcement risk materialises. To discuss how current competition authority enforcement trends in Romania affect your business, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Ferraz & Whitmore assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@ferrazwhitmore.com.