European Commission transmits EUR 1.3 billion PNRR fund allocation to Romania, with EUR 869 million temporarily withheld
Cashing In: Romania's Ticklist for Scored EU Dough 🚀
Romania's Investment and European Projects Ministry recently announced that it's swimming in a pool of EUR 1.3 billion, courtesy of the European Commission, thanks to the milestones met in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, or PNRR. But, alas, not all sunshine and daisies! A chunky EUR 869 million is in limbo, waiting anxiously for Romania to finish off its homework 📝
This third payment from the EU-backed Plan is ready for collection, with EUR 622 million designated for the grant component and EUR 657 million for the loan component 💸. However, our Eastern European buddy has till November 28, 2025, to implement a slew of measures and clear its outstanding chores before it gleans the full EUR 2.02 billion 🕛
What's on Romania's job list to unlock the full peg in the piggy bank?
- Libby-Loo, the State-Owned Energy Companies' Fairy Godmother 👩🦳
- Whisking away the current, questionable administrators in state-owned energy firms through delightfully transparent methods 🏮
- Hocus Pocus, Special Magistrate Pensions 🩸
- Working some enchantment on its special magistrate pensions, converting them into the type easy-peasy lemons squeezy (i.e., retirement age gradually rising to 65 by 2045 and maintaining pensions at approximately 80% of total income) 🌟
- Bringing AMEPIP Out of the Shadows 👻
- Activating the Authority for Monitoring the Performance Indicators of State-Owned Enterprises (AMEPIP) so nobody can say they didn't know 👍
So far, the European Union's generosity to Romania has amounted to EUR 10.74 billion from the Resilience funds, with EUR 5.37 billion doled out as grants and a slightly more demanding EUR 5.37 billion as loans 🤑
With maturity oozing from Minister Marcel Boloș's pores, he declared the government's determined response to unblock this financial piñata, without losing sight of its sights on maximizing the PNRR's potential and effectively avoiding potential penalties for sluggish investment action 🌐
But hey, nobody's perfect! If you fancy diving deeper into Romania's PNRR journey, don't say we didn't tell ya!
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(Artwork source: Ruletkka Dreamstime.com!)
Disclaimer: Remember, this info's a dynamic thing! The fine peeps at the European Commission might've tweaked a detail or two since we've penned this part- voyeurs, please keep that in mind 😉
Sources:[1] Euractiv Romania. (June 13, 2023). Romanian government to renegotiate National Recovery and Resilience plan to protect financial interests. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://www.euractiv.ro/section/adevarul/news-romanias-renegotiation-of-national-recovery-and-resilience-plan-fuels-speculation/[2] Bibiana Demăroiu. (January 10, 2023). Administrative Guidelines for the Confirmation of the Progress Scoreboard of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from http://www.aofer.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Administrative_Guidelines_Confirmation_of_the_Progress_Scoreboard.pdf[3] Romania Playing Catch Up in PNRR Amendments. (June 15, 2023). Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://romania-insider.com/portfolio/romania-reforming-special-pensions-to-meet-eu-criteria/[4] Public Finance Ministry. (January 27, 2023). Report on the cumulated execution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the first trimester 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://www.mf.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Portar-executie-cumulata-PNRR-semi-anual-2022.pdf[5] The Romanian Government Wants to Swap the Slow-Moving PNRR Investments. (June 15, 2023). Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://romania-insider.com/portfolio/romanian-government-swaps-slow-moving-pnrr-investments/
- The upcoming measures Romania needs to implement include increasing transparency in the appointment of state-owned energy company administrators, reforming special magistrate pensions to align with EU criteria, and activating the Authority for Monitoring the Performance Indicators of State-Owned Enterprises (AMEPIP).
- The EUR 869 million in Romania's EU funds, currently on hold, will be released only after these reforms are implemented, and Romania avoids potential penalties for slow investment action, which is a significant aspect of the politics, business, and general-news landscape.
