BNS: Decision to suspend NRRP investments renders Romania vulnerable in relationship with the EC

 The suspension of investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is economically risky and politically sensitive, and the decision renders Romania vulnerable in the relationship with the European Commission, the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) warns in a release on Friday."Paraded around as one of the most ambitious investment and reform plans set in practice by Romania, in its capacity as an EU member state, the NRRP represented back then a declaration of will on the part of the Romanian state, being one of the most complex plans pledged at EU level, by the number of committed targets and the structure of reforms. Yet despite this set of ambitions and political declarations, the NRRP is today the symbol of political and administrative impotence. Instead of becoming a concrete instrument for modernization, the NRRP has transformed into a bone of electoral dispute, put together behind closed doors and lacking real consultation of the civil society, the economic environment and social partners. The delays and decision-making opacity have compromised public trust in a project that should have belonged to the entire nation. The consequences of an, in many ways utopian plan, with no real connection to the grassroots' social supportability and with far too many electoral farces instead of viable projects - all of this combined with far too little economic and social realism, have converged in NRRP's failure to strengthen the resilience of the Romanian economy," the trade union organization argues.According to the cited source, the suspension of certain projects financed, including through the NRRP, proposed through the OUG introducing dedicated measures on the management of investments funded from NRRP and national public funds, is an unequivocal recognition of the fact that the plan, as a whole, "rather destabilizes than restores."In the view of the BNS, the implications generated by the OUG introducing dedicated measures on the management of investments funded from NRRP and national public funds will have long-term effects, including that of weakening Romania's negotiation capacity in relation with the European Commission regarding the next programming period.The union representatives state that the anticipated transfer of the projects proposed for carryover to the 2028 - 2034 programming period, concomitantly with the phasing of certain projects, does not represent a solution, "because it does nothing else but preserve the political ambitions of a bunch of regional leaders, deriding fundamental and established principles of the cohesion policy, but also the need for development of some counties in structural investment deficit.""The NRRP has transformed from a plan meant to contribute to saving Romania into proof of the inability or lack of concern of the various governments to generate predictability, economic and social balance, as well as integrated development. (...) Low economic growth, persistent and rising inflation, high poverty rates, school dropout rates and the need to train the workforce make it essential to maintain the pace of public investments, especially with costs as low as those delivered by the NRRP, so that the intention to suspend certain investments financed under this facility is economically risky, politically problematic, and renders Romania's position vulnerable in its relationship with the European Commission," the BNS goes on to note.Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan had 28,508,208,514 euros allocated in total, of which 13,566,055,514 euros in non-reimbursable financial assistance and 14,942,153,000 euros in reimbursable funding. The amended plan was approved in December 2023, and Romania has received 9.4 billion euros in payments so far.