The European Commission voted Friday to refer Romania back to the Court of Justice of the European Union, alleging that Romania had failed to fully comply with a 2018 Court of Justice judgment ordering Romania to fulfill its obligations under the Landfill Directive. The Commission has stated that Romania may face penalties for the time elapsed from the date of the judgment to achieving compliance as this will be their second referral to the court.

The Landfill Directive sets standards and provides guidelines for preventing or reducing as far as possible the detrimental effects of waste landfilling on human health and the environment. In the 2018 judgment, the court found that Romania had failed to close and rehabilitate 68 landfills operating without a permit as mandated by the Landfill Directive. The court had ordered Romania to comply with this obligation by 16 July 2009. Three years after the judgment, Romania has closed and rehabilitated 26 landfills. The Commission has alleged that 42 landfills are still operating and that Romania has not planned the necessary rehabilitation measures for many of them. The Commission expects Romania to take all the required measures to close and rehabilitate these landfills to comply with the 2018 judgment, considering their possible environmental and health risks.

In addition to this referral, the Commission has also called upon Romania, along with four other member states, to improve their treatment of waste in its October infringements package. In a letter of formal notice, the Commission has asked these member states to correctly apply the Landfill Directive and the Water Framework Directive in line with the zero pollution goal set by the European Green Deal and the Zero Pollution Action Plan. Romania has two months to respond to this letter of formal notice, after which the Commission may issue a reasoned opinion.