State-owned flag carrier Tarom “will not be closed down,” since Romania has an agreement with the European Commission under which the company must receive another RON 65 million out of the state aid approved, former minister of transport and infrastructure, Ciprian Șerban, stated in his last press conference before leaving government on April 27, as reported by Agerpres.
The statement came in the context of trade unions protesting restructuring plans, potentially including the closing down of the company, as Tarom has recorded losses for the past ten years and it failed to observe the recovery plan linked to the latest state aid received, according to deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu.
Outgoing Social Democrat minister Ciprian Șerban, however, praised the work of Tarom management and argued that a good state asset should not be sold.
The Social Democrats (PSD) have submitted to Parliament a bill under which shares in profit-making state enterprises can not be sold before the end of 2027. The state-owned enterprises with losses over the past five years can have their shares lifted, though, under the bill.
Tarom has reported losses for the past ten years, except for 2024, when it reported losses following extraordinary income from the sale of some of its assets.
The bill was specifically designed to restrict the restructuring plans announced by deputy PM Gheorghiu in line with the commitment pledged by Romania under the Resilience Facility Plan.
Deputy PM Gheorghiu, responsible for the restructuring of state-owned enterprises under the National Relaunch and Resilience Plan (PNRR), reminded on April 22 that the Transport Ministry should decide by April 30 whether Tarom should be closed down or a strategic partner should be found.
“Nobody wants this company to be closed. [But] the company cannot sustain itself until now, with the business model it has, with the personnel structure it has,” deputy PM Gheorghiu explained, Digi24 reported.
She also announced that the recovery plan is heading toward failure.
“Tarom is carrying out a recovery plan approved by the European Commission. This means that the Romanian state is giving it some money to try to save it. This is not the first time the Romanian state has done this with Tarom. Unfortunately, Tarom has not managed to stick to this plan. It is not on schedule. A recovery plan assumes that you do not sink into losses. Last year, Tarom reached a loss of RON 186 million,” said the deputy prime minister.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Johnypan/Dreamstime.com)
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