Commission launches investigation into Romania’s amended CE Oltenia restructuring plan
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Romania’s amended restructuring plan for CE Oltenia to determine if the proposed State aid complies with EU rules.
In January 2022, a restructuring aid of EUR 2.66 billion was conditionally approved and in December 2025 Romania notified an increase to EUR 2.86 billion and an extension of the restructuring period until the end of 2029. The delay is attributed to slower implementation of new solar and gas power plants, postponing the phaseout of CE Oltenia’s lignite plants. Romania cites regional energy security concerns, as CE Otelia supplies electricity to Moldova and Ukraine.
The Commission has decided to open an in-depth investigation to assess, in particular:
- whether the extended duration of the plan is reasonable and the plan still leads to restoring CE Oltenia’a long-term viability;
- whether the contribution from CE Oltenia, investors or financial institutions to increased restructuring costs is sufficient to ensure that the aid remains proportionate;
- whether Romania would put in place adequate additional measures to limit the distortions of competition created by the additional aid;
- whether the delays in the implementation of key steps of CE Oltenia’s restructuring plan were outside of CE Oltenia’s or Romania’s control.
The investigation allows Romania and interested third parties to submit comments without prejudging the outcome.
For more information, see the Commission’s PR.