EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 21.11.2023
SWD(2023) 382 final
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
Analysis of the recovery and resilience plan of Romania
Accompanying the document
Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION
amending Implementing Decision (EU) (ST 12319/2021, ST 12319/2021 ADD 1) of 29 October 2021 on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Romania
{COM(2023) 747 final}
Table of contents
1. Executive summary
2. Objectives of the modification of the plan
3. Summary of the assessment of the plan
3.1. Comprehensive and adequately balanced response to the economic and social situation
3.2. Link with country-specific recommendations and the European Semester
3.3. Growth potential, job creation, economic, institutional and social resilience, European Pillar of Social Rights, mitigating the impact of the crisis, and social territorial cohesion and convergence
3.4. The principle of ‘do no significant harm’
3.5. Green transition
3.6. Digital transition
3.7. Lasting impact of the plan
3.8. Milestones, targets, monitoring and implementation
3.9. Costing
3.10. Controls and audit
3.11. Coherence
3.12. REPowerEU
3.13. Cross-border or multi-country dimension or effect
ANNEX I: Climate tracking and digital tagging
1.Executive summary
In 2022, Romania faced several structural challenges. Its economy was hit by the rise of energy prices and supply chain disruptions, which have been aggravated due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Inflation continued to exceed expectations in 2022, due to high energy and food prices and the pass-through to core components. For 2023-2024, inflation is expected to decline, but remain elevated compared to the inflation target set by the National Bank of Romania.
On 8 September 2023, Romania submitted to the Commission a modified national recovery and resilience plan (RRP). For the modification of its RRP, Romania has relied on the following legal bases: Article 18(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/241 (the ‘RRF Regulation’) to take into account the updated maximum financial contribution, Article 21 to amend the RRP due to objective circumstances and Article 21c to include additional resources from EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) revenues or from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) for its REPowerEU chapter.
To help address the energy challenges that it is currently facing, Romania has included in the modified RRP a REPowerEU chapter. The proposed measures include two reforms and seven investments, structured along the following thematic areas: energy and permitting processes with a reform aiming at facilitating the identification of acceleration areas, complemented by two investments to install additional renewable energy; energy-efficiency building renovations and installation of solar panels for prosumers, with three new investments targeting public and private buildings, with a focus on vulnerable energy consumers and households affected by energy-poverty, complemented by a reform to put in place one-stop-shop offices, dedicated to providing information and assistance to private persons for the installation of renewable energy and for energy efficiency renovations; green skills; and improvement of the resilience of the electricity network. The implementation of these measures is expected to contribute to supporting the objectives in Article 21c(3) of the RRF Regulation.
While the modified RRP changes some of the current measures, these changes do not affect the previous assessment of the coverage of a significant subset of the challenges identified in the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) for Romania in 2020 and 2019.
The modified RRP represents a comprehensive and adequate response to Romania’s economic and social challenges. It maintains its focus on the green and digital transitions, promoting smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, with measures prioritising economic cohesion, job creation, competitiveness, and innovation. Its 16 components, including the newly added REPowerEU chapter, continue to address the six pillars of the RRF Regulation and generally maintain the level of ambition despite several challenges. The plan continues to contain robust milestones, targets and verification mechanisms, and remains coherent with other policy commitments.
Based on the assessment of the submitted modification and the REPowerEU chapter, the modified RRP for Romania receives an A rating on all criteria, except for costing (unchanged from the original RRP assessment).
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(1)
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(2)
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(3)
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(4)
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(5)
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(6)
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(7)
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(8)
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(9)
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(10)
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(11)
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(12) REPowerEU |
(13) Cross-border |
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A |
A |
A |
A |
A (44.1%) |
A
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A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
A |
A |
2.Objectives of the modification of the plan
2.1.Main newly emerged challenges
In 2022, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine led to a surge in energy and commodity prices in Romania and the EU as a whole. The 2023 Country Report 1 identified challenges related to the higher demand for social services and social protection due to the energy crisis, as well as the low-quality education system with its unequal access. In addition, vulnerable groups have difficulties finding a job, and the business environment faces challenges. The report also points to challenges in the areas of decarbonisation and energy efficiency, circular economy, and digitalisation. Against this backdrop and to respond to the geopolitical and energy challenges that the European Union has faced since the beginning of 2022, Romania formally submitted a request to amend its RRP based on Article 18(2) and 21 of the RRF Regulation. Romania’s modified RRP also includes a new REPowerEU chapter pursuant to Article 21(c) of the RRF Regulation.
The modified RRP includes two new reforms and seven investments in its REPowerEU chapter, while modifying 56 measures across all other 15 components of the RRP. The new allocation of the plan is EUR 28.5 billion. This amount takes into account the REPowerEU chapter (EUR 1.4 billion from ETS resources and EUR 43.2 million from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve), and the downward adjustment from EUR 14.24 billion to EUR 12.13 billion of the maximum financial contribution for Romania.
