The European Commission (EC) adopted a positive assessment of Romania’s recovery and resilience plan on Monday under which the country will receive €14.2bln in grants and €14.9bln in loans under the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) when EC President Ursula von der Leyen made an official visit to Bucharest, according to a press release.
“Romania’s plan meets the very demanding criteria we have, jointly with the Council, established. It combines the investment in the green and the digital transition and it addresses the reforms that are necessary to address Romania’s structural challenges,” said von der Leyen in a joint press conference with Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis and Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîțu.
“ The National Recovery and Resilience Plan is a very important tool for Romania, which offers us, in addition to financing economic recovery actions, the resources to implement investments and structural reforms essential for the development of our country in the medium and long term,” said Iohannis.
The EC assessed Romania’s plan based on the 11 criteria set out in the RRF Regulation. The analysis considered whether the investments and reforms contained in Romania’s plan support the green and digital transitions, contribute to effectively addressing challenges identified in the European Semester, and strengthen its growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience.
Romania’s plan devotes 41% of the plan’s total allocation on measures that support the green transition and includes measures to phase out coal and lignite power production by 2032.
The Reforms promoting sustainable transport include the decarbonization of road transport, green taxation, incentives for zero-emission vehicles, and a modal shift to railways and water transport. The plan also has a strong focus on improving the energy efficiency of private and public buildings.
The plan devotes 21% of its total allocation on measures that support the digital transition. This includes measures to digitalize the public administration and businesses, improve connectivity, cybersecurity and digital skills and develop an integrated e-Health and telemedicine system.
The implementation of social and educational reforms and investments is expected to tackle long-standing vulnerabilities and structural deficiencies.
The next step is the European Council’s approval of the plan, which would allow for the disbursement of EUR 3.6 billion to Romania in pre-financing. This represents 13% of the total allocated amount for Romania.
The Commission will authorize further disbursements based on the satisfactory fulfilment of the milestones and targets outlined in the recovery and resilience plan, reflecting progress on the implementation of the investments and reforms.