Is there any process in Romania that has moved at a more glacial pace than the listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (“BVB”) of Fondul Proprietatea, aka the Property Fund (the “Fund”)? If there is, The Romanian Digest is unaware of it.

Tinged with indolence, and fraught with inexplicable and intolerable indifference, the process of restitution for the victims of the former Romanian communist regime has languished pointlessly for years through successive Governments. The compensation afforded to the victims where in-kind restitution is unavailable is through shares in the Property Fund – an entity with assets that are among the finest and best performing companies in Romania. The process to finalize such compensation through listing the Fund on the BVB has dragged on for five years as more and more victims succumb to old age never to obtain justice in their lifetime. Under increasing pressure from the EU and, most significantly, from the United States, progress at listing the Fund is finally inching forward. Since the publication of our last article on the subject in the Romanian Digest™ in June 2009, see: http://www.hr.ro/digest/200906/digest.htm (“What in Heaven’s Name is Happening with Fondul Proprietatea?”), the agreement to retain Franklin Templeton as the Fund’s management company was finalized and the procedure for the registration of the Fund with the Romanian National Securities Commission (“CNVM”) was initiated.

But many months have gone by without Government action to pass the amendments to Emergency Ordinance 81/2007 (“GEO 81/2007”) that are essential in order to list Fondul Proprietatea. The Ordinance has been placed on the agenda of Government meetings by the Minister of Finance weekly but, without explanation, it was removed from the agenda as many times. Without passage of the Ordinance as amended, the process of providing rest