How bush the state apparatus in Romania is: there are almost 14,000 public institutions. How many are at the central administration and at the local one

The cancellation of some state institutions and/or their merging is, these days, on the list of proposals analyzed by the leaders and negotiators of the parties that could form the future government. Hotnews asked the Ministry of Finance given to the number of public entities, to reveal the proportions of the Romanian state apparatus.

The Ministry of Finance transmitted that, at this moment, there are 13,949 public institutions. Of these, 2,573 belong to the central public administration. These are those agencies, authorities, institutes, administrations, centers, kings, offices, commissions, departments, committees, units, etc. coordinated at central level.

The remaining 11,376 state entities belong to the local public administration – mayors and local councils. The list at local level also includes public institutions in pre -university education.

“In the discussions with the leaders of the parties, everyone agreed that it does not work as it went and that we must do those restructuring of the state apparatus, that we must reduce the allowances of the people from various administrative councils and to combine institutions,” said President Nicușor Dan on Wednesday.

Nearly 40 entities only at SGG and subordinated to the Prime Minister

Discussions about the combination of some institutions took place, but no measures were taken.

In the central apparatus of the Government there are areas for which several agencies or authorities operate at the same time, with activities that overlap or complement, according to an analysis by HotNews at the beginning of the year. Some are in the direct subordination of the Executive, others are in the coordination of the ministries and there are also authorities under the control of the Parliament.

In the subordination of the Prime Minister and the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) there are almost 40 government entities (agents, institutes, administrations, commissions, offices, etc.), according to a response of the SGG to Hotnews.

Regarding the fact that in some of the institutions the activity overlaps with others, SGG argued that “this aspect is the subject of government analysis” in order to combine.

Some of the agencies had to be combined until the end of June 2024. Specifically, a government efficiency had to be carried out until June 30, 2024, by combining at least 20% of the number of agencies, according to Law 296/2023 on some fiscal-budgetary measures. This was not done.

“The institutes, the national institutes, the agencies, the authorities, the specialized commissions organized as distinct structures, regardless of their name and the forms of organization, the departments organized distinctly in the organizational structure of the General Secretariat of the Government, under the subordination/coordination/authority of the General Secretariat of the Government or for which the Secretary General of the Government fulfills the position of the Government, fulfills the position of the main authority, Their number, ”writes in the law.

Three energy regulators and four nuclear energy institutions

Many areas are repeated in the case of regulators. For example, in the field of energy, the Government coordinates several separate institutions. And this under the conditions in which the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), which is subject to Parliament's control.

In addition to ANRE, there are two regulators: the national regulatory authority in the field of mining, oil and geological storage of carbon dioxide (ANRMPSG) and the competent authority of regulating offshore oil operations (Acropo).

In the field of nuclear energy, three institutions operate – one in the Government, which is called the National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities, and three in the subordination of the Ministry of Energy: the Nuclear Agency and for Radioactive Waste, the Autonomous Directed Technologies for Nuclear Energy and the National Center for Heavy Water Management.