Romania is working with other EU member states, such as France, Spain and Italy, to negotiate more flexible rules for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to ensure the successful absorption of funds and the smooth implementation of projects, said Romania’s Minister for European Investments and Projects Adrian Câciu.
The absorption of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) across Europe is “only around 30% halfway through, which is a warning sign with just a year and a half left”, Câciu told a conference in Bucharest on Tuesday.
According to him, cohesion funds, worth €46 billion, including co-financing, are more important. “These funds reduce regional disparities and foster national development, while PNRR funds are more targeted, addressing specific country needs like school infrastructure”, he explained.
Romania has been allocated €28.5 billion under the PNNR, including €14.9 billion in loans and €13.6 billion in grants. Bucharest has completed 38 out of 55 required reforms.
Romania expects a partial disbursement of funds following the third disbursement request submitted by the Ministry of European Investments and Projects (MIPE) in December 2023, with net funding of around €2.7 billion.
The potential reductions are due to the European Commission’s concerns about the micro-enterprise regime and the reform of state-owned enterprises.
Asked whether the PNRR has been a success so far, Câciu said that “the recovery and resilience mechanism will not be a success at the European level if it remains too rigid”. When the PNRR was drafted, its impact on the Romanian economy “was not taken into account”, Câciu added.
(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
Source: euractiv.com