Pursuant to Article 18(2) of the RRF Regulation, Romania has justified modifications to eight measures by the decrease of its maximum financial contribution. Several investments have been removed or downsized. These adjustments amount to EUR 2.11 billion, equivalent to the downward adjustment of the maximum financial contribution.
Pursuant to Article 21(1) of the RRF Regulation, Romania has justified modifications to 48 measures due to objective circumstances. In particular, those modifications include adjustments to targets and milestones in both investments and reforms which Romania has identified as no longer being achievable in their current formulation, due to significant cost increases and delays caused by supply chain constraints. In 2022, Romania’s economy was impacted by multiple factors such as disrupted supply chains, particularly for construction materials and equipment, and price increases, notably for energy and constructions. The rise in construction prices made procurement for some of the initial projects under the RRP much more costly than expected and led to significant delays in some procurement processes.
The amended RRF Regulation provides for additional support for reforms and investments helping to phase out imports of Russian fossil fuels and providing clean, affordable and secure energy to households and businesses across Europe. The modifications proposed under the RRP and the newly integrated REPowerEU chapter are aimed at addressing the CSRs addressed to Romania in the context of the 2022 and 2023 European Semester cycles.
As part of the REPowerEU chapter, green energy investments should contribute to Romania’s strategic autonomy and strengthen its resilience in view of external shocks. The increasing share of renewables in the energy mix and the proposed energy efficiency investments are expected to reduce the share of imported fossil fuels. The chapter’s reforms and investments focus on the acceleration of green energy generation, boosting energy efficiency in buildings and re-/up-skilling the workforce in the field of green energy generation.
Romania’s modified RRP preserves the level of ambition of the original plan while providing a balanced response to the economic and social situation of the country. The modified RRP effectively addresses a significant subset of the challenges identified in the relevant CSRs addressed to Romania in 2019, and 2020 in the context of the European Semester. It also addresses 2022 and 2023 CSRs.
2.2.Main elements of the modified components and REPowerEU chapter
The most important modifications of the amended RRP, including the REPowerEU chapter are listed below by component.
Component 1 – Water management
Investment 1. Expansion of water and sewerage systems in agglomerations of more than 2 000 population equivalent, prioritised by the Accelerated Plan for Compliance with European Directives – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 5, 6, 7 and 8 due to price increases for the materials needed to build water and sewage networks, in proportion to the increase in their price.
Investment 2. Collection of waste water in agglomerations of less than 2 000 population equivalent which prevent the achievement of good status of water bodies and/or affect protected natural areas – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 11 and 12 due to price increases for the materials needed to build sewage networks, in proportion to the increase in their price.
Investment 3. Supporting the connection of the low-income population to existing water and sewerage networks – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced target 13 due to price increases for the materials needed to build connection to water and sewerage networks, in proportion to the increase in their price.
Investment 4. Adaptation to climate change by automation and digitalisation of water disposal and storage equipment of existing accumulations to ensure ecological flow and increase the security of water supply to the population and reduce the risk to floods – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 14 and 15 due to price increases for the materials needed to build flood defence lines, in proportion to the increase in their price. Romania also requested a reduction of milestone 16 and target 17 due to price increases for the materials needed to rehabilitate dams, in proportion to the increase in their price. These targets were further reduced to account for disruptions on the supply side.
Investment 5. Appropriate endowment of river basin administrations for flood monitoring, prevention and emergency response – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the completion of target 18, due to supply chain disruptions and price increases having delayed the completion of the tender procedure.
Component 2 – Forests and biodiversity protection
Investment 1. Afforestation and reforestation national campaign including urban forests – In accordance with Article 18(2), Romania scaled down the investment and its targets 25 and 26, by 37% (from EUR 730 million to EUR 460.88 million). While the urban forest part of the investment remains unaffected, the afforestation/restoration part of the investment will be reduced from 56 700 ha to 26 760 ha.
Investment 4.4. Implementation of a monitoring system for wild sturgeons along the Lower Danube – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed by one year the investment related to the monitoring system for wild sturgeons along the Lower Danube and the achievement of the related target 39 due to delayed permitting procedures. Additionally, following the market consultation, two interested tenderers indicated that the investment could not be carried out in such a short time.
Investment 5. Integrated flood risk mitigation systems in forest river basins – In accordance with Article 21, Romania added to milestone 41 the formulation “where appropriate” for the installation of fish ladders to reflect the fact that they are not necessary in some instances.
Component 3 – Waste management
Reform 1. Improving waste management governance to accelerate the transition to the circular economy – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 45 to clarify that the milestone covers actions set out in the National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan that are due by 2026. The modification in scope allows the National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan to also include longer-term actions, thereby allowing for greater ambition of both documents.
