The European Commission is expected to propose a simplification of the milestones and targets of Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) this September, announced Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragos Pislaru.
The announcement was made during a press conference in which the minister stated that Romania has finalized the renegotiation process with the European Commission regarding the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
"The renegotiation was complicated, but implementation is what really matters. Next week, a memorandum will be presented listing all the projects in order to ensure predictability. In parallel, we are working throughout August with the European Commission to prepare all the necessary documentation for submission. In September, the Commission is expected to propose and conclude the massive simplification of the milestones and targets. This was a commitment secured during the negotiations and one the Commission has assumed, meaning that by the end of September we should have the Commission's approval and then proceed to ECOFIN on October 20 for Council approval of the revised plan," Dragos Pislaru told a press conference held at Victoria Palace of Government.
Once the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approves the revised version of the NRRP, Romania will submit its fourth payment request, with the funds expected to be received in December.
"We're working in parallel on the fourth payment request. Once we have the revised version of the NRRP, we can submit request no. 4. The plan agreed with the European Commission is to receive the funds in December this year, which would provide some breathing room for managing the deficit," the minister explained.
Dragos Pislaru stressed that Romania is not losing "a single euro" from the non-reimbursable component of the NRRP, which amounts to EUR 13.57 billion. In addition, there is a loan component totaling EUR 8.01 billion.
In this context, he pointed out that Romania is facing difficulties in taking on additional loans due to the current budget deficit.
"There is indeed a reduction in the loan component Romania currently believes it can manage, to EUR 8 billion, down from an initial availability of EUR 15 billion. But this reflects what Romania can afford to borrow at the moment, given our current fiscal space," Pislaru said.
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