Treceți la conținutul principal

Romanian land market effectively liberalized on Jan. 1, 2014


Under the Treaty of Accession to the European Union, Romania is bound to open its land market to EU citizens as of January 1, 2014, which will change the existing ownership regime that allowed only legal entities to buy land.
In order to restrict transactions with farmland, the Ministry of Agriculture initiated a bill that cleared Parliament on December 17, 2013, yet with some amendments, one of which refers to the removal of the pre-emption right for people up to 40 year old.
Thus, in the case of sales of farmland outside city boundaries, beginning 2014, the owners can sell under observance of the pre-emption right of individual co-owners, tenants, individual neighbours and the Romanian state. Under the new law, Romanian citizens, citizens of other EU member states, citizens of states that are parties to the European Economic Area Agreement (EEAA), stateless persons residing in Romania, in an EU Member State or a state party to the EEAA, as well as legal persons having the nationality of an EU Member State or of a state that is party to the EEAA will be allowed to acquire land outside city boundaries.
Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin considers that the law addresses the needs of those living in rural areas.
The law also provides for the establishment of the Authority for Land Market Management and Regulation which will take over the activity, staff and assets of the State Property Agency and which will report to the Prime Minister.
According to the RO PAC Alliance, the bill on the sale and purchase of agricultural land by foreigners proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture amounts to a sort of "land expropriation", having rather the purpose of blowing into the sails of European speculators.
"Through incorporated companies, foreigners already hold in Romania between 1 and 1.2 million hectares of land, but so far we haven't seen foreigners effectively work these surfaces. It's still the Romanian farmers who do the tilling and the foreigners collect the subsidy provided by the EU. The output of this land does not enter the agricultural circuit either, but is directed to energy crops. ( ... ) The real disaster that grips the Romanian land market will be visible after the law is enforced," says RO PAC president and chairman of the Romanian Cattle Breeders Federation Claudiu Franc.
On the other hand, MADR representatives consider that this law also pursues the merger of agricultural plots into larger farms and the establishment of economically viable holdings, given that the agricultural middle class has no longer been offered support in recent years. Currently, 11,000 large-size farmers with over 30 hectares each hold a total of 4.5 million hectares and collect half of the subsidies, while 800,000 farmers have just between 1 and 5 hectares. Romanian farmers can take out loans with an interest of 6% for domestic lei from two banks to purchase agricultural land and can benefit from state guarantees on loans up to a limit of 50% for the same purpose.
Currently, about 8 % of Romania's arable land is used by foreigners who acquired farmland under the terms of the legislation in force or who have leased land under observance of the two limitations set forth in the Civil Code. Thus, individuals are required to reside in Romania, and legal persons or associations must be headquartered in Romania if they want to own or work land.
According to data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), at the end of 2011 foreigners were holding more than 700,000 hectares of agricultural land in Romania, representing 8.5 pct of the country's arable surface. In a ranking of foreign land buys, Italy ranked first with 24.29 pct, followed by Germany with 15.48 pct and Arab countries with 9.98 pct.
Hungary accounts for 8.17 pct of the more than 700,000 hectares of land bought in Romania by non-residents, followed by Spain (6.22 pct), Austria (6.13 pct), Denmark (4.52 pct), Greece and the Netherlands (2.4 pct each) and Turkey (0.78 pct).
At present, the price of a hectare of farmland can start from 2,000 euros and can go up to 18,000 euros, but if the irrigation system is restored, these figures will shoot up towards the EU average of EUR 30,000 plus.
Romania has 13.298 million hectares of farmland of which about 9 million hectares are arable land.
(Agerpres/03.01.14)
Etichete:

Comentarii

Trimiteți un comentariu

Postări populare de pe acest blog

Strategia (inexistenta) a exporturilor guvernului Boc

Decizia concernului Nokia de a delocaliza productia din Romania a fost trecuta de catre Guvernul Romaniei la capitolul "fapt divers". Ei, si ce?, parca nu o sa vina altii in locul lor!, au dat de inteles dl Boc si altii din anturajul sau. Este, inca odata, expresia lipsei de personalitate si de demnitate pe care Executivul de la Bucuresti o manifesta fata de probleme de mare interes pentru economia tarii, pentru statutul Romaniei in actuala conjunctura internationala.  Cand Nokia a plecat de la Bochum/Germania pentru Jucu/Cluj, nemtii s-au mobilizat cu mic cu mare (guvern si salariati) pentru a protesta fata de masura managementului finlandez. Au obtinut despagubiri serioase, cel putin pentru cei ramasi fara loc de munca. Acum, cand aceiasi "nomazi" de la Nokia inchid portile la Jucu, guvernul Boc nu incearca, macar, un gest de explicatie, ca sa nu vorbim de daune-interese (avand in vedere sumele mari de bani alocate de catre guvern pentru amenajarea parcului indust...
Trimiteți un comentariu
Citiți mai multe

Căderea Egiptului

Maghrebul arab este in degringolada. La aproape o luna si o saptamana de la fuga dictatorului tunisian, Ben ali, Piata Tahrir (Libertatii, in limba araba) din Cairo "elibereaza" Egiptul. Miile si zecile de mii de protestatari, zi si noapte, au pus atata presiune incat puterea nu a mai rezistat. Presedintele Hosni Mubarak si-a data demisia, dupa ce cu o seara inainte credea ca face concesii strazii, prin transferarea unei parti a prerogativelor catre vicepresedintele tarii. Egiptul a aruncat "tirania" la cosul istoriei. Impactul acestei revolutii este cu totul altul decat cel din Tunisia. Egiptul este cea mai mare, cea mai influenta tara din Maghebul si Mashrekul (vestul si estul) arab. Egiptul a fost, dupa caderea imperiilor, "farul" civilizatiei arabe moderne. Nimic in regiune nu s-a realizat, din punct de vedere politic, diplomatic sau economic fara stirea si acordul Egiptului. Nici "unchiul Sam" nu facea nimic fara consultarea tarii piramidelo...
8 comentarii
Citiți mai multe

Despre problema ţărănească

L-am cunoscut, în ultima vreme, înainte de a muri, pe Victor Surdu mai îndeaproape. O relaţie profesionala, sa zic. Omul degaja încă generozitate si dorinţa de a face bine ţărănimii române. Acesta a fost un crez puternic  al lui Victor Surdu, inginer agronom si politician pentru cauza rurală. Printre puţinii, probabil, dedicat acestei cauze după '89. Partidul lui, Partidul Democrat Agrar din România a avut o existenţă zbuciumată si efemeră. A fost înfiinţat în 1990 si a dispărut (fiind înghiţit de unul fantomă, al lui Virgil Magureanu, în 1998). Problema ţărănimii române nu s-a îmbunătăţit nici pe vremea cand partidul lui Victor Surdu milita, chiar pe băncile uneia sau alteia din camerele parlamentului, si nici după. Am putea spune, chiar, ca starea ţărănimii s-a degradat, sărăcia a cuprins ca o viroză satele româneşti, locuitorii din rural au fost si...
Trimiteți un comentariu
Citiți mai multe