Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, approved
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan has been green lighted by the European Commission.
Roxana Vasile, 28.09.2021, 14:00
The European Commission green lighted, on Monday, Romanias Recovery and Resilience Plan, as part of a comprehensive European mechanism designed to support EU member states, highly affected by the pandemic, recover economically and socially. The Plans approval was announced in Bucharest by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The amount allocated to Romania — 29.2 billion euros — is made up of almost equal shares of grants and loans and will be earmarked for a number of sectors, with the projects due to be completed by 2026.
President Klaus Iohannis said that the approval of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is a symbolic moment of great importance for Romanias future and is the result of an intense dialogue and comprehensive process, under time pressure. He pointed out that it was vital for the reforms to be implemented on time, and called on the people in charge to make this a priority. Klaus Iohannis: ʺThis is a chance we are not allowed to miss. The chance to make Romanias economy more performing, more sustainable and better prepared for any crisis that can emerge. It is the chance to pass on to the next generations, a highly modernized Romania. ʺ
It is the European Council that gives the final green light to the Romanian Plan, based on the European Commissions proposal. This last stage will take about four weeks. PM Florin Citu talked about the first installments to be disbursed for Romania: ʺThe first trench, of 3.8 billion euros, should be received in end-November. There are a number of sectors where the money can be used, such as the project Educated Romania, transports and the fiscal reform. ʺ
The volatile political situation in Bucharest will not cause any problems for the signing and implementation of the Plan, the President and the PM said. The Romanian Plan, just like the recovery plans of the other EU countries, includes clear targets, stages and deadlines. The Commission experts are ready to offer assistance, if needed, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The sectors that need improvement and are included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan are public finance, energy, transport, healthcare and education, a total of 171 measures, 64 reforms and 107 investments. Almost 4 billion euros will be invested in the modernization of railways, 2.7 billion in making public and private buildings energy efficient and 2 billions in building and modernizing hospitals. (EE)
