Buzoianu: „A Wild West movie scenario” on the Romanian coast

More than 1,000 properties in coastal areas have been wrongfully transferred into private ownership, and over 4,000 structures have been built on these properties. For 25 years, with the complicity of various authorities, land that should have remained public has ended up in private hands. As a result, beaches have disappeared, and hotels and apartment complexes have been constructed along the seafront, leading to significant portions of the Romanian coastline being sold off.

Of the 2,131 properties identified in coastal areas, 1,033 are now privately owned by individuals or legal entities, meaning that nearly half are no longer publicly accessible. The report highlights that over 4,000 structures have been erected in these areas, ranging from small houses to hotels and multi-story apartment buildings.

„In 2022, following a major national scandal that revealed corruption leading to part of the seafront becoming privately owned, an interministerial group was established by order of the prime minister,” Buzoianu explained. The Ministry of the Environment coordinated this group, which was tasked with determining whether the issues were isolated or widespread. However, for three years, the report remained unaddressed. A month ago, Buzoianu replaced the individual coordinating the working group. In just one month, three extraordinary meetings were held, and thousands of documents were reviewed.

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The properties were transferred to private ownership and then sold

Local municipalities issued council decisions claiming that these properties belonged to the city, subsequently transferring them to private ownership and beginning to sell them. These actions were taken without the necessary government decisions, which are required for the transfer of land from public state ownership.

„All these transfers were made solely based on local council decisions that suddenly declared these lands were not public property of the state, but belonged to the respective municipalities,” the minister stated.

Apele Române has already initiated legal action to reclaim the land. The process will involve defining the public domain in coastal areas, identifying the boundaries of cliffs and beach lines, and urgently restoring public property rights for all currently privately owned properties.

Buzoianu has also established a working group to amend the beach law, which will consider legalizing some of these situations.