Romania will benefit from new investments to increase energy resilience and independence, worth EUR 1.4 billion through REPowerEU, announces Minister of European Investment and Projects Adrian Caciu.
According to a press release, the Ministry of European Investment and Projects (MIPE) sent the European Commission on Friday the revised National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), one of the changes being the introduction of the new REPowerEU chapter, through which Romania will benefit from additional non-reimbursable funds worth EUR 1.4 billion.
“I thank all the collaborators who contributed to the proposal for the adjustment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It has been a team effort, sustained and continuous. I also thank both the Commission representatives and the reform and investment coordinators for understanding that investments that are late and at risk of not being implemented in the three years we have left to attract money through the NRRP should be moved to the Cohesion Policy programmes to benefit from a three-year longer implementation horizon. At the same time, Romania will benefit from new investments to increase resilience and energy independence, worth EUR 1.4 billion through REPowerEU,” said Minister for European Investment and Projects Adrian Caciu.
The document includes the changes to the NRRP following the application of Article 11(2) of the Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, which led to a decrease in the allocation of the grant component by EUR 2.11 billion. Also included are changes resulting from the current geo-political situation which has led to increased prices for construction materials and disruption of supply chains, which is why some of the measures originally included in the NRRP can no longer be implemented (in full or in part). Another change is the introduction of the new REPowerEU chapter, which will provide Romania with additional non-reimbursable funds of EUR 1.4 billion.
The new measures proposed by REPowerEU aim at increasing Romania’s energy resilience and independence by increasing the share of electricity production from renewable sources, decarbonising the residential sector by increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, developing and digitising transport capacities, as well as qualifying human resources in relation to the specific requirements of the renewable energy sector.
Following the decrease of the grant component (non-reimbursable financial assistance) by EUR 2.11 billion, in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of the Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and the inclusion of the REPowerEU component, Romania will benefit from an allocation of EUR 28.50 billion for the implementation of the NRRP. Of this, EUR 13.59 billion will be the grant component and EUR 14.91 billion the loan component.
Initially, Romania had an allocation of EUR 29.18 billion through the NRRP, of which grants worth approximately EUR 14.24 billion and loans worth EUR 14.94 billion.
Romania must complete the implementation of the reforms and investments financed under the NRRP by the end of August 2026. At the same time, the funds allocated under the Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 can be attracted until the end of 2029.
