The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is the most ambitious reform and investment initiative Romania has ever had at its disposal, but the absorption and implementation rate is extremely slow, and without reforms or milestones met, the billions will not flow in, argues Cristian Popa, member of the National Bank of Romania's Board of Directors in an op-ed posted on Linkedin."With a total allocation of 28.5 billion euros (13.6 billion euros in grants and 14.9 billion euros in loans), the NRRP should speed up the modernization of infrastructure, the digital transformation of public administration and the improvement of key sectors such as health care and education, with European money. However, Romania is facing major delays. By the end of September 2024, of the total of 28.5 billion euros, our country had collected only 9.4 billion euros, that is, about a third. The problem is that only 4.1 billion euros of this money were actually spent at the end of the third quarter of 2024. In terms of milestones and targets, Romania has fulfilled just 14% of what it had pledged, with 448 milestones out of 518 still unchecked (European Commission data). This means that the pace of absorption and implementation is extremely slow. Without reforms, respectively milestones fulfilled, the billions will not come," Cristian Popa cautions in the article titled "The NRRP Stage: Long Overdue. Yet The Opportunity We Cannot Afford To Miss Is Still There".According to Popa, Romania was the only country at risk of having payment commitments or payments suspended based on Article 10 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation which sanctions member states that do not correct their excessive deficit."I have said it before: the NRRP is not just about absorbing European funds, but also about the structural modernization of Romania. It is hard to imagine another occasion when someone offers you 28.5 billion euros for development and only asks you to do what was necessary anyway: reforms, fiscal discipline and to invest efficiently, strategically, to do something to help you fare better in the long run. The benefits are twofold: not only do you have a solid source of financing, but you also have a clear set of reforms and implementation mechanisms to back sustainable development. It is, of course, important to receive fishing rods, not fish, to cope even after the program runs to end. We have less than two years left to capitalize on this opportunity. In the end, the unspent amounts are lost. Will we succeed to increase the funding absorption rate?," Cristian Popa inquires in conclusion.
President Nicușor Dan has nominated Senate president Ilie Bolojan, a leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and former interim president, for the prime minister seat. Dan said Bolojan is “the best person to carry out the needed adjustments in the state administration.” He pointed to Bolojan’s track record with reducing spending, and said he has […]
Balkanik Festival – Home of World Music, set to take place at Uranus Garden between September 5 and September 7, lines up this year artists who "celebrate that form of joy that does not ignore reality, but faces it with beauty, energy, and solidarity," the organizers said. The artists performing in September in Bucharest will […]
The mayor of Timișoara, Dominic Fritz, announced on Friday, June 20, that two new bridges over the Bega River will be built in the city. The bridges will be financed with EU-backed funds worth over RON 130 million. The bridges in question are the Solventul Bridge, which will connect Gării Street to Dâmbovița Boulevard and […]
A Sarmatian necropolis nearly 2,000 years old was discovered after archaeological excavations were carried out at the Mehala II site in the municipality of Timișoara, in western Romania. Researchers discovered 15 inhumation graves, most arranged in rectangular pits with rounded corners, although some no longer retain their original outline, having been disturbed by the passage […]
The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra will deliver on June 26 a concert marking Romania Day at the Osaka World Expo. Additionally, the Bucharest-based orchestra will present a series of other concerts and recitals, both within the Romanian Pavilion and outside, at Toyonara Hall in Osaka. The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra's concerts will be conducted by […]
Sphera Franchise Group, the largest food service group in Romania, has opened its first Cioccolatitaliani store in the seaside resort of Riccione, in Italy’s Rimini tourist area. This marks the official launch of Sphera Group’s development plan for the premium Italian brand of coffee, gelato, and pastry. Under the plan, it will open four locations […]
