The Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) believes the solution to reorganize the National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) and the Competition Council by merging the two entities is insufficiently substantiated and is in opportune. In a preliminary opinion, IPRE says that measures should be taken to improve the work, transparency and independence of the two institutions as separate entities and, if necessary, to identify the opportunities and risks of an eventual merger, IPN reports.

Opinion authors Calin Negură, energy expert, and Iulian Groza, IRPE executive director, said that as long as there are no objective arguments supported by independent assessments carried out with the involvement of international experts, the merger is inopportune. The speed of such an institutional reform will always be to the detriment of quality and will generate sustainability risks and risks related to the appearance of dysfunctions in the regulation of the two critical sectors of the national economy.

The IPRE experts recommend initiating an objective institutional assessment that would be based on an appropriate methodology supported by the stakeholders. The support and participation of representatives of the European Commission, the Energy Community Secretariat and the Energy Community Regulatory Board, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, the International Competition Network are necessary at all the stages of the institutional assessment and examination of international practices in the field.

The IPRE document was produced in the framework of the project “Increasing resilience to systemic kleptocracy in the Republic of Moldova” that is financially supported by the Soros Foundation Moldova.

The MPs of the Party of Action and Solidary a month ago announced that the National Agency for Energy Regulation and the Competition Council could be merged into the Authority for Regulation and Reforms. The initiative is being discussed at public debates.