Romania - AI Legislative Proposal (L255/2024)

Overview

This verification report concerns the absence of a consolidated, enacted Romanian "AI Act Implementation Law" as of the verification timestamp. No final national statute expressly titled or presented as an implementing law for the EU Artificial Intelligence Regulation was located. The principal verifiable national primary material is a parliamentary proposal titled "Propunere legislativă privind Inteligența Artificială" (registered in the Senate as L255/2024 and in the Chamber as PLX336/2024), which was introduced on 2024-03-19, examined by Senate committees, received negative advisory opinions from the Consiliul Legislativ and the Consiliul Economic şi Social, was rejected in the Senate plenary on 2024-05-21 and subsequently transmitted to the Chamber of Deputies on 2024-05-27. The Government recorded a negative point of view on 2024-06-05. In the absence of an enacted national implementing statute, Romania remains primarily bound by the directly applicable EU Artificial Intelligence Regulation (EU AI Act), and national implementing measures (designation of competent authorities, market surveillance arrangements, and secondary administrative rules) are expected to follow the EU regulation's entry into force. (Primary parliamentary record: https://www.senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx?an_cls=2024&nr_cls=L255)

Definitions

EU AI Act / Act on Artificial Intelligence — the Union regulation establishing harmonised, directly applicable rules for artificial intelligence across Member States including classification of AI systems, prohibited practices and applicability timelines; this EU regulation is the primary binding instrument for Member States (official consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj?eliuri=eli%3Areg%3A2024%3A1689%3Aoj&locale=ro&utm_source=openai). Propunere legislativă privind Inteligența Artificială (PLX336/2024 / Senate L255/2024) — the Romanian parliamentary bill introduced 19 March 2024 that sought to regulate AI at the national level; it is a draft parliamentary initiative and not an enacted implementing law, and it received negative advisory opinions from official advisory bodies (Senate legislative file and advisory PDFs available on the Senate portal: https://www.senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx?an_cls=2024&nr_cls=L255).

Governance and Institutional Framework

Primary national contact points referenced in public materials include the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization and the Autoritatea Națională pentru Cercetare (ANC), which are active on national AI strategy and hub initiatives. However, in official, final legal texts no formal national delegated "AI implementation law" designating a single national competent authority for enforcement (for example, a market surveillance authority or a dedicated AI regulator) was located. Parliamentary processing of the bill invoked relevant committees including the Commission for Communications, IT and Artificial Intelligence and the Commission for Science, Innovation and Technology; procedural documents and committee reports are recorded on the Senate legislative portal. Where national administrative capacity and contact points are referenced, these appear in national strategy and ministry communications rather than in an implementing statute (see Romanian national research authority materials: https://www.research.gov.ro/).

Key Focus Areas

• Relationship to EU AI Regulation — The EU AI Regulation is the directly applicable, primary source of binding obligations for Romania. Member States are expected to adopt implementing measures required by the EU text (such as designation of national authorities, penalty bands, and market surveillance arrangements) after the EU instrument enters into force; national implementing steps are therefore dependent on EU timing and the phased application schedule set by the EU act. (EU consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj?eliuri=eli%3Areg%3A2024%3A1689%3Aoj&locale=ro&utm_source=openai)
• National legislative proposals — The parliamentary bill PLX336/2024 (Senate file L255/2024) proposed a domestic AI regulatory framework but was criticised in official advisory opinions. The Consiliul Legislativ advised that direct incorporation or referral to a not-yet-in-force EU regulation was premature; the Consiliul Economic şi Social found the draft insufficiently grounded. Senate committee reports and the plenary vote led to rejection in the Senate, and the draft is therefore not an implementing law. Advisory PDFs and committee documentation are available on the Senate site. (Senate legislative file: https://www.senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx?an_cls=2024&nr_cls=L255)

Implementation Framework

The observed and expected national implementation framework follows a phased approach aligned to the EU instrument's timeline. Short-term activity (prior to EU Act entry into force) focuses on national strategy development, administrative preparation, establishment of coordination bodies and hubs (for example HRIA hub activities), and identification of likely national contact points and capacity for market surveillance and conformity assessment. Medium-term activity (after EU entry into force) is expected to include formal designation of national authorities and adoption of implementing secondary rules (administrative orders, government decisions, or ministerial regulations) as required by the EU Regulation. Long-term developments may include sectoral alignment and adoption of national measures limited to areas not pre-empted by the EU Regulation, including enforcement arrangements that remain consistent with EU-level rules. The Consiliul Legislativ explicitly recommended that Romania adopt implementing measures after the EU texts are final and in force to avoid inconsistency. (See Consiliul Legislativ opinion and national research authority publications on strategy and hub development.)

Monitoring and Evaluation

At present, monitoring and evaluation of AI policy in Romania is performed through the national strategy process (for example activities of the Comitetul Român pentru Inteligență Artificială and hub initiatives) and via parliamentary review of legislative proposals. No statutory monitoring framework tied to an enacted national AI implementation law (with required review cycles specified in law) was located. The Consiliul Legislativ recommended that national review and alignment follow EU timing; therefore formal national monitoring and statutory review cycles are expected to be developed in conjunction with or after adoption of EU-mandated implementing measures.

Penalties, Liability, and Appeals

No consolidated Romanian implementing statute setting national penalty bands, criminal liability, or administrative sanction frameworks for breaches of an "AI implementation law" was located. The parliamentary draft PLX336/2024 included proposed provisions on enforcement and sanctions that were criticised in advisory opinions for lack of clarity and prescriptive precision; the Consiliul Legislativ advised that any enforcement and sanction regimes should be consistent with the EU framework once the EU Regulation is in force. Users should therefore assume that binding penalty and liability regimes will be established in conformity with EU-level requirements and any permitted national implementing measures following EU entry into force.

Relationship to Other Instruments

Romania remains bound by EU law—specifically the directly applicable EU Artificial Intelligence Regulation when it enters into force—and by existing national laws governing data protection, consumer protection, product safety and criminal law. The Consiliul Legislativ noted that a national law cannot appropriately "complete" a not-yet-in-force EU regulation; Member States should adopt implementing measures after the EU instrument is final. The parliamentary proposal PLX336/2024 attempted to legislate nationally in a manner that advisory bodies found premature or inconsistent with that guidance. Consequently, immediate legal compliance planning should prioritise obligations under the EU AI Regulation and relevant sectoral national legislation (e.g., data protection obligations under national implementation of the GDPR).

International Alignment

Romania's national strategy and hub initiatives explicitly align with EU priorities and European research programmes (such as Horizon) and reflect the Member State obligation to implement the EU AI regulatory framework. Any future national implementing law will need to be consistent with the EU AI Regulation and with relevant international soft-law principles (including OECD and UN guidance) to ensure cross-border coherence and interoperability. National strategy communications and hub initiatives published by official national bodies indicate alignment with EU research and policy priorities.

Implementation Timeline

Sources and References