In the coming years, Romania will implement a new model of economic development, based on investments, innovation and competitiveness, said President Klaus Iohannis, when the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – NRRP (in RO) was launched in public debate. The document proposes the principles and amounts to be allocated from the budget of over 30 billion euros available for Romania in the coming years.

“Our country will implement a new model of economic development, based on investment, innovation and competitiveness. It is up to us alone to turn current challenges into opportunities and identify the best solutions to the problems we face”, the head of state said.

“In the next few years we will see rapid development,” said Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who referred to reforms, state modernization, state digitalization, “a joint effort in partnerships to succeed in implementing complex projects”.

In the Climate Change chapter, with an allocation of EUR 6,5 billion, NRRP mainly speaks about irrigation and drainage systems, combating soil erosion and afforestation. For Transport, EUR 9,27 billion is allocated, with 4,5 billion for road transport and EUR 3,15 billion for railways. In the chapter dedicated to Environment, the focus is on water supply networks (€1,5 billion) and waste management (€300 million).

EUR 4,35 billion for Energy and Green Transition

The Energy and Green Transition chapter includes the targets of the National Energy and Climate Plan – NECP and identifies four challenges:

• insufficient development of the electricity grid and lack of techniques parameters required to transport energy (N-V and N-E areas of the country)
• reduced levels of flexibility and interconnectivity of power grids generated by the lack of digitization
• the need to replace solid fossil fuel production capacities by new energy capacities based on transitional fuels
• transport and distribution infrastructure not sufficiently developed to take over new energy carriers (transition fuels)

EUR 800 million are reserved for smart grids for the transport and distribution of transitional fuels, EUR 500 million for renewable energies and EUR 250 million for the development of Romania’s 400 kV electricity ring – a total of EUR 1,55 billion.

A slightly higher amount is foreseen for Energy and thermal efficiency, EUR 1,8 billion, of which EUR 1,25 billion for energy efficiency improvements for collective residential buildings and public buildings. 250 million euros are allocated for the thermal power distribution network in Bucharest and 300 million euros for the other localities.

One billion euros is proposed for Urban Mobility, a chapter which includes “electric and alternative transport”.

The amount allocated for Research and Innovation, just EUR 275 million, is surprisingly low, in a program aimed at “a new model of economic development based on investment, innovation and competitiveness”.

USR PLUS harshly criticizes the government plan…

The USR PLUS Alliance announced that it would renegotiate this plan in the talks anticipated before the new government team to be decided (this December), as the document proposed by the Ministry of European Funds “ignores and fails on social, environmental, innovation and digitization reforms”. According to the USR PLUS, “the green transformation is not just about land-use planning measures, but requires structural changes in value chains, innovation, new jobs, circular economy, etc”. In addition, much more substantial amounts should be allocated to digitization and R&D-innovation. The most important objection, however, addresses structural reforms, which are treated “superficial, barely mentioned, although it should have been the focus of the plan”. NRRP, as an EU financing instrument, is “an opportunity to completely reshape Romania’s economy in the medium and long term, not just a piggy bank to spend”.

… and so does an alliance of environmental organizations

“The government has remained stuck in the past, supports investments in fossil fuels, does not address the climate crisis or biodiversity loss. We call for a full review of the National Recovery Plan and Resilience in the areas of climate change, environment and energy by conducting an appropriate, inclusive and transparent public consultation”, claim 8 environmental organizations – Bankwatch, WWF, Declic, Kogayon Association, Carpathia Conservation Foundation, 2Celsius, Eco Civica, Greenpeace Romania – in an open letter.

In its present form, the NRRP shows the Romanian politicians’ inconsistency with the commitments made under the Paris Climate Agreement and with the objectives of the European Ecological Pact, considers the signatories. “The plan misses the chance of energy transition by investing in the production and storage of energy from renewable sources, although Romania’s potential in this field is huge. The plan also missed the opportunity to invest strategically in the environment, as Romania is the country with the greatest biodiversity in the European Union.”

In the next period, the alliance will come up with a detailed analysis and proposals, based on the measures already presented on www.maineedecideazi.ro platform, which are to be sent to the Ministry of European funds and to the Government.