Romania submitted on Friday a request to the European Commission to amend its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and to add a new chapter on REPowerEU, which aims to strengthen the Union's strategic autonomy by diversifying energy supply and increasing the EU's independence and security of energy supply.According to a press release from the EU executive, the chapter on REPowerEU proposed by Romania covers two new reforms and six new investments, as well as a reinforced measure already in the plan. The reforms and investments in this chapter are related to increasing green energy production, improving the energy efficiency of buildings and strengthening the skills of the green energy workforce.The amendment to the plan proposed by Romania foresees the removal of four investments from the initial plan and the modification of about 70 measures.Romania's request to amend its plan is based on the need to take account of high inflation in 2022, supply chain disruptions and the downward revision of its maximum grant allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM) from EUR 14.2 billion to EUR 12.1 billion. This revision is part of the June 2022 update of the RRM grant allocation key and reflects Romania's comparatively better economic performance in 2020 and 2021 compared to the initial forecast.Romania has requested the transfer of its share of the Brexit adjustment reserve, amounting to EUR 43.2 million, to the NRRP. Together with the grants provided to Romania through the RRM and REPowerEU (EUR 12.1 billion and EUR 1.4 billion respectively) and the RRM loans already committed under the original plan (EUR 14.9 billion), these funds bring the value of the amended plan presented to almost EUR 28.5 billion.The Commission will now assess whether the amended plan continues to meet all the assessment criteria set out in the RRM Regulation.If the Commission's assessment is positive, the EC will present a proposal to amend the Council Implementing Decision to take account of the changes to the Romanian plan.Member states will then have four weeks to approve the Commission's assessment.
Rituals Cosmetics, the international brand specializing in natural body and skin care products, home fragrances and home apparel, is set to open its first store in Romania at the end of September. The company, founded in 2000 in Amsterdam, has become a globally recognized industry expert with a presence in over 36 countries. It offers […]
Here we go again, it is September, and everything is happening at once, everywhere. Most cinema premieres are planned for autumn, so are many film fests. The reason are manifold, from the end of vacation to how local financing for culture works. After having been screened at festivals or events (most recently The Long Night […]
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has pledged aid worth EUR 10 billion to help repair the damage caused by recent floods in Central and Eastern Europe, Romania included. She made the promise during a visit to the western Polish city of Wroclaw on Thursday, September 19. A massive wave of flooding has hit Central […]
Finnish company Nokian Tyres inaugurated its passenger car tire factory in Oradea, Romania, on September 19, a project with a total value of EUR 650 million. The new facility operates without utilizing any fossil energy, making it the world's first full-scale tire factory with zero CO2 emissions. The factory inauguration marks the completion of a […]
The judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on Friday, September 20, to send the case targeting the Romanian Revolution of 1989, in which former president Ion Iliescu faces charges of crimes against humanity, back to the Military Prosecutor's Office to correct certain irregularities in the indictment. On June 14, another Supreme […]
The ranking of the best-selling cars in Europe was led by Dacia Sandero in August, a particularly notable achievement given it occurred in a declining market. The Romanian-made model has been the leader since the beginning of the year, missing the top spot for only two months and ranking second instead during that time. On […]
