Română
Sixty non-governmental organizations from Romania sent an official letter today to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Deputy Secretary-General, Viviane d’Udekem d’Acoz, requesting the opening of an EU Pilot – a pre-infringement procedure through which the Commission verifies if a member state complies with European law – regarding draft law L143/2026.
This law allows the expropriation of citizens in favor of private mining companies and eliminates essential environmental procedures. Until now, the state could only take land and houses for public utility: roads, schools, hospitals. With this law, mining companies receive pre-emption rights over lands within mining perimeters, and the state can trigger expropriation if the landowner does not agree to yield their property for the benefit of the mining project.
The organizations point out that the initiators of the bill are falsely and abusively using Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 to justify a package of measures that are not only not required by the EU but flagrantly contravene European law and the Constitution of Romania.
“These measures are an attempt to force an expropriation regime in private interest, prohibited by both the Constitution and European law,” mentioned Stephanie Roth, representative of the Mining Watch Romania network, in the letter addressed to European officials.
The signatory organizations emphasize three essential facts:
- EU regulations apply directly — they are not transposed into national legislation.
- GEO 61/2025 has already created the institutional and procedural framework necessary for the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1252.
- L143/2026 introduces measures that do not appear in European legislation and have no connection to the implementation of the regulation.
“Under these conditions, the bill raises serious questions regarding legislative intent and possible abuses,” the official address submitted to Ursula von der Leyen states. Law L143/2026 would pave the way for expropriations in favor of commercial projects, grant pre-emption rights to private companies, and reduce environmental protection. At the same time, it would limit judicial control, restrict public participation, and concentrate sensitive decisions at the central level.
Organizations remind that Art. 44(3) of the Romanian Constitution prohibits expropriation in the private interest, and Art. 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and ECHR jurisprudence also prohibit such measures. The signatories warn that the adoption of L143/2026 would represent “a dangerous regression,” with the potential to reignite major social tensions and fuel anti-European discourse.
The organizations are asking the Commission to open the EU Pilot procedure with Romania, analyze the compatibility of L143/2026 with EU law, and publicly clarify that Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 does not justify the proposed measures. Furthermore, they aim to prevent the use of European legislation as a cover for domestic abuses.
The letter HERE.
