The preventive concordat in Romania in the context of Insolvency Law and European rules: Categories of claims, enforcement mechanism, and implications for creditors (Statistics)

How can creditors recover their legal claims in the preventive concordat procedure vs. insolvency proceedings in Romania

With the implementation of Directive No. 2019/1023, through amendments to the insolvency law on pre-insolvency and insolvency proceedings, the preventive concordat procedure now requires the establishment of categories of claims and any related subcategories, with the exception of debtors whose turnover did not exceed EUR 500,000 in the previous year and who have the option of not dividing claims into categories. This regulation was necessary to avoid possible abuse, as the possibility for debtors to impose the restructuring proceedings on creditors who voted against it (cross-class cram-down) had to be accompanied by mechanisms to verify the extent to which the composition plan complies with the fair and equitable treatment of all claims included in the plan. This article analyses the preventive concordat procedure in Romania and the pre-insolvency mechanism in Romania, the benefits of suspending enforcement proceedings and the implications of the creditors’ vote, while also offering practical legal solutions and updated statistics on the evolution of companies entering insolvency at national level.

According to official data compiled by the ONRC (National Trade Register Office), the number of insolvency cases is expected to decline nationwide in 2025. Although only data for the period 01.01.2025 – 30.09.2025 is available, it indicates a decrease in the volume of newly opened proceedings. Thus, in the first nine months of 2025, 4,698 professionals went into insolvency, down from 5,119 in the same period of 2024, representing a negative trend of -8.22% at the national level. The trend is also confirmed in the capital, where 833 insolvencies were reported in 2025, compared to 912 in the corresponding period of 2024 (a reduction of 8.66%). For 2024 as a whole, the complete data show a total of 7,274 professionals entering insolvency nationwide (January 1, 2024–December 31, 2024). By comparison, the partial figures for 2025 indicate, at least until September, a possible continuation of this downward trend, although final confirmation depends on reports for the last months of the year.

The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates, internationally recognized for its extensive experience in insolvency and preventive concordat proceedings in Romania, recommends consulting a specialized corporate lawyer, personal insolvency practitioner, for guidance on company insolvency, declaring insolvency, or filing bankruptcy for debt. Our legal services include asset and liability valuation, debt recovery in insolvency procedure, debt recovery in Romania, and debt collection in Romania, ensuring every creditor is properly represented. We also advise on restructuring mechanisms such as the companies creditors arrangement act, company voluntary arrangement, creditors voluntary arrangement, and insolvency voluntary arrangement in Romania. With the support of a company lawyer, an insolvency lawyer in Romania, and a debt recovery lawyer, all steps in the preventive concordat or insolvency procedure are managed efficiently, following the appropriate debt recovery procedure and clarifying matters related to company bankruptcy in Romania.

Commercial lawyer in Romania. Preventive concordat procedure: How it ensures the debtor’s recovery and the suspension of enforcement proceedings

The preventive concordat in Romania is a judicial procedure for preventing insolvency, regulated by insolvency Law 85/2014, which aims to recover the activity of the debtor in financial difficulty, defined as a temporary impairment of economic activity that jeopardizes the ability to pay debts when due. A major legal effect of initiating the procedure is the automatic suspension of all individual enforcement proceedings against the debtor. The recovery is achieved by implementing a restructuringplan (or preventive concordat) detailing the terms of full or partial repayment of the affected claims, which becomes applicable only after a majority vote by the affected creditors and mandatory approval by the bankruptcy judge.

This procedure is usually initiated at the request of a debtor in financial difficulty, but there are clear exceptions regarding persons excluded from this right (those who have benefited from a preventive concordat in the last three years, those convicted of certain intentional crimes, or those already in insolvency). The preventive concordat procedure in Romania may also be initiated at the request of a creditor holding a certain and liquid claim, subject to the essential condition of obtaining the debtor’s prior consent. The request to open the procedure is judged by the bankruptcy judge in chambers, on an urgent basis, with the parties being summoned within 48 hours, and the legal requirements provided for by insolvency law are fulfilled by the issuance of a decision to open the procedure.

A commercial lawyer specializing in insolvency in Romania, together with a personal insolvency practitioner, can provide expert legal assistance to ensure that any insolvency application, company insolvency application, or request for declaring insolvency complies with insolvency law. They verify that all insolvency conditions are met and that the documents required for opening proceedings under the law are correctly prepared, helping companies avoid situations leading to company bankruptcy or filing bankruptcy for debt in Romania.

