In autumn, Romania will submit to the European Commission the second payment request for the PNRR, which includes the targets and milestones due to be completed in the 1st and 2nd quarters of this year, informs the Ministry of European Investments and Projects.
The payment request has a total of 51 targets and milestones and according to the EC Regulation, the payment procedure involves the following stages: the approval of the EC interservices for the issuance of the preliminary positive opinion, the transmission of the payment request to the Specialty Committees of the ECOFIN Council and the approval of the payment in the Council of the European Union – ECOFIN.
On Tuesday, the weekly meeting of the PNRR Interministerial Committee took place, the body responsible for examining the progress in the implementation of investments and reforms, whose coordination is ensured by the Prime Minister (President), together with the Minister of Investments and European Projects (Vice President).
In the meeting attended by Minister Marcel Boloş and Secretary of State Carmen Moraru, the Ministry of Investments and European Projects requested the 16 ministries with a role in the implementation of the reforms and investments provided for in the PNRR for an analysis that would allow the identification and solution, in time, of any possible deficiencies in fulfilling the course assumed until the end of September.
According to the institutional and financial framework for the management of European funds allocated to Romania through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, MIPE fulfills the role of national coordinator and single point of contact in the relationship with the EC, responsible for monitoring and implementing the PNRR.
“For the end of the 3rd quarter of this year, the line ministries have 24 targets and milestones to meet and our common objective, at Government level, is to ensure that Romania fulfills all its commitments through the PNRR. Up to this moment, all the milestones were met in the assumed calendar, both those with a deadline by the end of 2021 and those with a deadline of March 31 and June 30, 2022, and I want to thank my colleagues in the Government for this effort. As you know, yesterday I proved that the PNRR IT platform ensures transparency regarding the real beneficiaries of the funding. Until the date of the first payment, the CE can request clarifications and we are ready to answer them as promptly as before. It is an ongoing process with mechanisms that are a first for Romania, but the results show that we can manage them efficiently. Payment request No. 1 will follow its procedural course and we are preparing for the second one, this fall,” said Minister Marcel Boloş.
According to MIPE, Romania is among the first 10 states that submitted payment request no. 1 to the European Commission, given that Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan has a complex construction, with over 500 milestones and targets, compared to 10-20, as set by other member states.
Of the 25 states that have submitted Recovery and Resilience Plans, only 13 member states, including Romania, have approved the methodologies for validating the fulfillment of the milestones, respectively the operational arrangements.
On May 31, 2022, Romania submitted to the European Commission the first payment request related to the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), in a total amount of 2,994,815,908 euros, of which 2,037,146,414 euros represent non-refundable financial support, and 907,669,494 euros of support in the form of a loan. This includes 21 milestones and targets, which were due in the fourth quarter of 2021.