The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) asked Romania to come up with a solution which should observe the principle of equity, the sources told MEDIAFAX. They added that, at this moment, capping compensation granted to people whose property was abusively seized during the communist period is the measure authorities will most likely take.
Other solutions, such as recapitalizing investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, would take too much time, and former owners might never receive compensation, or would require a major financial effort for the state budget, said the sources.
End-August, the state owned 6.17% of Fondul Proprietatea’s share capital, half of the shares owned in the previous month. Subscriptions in the fund stand at 13.778 billion lei (about EUR3.22 billion), while the fund has a share capital of RON13.405 billion.
End-2010, Romania was given 18 months to amend the legislation regarding compensation for nationalized property, after the ECHR said the way the state currently pays compensation is not efficient.
Fondul Proprietatea was set up to ensure the financial resources needed to pay compensation to persons abusively expropriated during the communist regime. (EUR1=RON4.2710)