AGERPRES special correspondent Tudor Martalogu reports: Vice-President of the European Parliament, MEP Nicu Stefanuta (Greens) expressed reservations about the European Commission's future reaction after the European Parliament adopted on Wednesday a resolution that includes the proposal to extend funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to allow the completion of mature projects.
''For now, let me be reserved, because the European Commission has reacted before and said that no exceptions are made and that, if it does anything, this will be only for advanced projects. Unfortunately, we don't really have advanced projects. I am very interested in hospitals, electrified railways, things like that. Today's message is very good and I congratulate my colleague Victor Negrescu on his work, but I still have reservations and I believe that what happens at European level also depends on what happens at governmental level. So, if the Romanians decide to install a government and the said government takes some serious decisions, we do have a chance because we have this act of the European Parliament and some good premises to build upon. But if the next months are dominated by political chaos, we run no chance at all," Nicu Stefanuta told AGERPRES.
He drew attention to the seriousness of Romania's domestic political situation. "Unfortunately, we have wasted a year or so as a country in this political tug-of-war, which has caused us harm. The elections have actually hurt us, we fell short of the requirement to organize the ballots effectively so that the country can move forward. We have been self-sabotaging for a year now," said Stefanuta.
The resolution adopted on Wednesday by the European Parliament by a vote of 421 to 180 and 55 abstentions refers to the report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility drafted by Romanian MEPs Victor Negrescu (S&D) and Siegfried Muresan (EPP), and highlights the stabilizing effect of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in a period of significant economic uncertainty in Europe.
The MEPs note that the RRF prevented the fragmentation of the EU internal market and promoted recovery. They want RRF funding to respect the principle of additionality and not replace cohesion policy funding.
The resolution calls for targeted investment in EU defence, education and skills, and more cross-border and multi-country measures, including high-speed railway. The MEPs insist on accelerating investment in social protection and the integration of vulnerable groups. They also encourage member states to amend their national investment plans using REPowerEU to boost EU's energy autonomy.
In the resolution, the MEPs express concern that the short timeframe for the implementation of outstanding RRF funding poses challenges to the completion of key reforms, large-scale investments and innovative projects, as well as the 70% of milestones and targets that have still to be reached. They urge the Commission to set up new programmes, which should be flexible and reactive to changing circumstances and guarantee predictability. MEPs also demand an 18-month extension for ongoing mature projects, and urge the Commission to take into account the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors for any future performance-based instruments similar to the RRF, in particular in the context of a more targeted multiannual financial framework.
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