Romania - Economic and Social Council

Institutional characteristics

1. Establishment

- Date of creation: July 2, 1997

- Year operational: 1997

- Nature of the texts that create the institution (Constitution, law, decree, etc.): 

Constitution and Law No. 222 of 24 July 2015 for the modification and completion of Law No. 248/2013 on the organization and functioning of the Economic and Social Council

- Have any changes in recent years happened concerning the nature, membership, capacities of the Institution.

It is for the first time in the history of the Romanian ESC that civil society holds the Presidency of the institution – a four-year term beginning in January 2021. According to the Law on its organization and functioning, the ESC has, among others, the attribution to elaborate analyses and studies on economic and social realities on its own initiative. This attribution has been de facto exercised, for the first time, under the new Presidency, in 2022.

2. Mandate

Consultation and advisory ✅

Negotiation ☐

Both ☐

3. Mission and attributions

The Economic and Social Council is a consultative body of the Parliament and the Government of Romania in the areas of expertise established by its Law. The mission of the ESC is to allow its members to participate in the decision-making process of the Government and the Parliament and thus to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the political decisions by enabling organized civil society to express its view at national level.

The ESC has the following attributions: to issue opinions on draft acts initiated by the Government, as well as on legislative proposals of deputies and senators; to elaborate analyses and studies on the economic and social realities at the request of the Government or the Parliament, or on its own initiative; to inform the Government and the Parliament of the emergence of economic and social phenomena that call for new regulations.

4. Composition :

- Number of members: 45

- Duration of the term: 4 years renewable term

- Membership categories: Employers’ associations (15 members), Trade unions (15 members), Civil society organizations (15 members)

- Process of designating the members (election, nomination, by whom, etc.):

The 15 members of each party are nominated by employers’ associations representative at national level, trade unions representative at national level and by the Prime Minister, at the proposal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, respectively.

5. Management organs

Presidium / Bureau / Cabinet / Other: Please specify role, composition, designation :

Plenary: composed of 45 members, 15 for each of the three parties. The ESC Plenary is responsible for the general activity of the ESC and has the following main duties: to issue opinions on draft acts initiated by the Government and the Parliament; to elect the ESC President on the proposal of the parties; to validate each of the three Vice-Presidents proposed by each party and the members of the Executive Bureau proposed by each party; to adopt the ESC Rules of Procedure; to establish the membership of the Standing Committees; to approve the ESC draft budget, as well as the report on the budgetary execution; to debate and adopt draft decisions drawn up by the Standing Committees; to designate the Secretary General. The members are designated as described at point 4. The ESC Plenary meets in ordinary sessions weekly or whenever necessary, when summoned by the President.

Executive Bureau: composed of the President of the ESC, three Vice-Presidents and three members representing the three parties. The Bureau runs the ESC between the Plenary sessions.

The President of the ESC is elected, on the proposal of the parties, by a three-quarters majority of the total number of the members of the ESC Plenary and has a four-year mandate. The Presidency rotates between the three parties. Among other attributions, the President represents the Institution before the Parliament, the Government and other public authorities, summons the Plenary and the Bureau, issues decisions.

The Vice-Presidents and the members of the Bureau are proposed by the three parties and are appointed during the first session of the renewed Plenary. The Vice-Presidents liaise with the organizations of the party they represent.

Assembly General / Plenary session / Other: Please specify role, frequencies of meeting: See above.

Technical Secretariat: represents the specialized technical and administrative apparatus of the ESC. It is composed of five departments (which support the activity of the Plenary in the following areas: opinion issuing, legal work, human resources, accounting, public procurement and international relations and public relations) and is headed by a Secretary-General. The Secretary-General is proposed by the Executive Bureau and is appointed by the Plenary.

6. Operational arrangement of the Permanent Secretariat

Yes ☐

No ☐

7. Gender balance (% of women)

Between 0% and 9% ☐

Equal or more than 10% ☐

Equal or more than 30% ✅

Equal or more than 50% ☐

8. Reporting Institution

Government ☐

Parliament ☐

Cabinet of President ☐

Cabinet of Prime Minister ☐

Ministry of Finance ☐

Ministry of Labour ☐

Ministry of Social Affairs ☐

Others (please specify): The ESC is an autonomous institution.

