Romania will only be able to access €1.9 billion from the National Resilience and Recovery Plan grants due to a range of issues and a delay in approvals, the Finance Ministry said in an official document, Curs de Guvernare reported.
According to the official document, there are problems with the entire Next Generation EU program.
The amount of money estimated for 2023 are zero from the Recovery Assistance for European Cohesion and Territories (ReactEU) program, zero from the European Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), zero from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and €1.9 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (NRRP), Euractiv reports
On 16 December, Romania submitted the second payment request for €3.22 billion to the EU Commission. As a rule, the Commission has two months to assess the payment request.
“In agreement with the Romanian authorities, the evaluation period has been extended to allow a thorough analysis of the outstanding elements”, the Commission Representation in Romania announced.
The request has not yet been approved. Investments and European Projects Minister Marcel Boloș admitted that there are some “sensitive milestones”: whistleblower law, decarbonisation, and the energy component.
The document shows that the Finance Ministry does not expect the Energy Ministry to achieve the remaining milestones within six months.
Also, the Finance Ministry does not expect the Commission to approve a possible third payment request this year because of an impossible milestone to reach in the current political situation: the reform of the pension system, especially special pensions.
Romania is expected to receive around €29 billion of grants and loans from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.