26 June 2025 – Parliament has approved in the first reading a draft law aimed at optimizing the process of obtaining permits, developed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization with support from the World Bank’s Competitiveness Enhancement Project. The draft was discussed within the Economic Council to the Prime Minister, alongside business community representatives and public authorities.

A permit is an official document issued by the state—such as a license, authorization, or certificate—that a person must obtain before engaging in certain economic activities. For example, an entrepreneur wishing to open a small café must obtain a sanitary permit, a public catering authorization, a fire safety clearance, and other documents—even if the space complies with all rules and could welcome clients the next day. This process is often bureaucratic, time-consuming, and costly.

The project proposes key solutions such as eliminating certain permits, converting them into simple notifications, merging multiple documents into one, reducing the scope of activities requiring permits, shortening issuance times, extending validity periods, or even removing expiration dates, as well as eliminating unjustified documentation requirements.

In total, the project covers over 80 permits—more than 30 will be transformed or eliminated, and over 50 will be simplified. The draft law also strengthens the quality assurance system in business regulation. It introduces clear mechanisms for tacit approval, new rules for real-time updates of the Public Services Portal (SIA GEAP), the obligation for full digitalization of procedures, and clear provisions for using official notifications as an alternative to permits.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.