9. Budget

Amount :

Between $0 and $249,000 ☐

Equal or more than $250,000 ☐

Equal or more than $500,000 ☐

Equal or more than $750,000 ✅

Source of funding: State budget

III. Organizational Structure

1. Committees/Sub-committees/working groups:

• Plenary
• Executive Bureau
• President and Vice-Presidents
• Standing Committees, corresponding to the nine areas of expertise of the Council:
  • Committee on Economic Development, Competitiveness and the Business Environment;
  • Committee on Citizens’ Rights and Freedoms, Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment;
  • Committee on Labor Relations, Pay Policy, Social Inclusion, Social Protection and Health;
  • Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, the Environment and Sustainable Development;
  • Committee on Education, Youth, Sport, Research, Training and Culture;
  • Committee on Consumer Protection and Fair Competition;
  • Committee on Cooperation, Liberal Professions and the Self-Employed;
  • Committee on the Rights and Freedoms of Civil Society Organizations;
  • Committee on Public Administration and Public Order.
• Technical Secretariat

The ESC also has the right to set up temporary committees for specific issues. One temporary committee was set up by the end of 2021 and studies the housing problem in Romania, seeking to provide solutions to improve the legislative framework and the implementation of public policies in the field. The work of the committee is currently ongoing.

2. Is there in your country any institutions of social dialogue outside your institutions?

no

IV. Functioning of the ESC

1. Who convenes the Institution? The President convenes the ESC Plenary.

2. Has the Institution a legal right to issue own-initiative opinion? Yes.

3.How are decisions taken inside the Institution

By vote ✅

By consensus ✅

Concerning the activity of issuing opinions, decisions are adopted during the Plenary sessions by vote. However, as regards other decisions, according to the Law on the organization and functioning of the ESC, the Plenary adopts these by party consensus and if consensus cannot be reached, decisions are adopted by a three-quarters majority of the number of the ESC Plenary members attending the respective session.

4. What kind of payment do the Councillors receive: wage, compensation, other?

The Councillors receive compensations.

5. Is the Government obligated to follow the opinion issued by the Institution?

No. The consultation of the Economic and Social Council on draft acts initiated by the Government and on legislative proposals of deputies or senators is mandatory, but the opinions issued by the institution are advisory.

6. Is the Government obligated to report on the fate of the Institution opinions?

No

7. Are there official publications of the Institution opinions?

The opinions issued by the ESC are published on the ESC website: www.ces.ro.

8. Is the public opinion informed about the Institution works? How?

The public opinion is regularly informed about the Council’s works through the Institution’s website and Facebook page.

9. What kind of relationship does the ESC have with civil society?

Part of the Institution ✅

Institutionalised relation ☐

Uninstitutionalised relation ☐

Collaboration ☐

Participation in the drafting of reports ☐

Nothing at all ☐

V.Main technical areas of competencies

Agriculture ☐

Civil Society ☐

Corporate Social Responsibility ☐

Culture ☐

Education and Training ☐

Employment policy and labour market regulation ☐

Environmental Policy ☐

European Affairs ☐

Fiscal and Taxation Policies :☐

Fundamental principles and rights at work ☐)

Gender equality and anti-discrimination ☐

Governance ☐

Health and Medical Policy ☐

Infrastructure, Transport, and Energy Policies ☐

International affairs ☐

Labour Law reform ☐

Legal Affairs ☐

Productivity and competitiveness ☐

Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy and Industrial Policy ☐

Social Affairs ☐

Social Dialogue and Tripartism ☐

Industrial relations and Collective bargaining ☐

Dispute prevention and resolution ☐

Social Security and Social Protection ☐

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ☐

Territorial Management ☐

Workplace compliance and working conditions ☐

Youth Employment ☐

Other :

The areas of expertise of the ESC are:

• economic policies;
• financial and fiscal policies;
• labor relations, social protection, wage policy and the promotion of equal opportunities and equal treatment;
• agriculture, rural development, environment and sustainable development;
• consumer protection and fair competition;
• cooperatives, liberal professions and independent activities;
• civil rights and freedoms;
• health policies;
• education, youth, research, culture and sports policies.

The ESC issues opinions on draft legislative acts in all of the above-mentioned areas of expertise. The standing committees elaborate draft opinions on the respective draft acts and the Plenary votes them.

Also, the Institution has the right to carry out studies and analyses on its own initiative and a temporary committee was already set up in this sense, in 2021, studying, as mentioned above, the housing problem. All three parties of the ESC have proposed study topics for 2022, approved by the Plenary, for which other temporary committees should be set up in the coming months. The proposed study topics concern social dialogue, labour relations, youth policies and mental health.

VI. Brief description of major results obtained by your Institution in the last 3 years

Please give examples (Recommendations issued, Reports, Collective Agreements concluded, Conflict prevention and social peace obtained, National policies or legal frameworks including recommendations, Reform of your institution) and attached relevant documents

In the last three years, the ESC issued opinions on important draft legislative acts, such as those concerning the fiscal code, the state budget, the state social insurance budget, social protection measures in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic etc. There has been noted lately an increase in the number of opinions issued by the Institution that have been taken into consideration by the Government and the Parliament when drafting the final form of legislative acts.

Also, a major achievement of the Institution before the pandemic was holding the double Presidency of AICESIS and of UCESIF, respectively, between 2017 and 2019.