Amendments to decarbonization legislation adopted by the Senate on Tuesday risk stalling the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and leading to the loss of billions of euros in European funds, warns Dragoș Pîslaru, the interim Minister of Investments and European Projects.
"Warning: An extremely dangerous decision is being made in the Senate today. We risk a total blockage of the PNRR and the loss of billions of euros in European funds. The amendments to the decarbonization legislation supported and voted on in the Senate today will have dramatic consequences for Romania if they pass the final vote in Parliament and become law," the minister wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
According to him, regarding Milestone 119a (concerning the electricity market reform involving the phase-out of coal from the energy mix - Ed. note), the Government was already in advanced discussions with the European Commission to explainbased on a study prepared by Transelectrica and presented to ACERthat shutting down additional power generation capacities would entail major risks. "This was a position adopted by the Government and negotiated directly with Brussels in order to mitigate the impact of potential penalties," Pislaru emphasized.
He explained that the main issue is that the amendments adopted in Parliament create what the European regulation terms "reversibility" regarding Milestone 114 (concerning decarbonization - Ed. note), and a potential finding of reversibility by the European Commission would trigger financial penalties exceeding those associated with Milestone 119a.
"Milestone 114 covers decarbonization legislation and was already deemed fulfilled by the Commission under Payment Request No. 2, on the basis of which Romania has already received billions of euros for investments. Retroactively changing the rules violates the principle of the irreversibility of reforms set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/241 (RRF). Reversibility permanently halts the submission of new payment requests! We would no longer be able to submit even Payment Request No. 5for which we had already met all requirements and could have submitted immediately after the publication of the new CID (Council Implementing Decision). Furthermore, the final payment request (No. 6) is also automatically blocked," the minister stated.
The consequences could include negative assessments from rating agencies, a loss of credibility for Romania, and the blocking of funds for hospitals, schools, and infrastructure, he notes.
"There is a huge difference between technically negotiating with the Commission to temporarily retain certain energy capacities and adopting retroactive laws that undo reforms that have already been paid for. I make a firm appeal for reason and responsibility to the PSD and to members of parliament in general: such amendments must not become law," added Dragos Pîslaru.
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