Alfa Communications, October 28, 2025
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID/the ICSID Centre) in Washington rejected the Romanian government’s request to terminate the arbitration proceedings brought by Eurohold Bulgaria AD (Eurohold) and Euroins Insurance Group AD (EIG) against the Romanian state over the revocation of Euroins Romania’s license and its declaration of insolvency by the Romanian authorities.
Eurohold and EIG filed a request for arbitration at the amount of over EUR 500 million against the Government of Romania at the ICSID in May 2024. The legal basis was – non-compliance with the bilateral Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of Romania on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments, signed back in 1994. EIG is a leading investor in the Romanian insurance market having invested approx. EUR 300 million. The Romanian state requested that ICSID terminate the arbitration proceedings due to lack of legal merit, but the ICSID Tribunal rejected this request and the arbitration case is ongoing.
Eurohold and EIG will also file a second claim with ICSID in relation to Euroins Romania’s case due to the Romanian state’s failure to observe its obligations under Romania’s “Investment Law” (GEO No. 92/1997; Law No. 241/1998). The claimants Eurohold and EIG sought to add violations of the Investment Law as an additional legal basis for their claim in the proceedings already initiated in May 2024, but ICSID rejected this request and, for this reason, a second set of arbitration proceedings will be opened.
Eurohold and EIG seek justice and recovery for the multiple unlawful acts of the Romanian authorities, which have damaged EIG’s business in Romania, and completely destroyed it in the case of Euroins Romania. The acts of the Romanian authorities in this case have had and continue to have an adverse effect on the entire Romanian insurance market, including insured persons and injured parties. Prior to filing the request for arbitration in Washington, Eurohold and EIG proposed an amicable resolution on the dispute over Euroins Romania’s case by sending a “Notice of Dispute” to the Romanian government. To this day, the Romanian authorities have not taken a position on the subject or undertaken any steps towards discussing the proposals of Eurohold and EIG to resolve the dispute and thus to save the damages and costs that ASF imposed on Romanian citizens through the unlawful revocation of Euroins Romania’s license.