In addition, a business lawyer and a debt recovery lawyer assist with debt recovery in insolvency procedure, debt recovery in Romania, and debt collection in Romania, advising on the financial situation of an insolvent company and supporting the proper assessment of assets and liabilities. They guide companies with debts through simplified insolvency or bankruptcy stages and help distinguish insolvency vs. bankruptcy. When necessary, procedures may also involve mechanisms such as the companies’ creditors arrangement act, company voluntary arrangement, creditors voluntary arrangement, insolvency voluntary arrangement, and a conciliation administrator to establish a viable recovery plan. Throughout the process, the interests of each creditor are protected and the appropriate debt recovery procedure in Romania is followed.

Debt recovery lawyer in Romania. Categories of claims in the preventive concordat – the debtor’s right to affect or exclude debts from the plan

Within the preventive concordat procedure, Article 24 (1) of insolvency law provides that the restructuring plan proposed by the debtor must include the list of claims, grouped by categories of claims and divided into: claims whose achievement will be affected by the restructuring plan, indicating the degree of their satisfaction; unaffected claims together with a description of the reasons why the debtor proposes not to be affected by the restructuring plan in Romania.

The division into categories of claims in the preventive concordat procedure in Romania is similar, almost identical, to that already existing in insolvency matters: claims with preferential rights, salary claims, claims of indispensable creditors, budgetary claims, other claims. It is not mandatory to encounter all the categories of claims listed in the law, as the legislator’s aim is to ensure the division of claims to be affected by the restructuring plan, either through rescheduling or haircut, by reference to the common interests of creditors.

Unaffected claims are claims that are not directly modified by a composition plan; any claim that is not included in the list of affected claims is an unaffected claim. Conversely, affected claims are those claims that are modified by the composition plan in terms of amount, guarantees, or payment terms, including through debt rescheduling.

In this regard, the debtor proposes dividing the claims into categories and has the right to decide which claims remain outside the restructuring, claims not directly affected by the plan, provided that the debtor justifies its decision and the exclusion is well-founded. The justification for the unaffected debt regime may be economic, for example, the existence of another agreement with the creditor, or strategic, for example, very small debts or debts owed to creditors who are hostile to any restructuring in Romania.

A company lawyer and a debt collection lawyer in Romania is essential for any creditor seeking debt recovery, money recovery, or claims recovery from companies in preventive conciliation or during the takeover of a company with debts, including cases handled by debt collectors. With the support of a commercial lawyer in Romania, a debt recovery lawyer in Romania, a personal insolvency practitioner in Romania, non-compliant claims can be challenged, improving debt recovery in insolvency procedure, debt recovery in Romania, and debt collection in Romania. They also assess company insolvency, declaring insolvency, the risk of company bankruptcy, filing bankruptcy for debt in Romania, and clarify insolvency vs. bankruptcy under the insolvency law in Romania.

The analysis may include simplified insolvency, the administrator’s role in the stages of bankruptcy, and the use of procedures such as the companies’ creditors arrangement act, company voluntary arrangement, creditors voluntary arrangement, and insolvency voluntary arrangement in Romania. When needed, the creditor may file an insolvency petition, a company insolvency petition, or other applications within the debt recovery procedure in Romania.

Insolvency lawyer in Romania. Creditor rights and obligations in the preventive concordat procedure

The unaffected claims mentioned in the preventive concordat in Romania shall be treated as provided for in the documents from which they arise and shall not be directly affected by the measures provided for in the plan. Creditors with unaffected claims and creditors with claims arising after the approval of the plan and unpaid at maturity may initiate enforcement proceedings, with the obligation to notify the debtor. They may participate in negotiations with the debtor regarding the conditions for joining the plan, with the possibility of granting appropriate protections.

Creditors affected by the restructuring plan in Romania receive the quarterly analysis report prepared by the administrator, and exercise their rights by voting at the creditors’ meeting. In the event of discovery of forgery, fraud, a material error, or previously unknown decisive titles, any creditor may challenge the inclusion in the list of claims of a claim that is: non-existent or fictitious; in an amount different from its extent; in a category of claims other than that corresponding to its legal situation.

