The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Thursday adopted a bill on the car pollution tax, which amends the first registration tax criticized by the Court of Justice of the European Union. read more...

Romania on Thursday received a reasoned opinion from the European Commission, the second stage of an infringement procedure over the country’s failure to transpose EU rules on waste management into national legislation. read more...

Romania will apply the car pollution tax currently in effect until 2013, Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said Wednesday at a conference organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. read more...

Romania must resume dam construction and select viable locations included in dam construction plans drawn up before 1989, David Csaba, general manager of the National Water Administration (ANAR), told a news conference Friday. read more...

Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said Tuesday that, in mid-2012 or in 2013, he plans to eliminate the pollution tax paid upon a car's first registration and introduce a "green card" certifying the amount of emissions produced by the vehicle. read more...

Following its suspension from the trading of carbon emission certificates, Romania has lost ‘1.2 bln ( EUR – our note) at current prices, having certificates worth some 3 bln (EUR – our note) at 2008 prices’, Romanian President Traian Basescu stated during a visit to Rosia Montana yesterday. read more...

Romania's Government will make a decision regarding the new version of the car pollution tax in the next two weeks, while considering a new idea – to introduce a general pollution tax applicable to all cars, Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said Tuesday. read more...

Romania owns a surplus of 300 millions of CO2 certificates that were of great value three years ago when Romania could have easily obtained 3 billion euro if sold then. Meanwhile, they lost their value and the state could only get 1.2 billion euro. However, the government did not manage to sell the certificates as the necessary legislation was adopted last year only. A year after its adoption, the government realized that the legislation needs to be changed. read more...

The volcanic ash cloud from Iceland will not reach Romania until Friday night, Environment ministry informed on Friday. The institution quotes last minute information supplied by the London Volvanic Ash Advisory. read more...

Romania’s Constitutional Court rejected on Wednesday, with a majority of votes the claims that the tax on pollution is unconstitutional, Romanian news agency Mediafax reads. The decision will be motivated and published in the official journal. read more...

A team of Romanian researchers detected in Slanic Prahova traces of radioactive iodine in the rain water and sheep milk from the area. Romania’s Nuclear Physics Institute director Horia Hulubei declared for HotNews.ro that the values are so small that they have no impact on the population or the environment. read more...

The European Commission sued Belgium for not respecting maximum ceilings on air quality standards, imposed by the EU because Belgium did not manage to resolve the problem in eight areas of its country. Since Romania is also in the situation of not respecting these norms, the Commission will send a motivated request. Once received, Romania has two months to comply with the requests. Bucharest citizens breathed a polluted air three times higher than the maximum. read more...

Romgaz, Transgaz and Complexul Energetic Turceni (Turceni Energy Complex), three of the biggest energy companies controlled by the Romanian state, want to invest one billion euros in a technology, which is burgeoning in Europe. read more...

Japanese PM Naoto Kan declared on Tuesday that its government is in maximum alert in managing problems caused by the nuclear accident at Fukushima, AFP informs quoted by Japanese news agency Jiji. read more...

The radioactive cloud from the Fukushima nuclear plant will reach France on Wednesday but the risk of radioactive residues are negligible and will have no impact on the health of the population, the Nuclear Safety Agency declared. read more...

Japan increased the gravity level at Fukushima from 4 to 5 on a 7 scale, the Atomic Energy International Agency announced on Friday, quoted by Reuters. The level is similar to the one in 1979, following the accident at the Three Mile ISLAND Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania, US. read more...

Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said Friday on Radio France International tests for nuclear plants need to be more extensive after the situation in Japan, adding he is confident Romania’s nuclear plant would pass the tests and risk of radiation contamination is low. read more...

Romania is last in the European Union by the waste recycling rate, Environment Minister Lazlo Borbely said Thursday, adding that the Ministry will allot EUR1.2 billion until 2015 to improve this situation. read more...

Damages caused by floods in Romania exceeded EUR3 billion in the 2005-2010 interval, Pool of Insurance against Natural Disasters (PAID) general manager Marius Bulugea said Tuesday. read more...

The Romanian Government expects to collect about 2 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.2493) from the car pollution tax this year, up RON437.5 million compared to the sum estimated to have been collected in 2010 and triple compared to that collected in 2009. read more...