The EC took measures to lift the suspension of the payment of 37.2 million euros to Romania, within the Recovery Mechanism

The European Commission has adopted two decisions Tuesday, issuing a positive preliminary assessment to lift the suspension of payment of €714 million to Portugal, and €37.2 million to Romania (net of pre-financing), after acknowledging the progress made in implementing their respective recovery and resilience plans.   This comes after earlier suspensions, where the Commission had found certain milestones and targets had not been satisfactorily fulfilled in Portugal ‘s third and fourth payment request, and Romania's second payment request.   €37.2 million following measures promoting the green transition in Romania   The Commission had found that two specific milestones in Romania's second payment request had not been satisfactorily fulfilled. This had led to a withheld amount of €53.4 million. After the initial suspension, Romania was encouraged to take action over a 6-month period. The Commission has now found that Romania has taken measures to ensure that part of the outstanding milestones have now been satisfactorily completed.   Specifically, in June 2023, milestone 129, related to green hydrogen production capacities, along with milestone 133, concerning investment in less carbon-intensive heat generation facilities, were initially deemed as not satisfactorily met. The suspension mechanism allowed the country to receive a partial payment for the milestones and targets that had been satisfactorily fulfilled, while giving it additional time to meet the remaining outstanding requirements.   Making use of the extended timeframe, Romania implemented a series of effective actions, which have accelerated the decarbonisation of its industry. The Commission concluded that milestone 133 is now satisfactorily fulfilled. Accordingly, it now proposes to unlock €17.8 million** corresponding to this milestone.   In relation to milestone 129, the Commission notified Romania that it continued to consider the milestone as not entirely satisfactorily fulfilled, while recognising the progress made in its completion. Romania now has two months to send further observations to the Commission, after which the release of the outstanding amount related to milestone 129 may still be decided.   Romania's overall recovery plan, amounting to €28.5 billion in grants and loans, encompasses a series of reforms and investments to strengthen its economy. The Commission has disbursed over €9.41 billion to Romania, which corresponds to 33% of all the funds in the Romanian plan*, with 14% of all the milestones and targets in the plan fulfilled.