An insolvency lawyer in Romania helps protect the creditor in composition proceedings, increasing the chances of recovering money, recovering debts, or recovering debts from legal entities, including in cases involving insolvency or advice from debt collectors. With the help of our legal team in Romania, we can challenge incorrectly recorded claims, assess the risk of company insolvency in Romania, declaring insolvency in Romania, or possible company bankruptcy in Romania, and determine whether simplified insolvency or other procedures are needed to avoid filing bankruptcy for debt. The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates provides assistance in contesting claims, managing debt recovery in insolvency procedure, ensuring effective debt recovery in Romania and debt collection in Romania, and preparing insolvency petitions, company insolvency petitions, or other applications within the debt recovery procedure, with the support of commercial litigation, company lawyer and a debt recovery lawyer in Romania.

Corporate lawyer in Romania. The restructuring plan: Challenges and possible solutions

In order for a restructuring plan in Romania to be approved through “cross-class cram-down,” the plan must be voted on by at least one category of “in-the-money” creditors—creditors who would receive something even in the event of bankruptcy—as well as at least 30% of the affected claims. in the preventive preventive concordat in Romania, the debtor cannot rely on the category of unaffected creditors, as they do not vote on the restructuring plan in Romania.

The distinction between affected and unaffected claims may represent a real chance for debtors to have the plan approved and save their business, given that the plan is voted on only by creditors whose claims will be affected, and through approval and implementation, the plan becomes enforceable against all affected creditors, even if some have voted against it. For creditors willing to give up something in the negotiations, the composition agreement may offer greater chances of recovering their claims, the advantage of the preventive concordat in Romania being that they can compel the debtor to negotiate in a much shorter time than in the classic judicial reorganization procedure.

It is not excluded that, in order to abuse the right to vote, the debtor, in collusion with certain creditors, may deliberately create certain categories of claims in order to secure the votes necessary for the approval of the restructuring plan. However, until proven otherwise, the holder of the right benefits from the presumption of good faith (bona fides praesumitur). Insolvency Law 85/2014 regulates the possibility for the bankruptcy judge to verify compliance with the guarantees provided by law regarding the categories of claims and the reasons for the exclusion of some creditors, either ex officio or at the request of the creditors.

“The preventive preventive concordat procedure in Romania is an essential pre-insolvency judicial framework, with the main objective of restructuring companies in financial difficulty. The success of the restructuring depends on the implementation of a viable plan, based on a correct classification of liabilities and compliance with the principle of fair treatment of all affected creditors.” said Dr. Radu Pavel, Managing Partener of the The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates

“The voting and approval mechanisms provide creditors with enhanced procedural safeguards against unilateral decisions by the debtor. Court oversight remains crucial to ensuring that the approved plan complies with legal priorities and maximizes the recovery rate of claims, thereby strengthening confidence in the business environment in Romania.” said Dr. Nicoleta Mirela Năstasie, Senior Lawyer, insolvency practitioner, at the The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates

In conclusion, the preventive concordat in Romania is a complex but effective legal instrument for avoiding insolvency and bankruptcy under the insolvency law 85/2014, offering debtors a considerable chance of recovery and creditors a structured way to recover debts in Romania, but also in the process of taking over a company with debts in Romania. The success of the procedure depends on the correct implementation of the new provisions regarding the categories of claims and the balance between the interests of creditors and debtors, including in the context of the cram-down mechanism targeting companies with debts in Romania. Thus, The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates recommends consulting a lawyer specialising in insolvency in Romania, a commercial lawyer in Romania and a commercial litigation lawyer in Romania who can provide you with specialist legal assistance in debt management, asset and liability assessment and ensuring compliance with insolvency legislation when opening insolvency proceedings in Romania.

Pavel, Margarit and Associates Law Firm is one of the top law firms in Romania, providing high-quality legal services. The firm’s clients include multinational and domestic companies of great magnitude. In 2025, the law firm’s success stories brought it international recognition from the most prestigious international guides and publications in the field. As a result, Pavel, Margarit and Associates Law Firm ranked 3rd in Romania in the Legal 500’s ranking of business law firms with the most relevant expertise. The law firm is internationally recognized by the IFLR 1000 Financial and Corporate 2025 guide. Additionally, Pavel, Margarit and Associates Law Firm is the only law firm in Romania recommended by the international director of Global Law Experts in London in the Dispute Resolution practice area. All relevant information about Pavel, Margarit and Associates Law Firm can be found on the website www.avocatpavel.com.