Romania has its hopes pinned on the European post-pandemic recovery plan
Romania coped with the economic fallout of COVID-19 better than the European average, reporting a GDP drop of only 5% compared to the EU-wide average of 6%, the EU Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, on Tuesday said on the sidelines of a debate on Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The EU official said Romania's prospects of economic growth are good, warning, however, the sustainability of public finance remains a reason of concern. Like most other European states, Romania has its hopes pinned on this recovery plan after the economic and social crisis generated by the pandemic. 30 billion Euro has been allotted to Romania under the Plan, and the center-right government in Romania decided the funds would mainly be used for investments in road and rail infrastructure, the building of new hospitals, modernizing schools and digitization.
Minister for European Funds, Cristian Ghinea, also said the reform of the pension and taxation systems are is an equal priority, along with a new governance of schools and measures to foster legal forms of employment. Minister Ghinea said that, in its current form, the plan has struck a balance between environment prerequisites and digitization, also meeting Romania's transport infrastructure needs. The Romanian official pointed out the Plan also provides for reforms of the justice system. Worth noting is that the European budget, as well as the recovery Plan, stipulate a new mechanism whereby accessing European funds is tied to the observance of the rule of law. Commissioner Gentiloni warned that, in order to access funds under the recovery plan, a new set of criteria and intermediary targets has to be met, which will not be easy, considering Romania doesn't fare well in terms of European fund absorption. The European official suggested funds shouldn't be spread too thin in order to keep the Plan effective, because Romania will absorb less funds and their impact will therefore be lower.
The Social-Democratic Party in opposition says the Recovery and Resilience Plan should be debated openly in Parliament and claims the Government's document lacks strategic vision, which is something the European Union expects. First vice-president of the Social-Democratic Party, Sorin Grindeanu, says the plan has no underlying impact study, provides no coherent measures with clear targets for each field and doesn't ensure a balanced local development at national level. President Klaus Iohannis last week said the plan presents a huge development opportunity for Romania, which will allow the Romanian economy and society to better cope with future crises. (V.P.)
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