Investment 1a. Establishment of voluntary collection centres – In accordance with Article 21, Romania deleted the requirement that the centres shall be located at the border or outside the Territorial Administrative Unit from targets 48 and 49. This allows the centres to be built as geographically close to where waste is generated, which tends to increase collection rates. The modification therefore provides for a better alternative to reach the policy objectives of the measure.
Investment 1c. Integrated centres for urban agglomerations concerning separate collection – In accordance with Article 21, Romania lowered targets 52 and 53, removing from them the municipality of Bacau, as it will be served by a waste collection centre serving all the local authorities in the county. The modification therefore provides for a better alternative to reach the policy objectives of the measure.
Investment 3b. Air quality, radioactivity and noise monitoring equipment for the National Environmental Protection Agency – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced target 58 due to price increases for the air quality, radioactivity and noise monitoring equipment. The reduction is proportional to the increase in prices.
Component 4 – Sustainable transport
Reform 1. Sustainable transport, decarbonisation and road safety / Road decarbonisation in line with “polluter pays” principle – In accordance with Article 21, Romania replaced “law” with “legislation” in milestones 59, 60 and 66, as a manifestly better alternative considering these milestones will require several legislative acts. Romania also requested to reduce target 64 to reflect the removal of 7 600 recharging points from investment 1.3 in component 10 – Local fund.
Investment 1. Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure – In accordance with Article 18(2), Romania removed the financing to the renewal and electrification of 110 km of railway lines in the sections Constanta-Mangalia and Videle-Giurgiu from this investment. As a consequence, milestones 72 and 73 and targets 74 and 75 have been amended to reflect this change.
Investment 4. Development of the underground transport network in the municipalities of Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca – In accordance with Article 21, Romania replaced the envisaged construction of the section of the M4 metro line in Bucharest with a section of the M6 metro line and of the section Sf. Maria — United Europe of M1 in Cluj-Napoca, with the section Țara Moților (Teilor) – Sf. Maria (Câmpului). To reflect these proposed changes milestones 86 and 87, as well as targets 88 and 89 have been amended accordingly.
Component 5 – Renovation wave
Investment 1. Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock – In accordance with Article 21, due to price increases and supply chain constraints for renovation materials and works, Romania lowered the targets and postponed the implementation timeline of this investment. As a consequence, milestones 95 and 96, and targets 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 and 106 have been amended to reflect these changes.
Component 6 – Energy
Reform 1. Electricity market reform, replacement of coal in the energy mix and support for a legislative and regulatory framework for private investment in renewable electricity production – In accordance with Article 21, to ensure security of supply in the wake of the energy crisis brought about by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the ensuing need to phase out imports of fossil fuels from Russia, Romania amended targets 115 and 119 aligning them with the provisions of the Decarbonisation Law (milestone 113), positively assessed by the Commission in the context of Romania’s second payment request.
Investment 1. New capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources – In accordance with Article 21c(2) of the RRF Regulation, Romania transferred this investment to component 16 – REPowerEU.
Investment 2. Distribution infrastructure of renewable gases (using natural gas in combination with green hydrogen as a transitional measure), as well as green hydrogen production capacities and/or its use for electricity storage – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended this investment due to disruption of supply chains and price increases. The sub-investment for the construction of the distribution network of renewable gases in the Oltenia region has been removed, while the ambition of the sub-investment for the construction of new electrolysers capacity has been reduced from 100 to 55 MWH2. Milestones 129 and 130, and targets 131 and 132 have been modified accordingly.
Investment 4. Industrial chain of production and/or assembly and/or recycling of batteries, cells and photovoltaic panels (including auxiliary equipment), as well as new electricity storage capacities – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the completion of milestones 135 and 136 and targets 137, 138 and 139, due to supply chain disruptions and price increases delaying the completion of the tender procedures.
Investment 5. Ensuring energy efficiency in the industrial sector – In accordance with Article 21, Romania decreased target 141 due to insufficient demand in tendering procedures and increase of costs to achieve the same objective.
Component 7 – Digital transformation
Investment 5. Digitalisation in the field of the environment – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 167 to reflect that the objectives of the investment will be reached by means of an overall better alternative solution within the same allocation.
Investment 8. Electronic identity card and digital signature – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the allocation of this investment and consequently reduced the number of citizens benefiting from the electronic identity card from 8.5 million to 5 million and removed the financing for the optional certificate for the qualified electronic signature. To support the implementation of the investment, Romania included the development and implementation of 11 online public services, the development of an early warning system regarding security risks and the implementation of an awareness campaign. As a consequence, targets 173 and 174 have been amended.
Component 8 – Tax and pensions reforms
Reform 5. Establishment and operationalisation of the National Development Bank – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 209 concerning the operationalisation of the National Development Bank, to reflect the new steps required for its registration.
Reform 6. Reform of the public pension system – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 214 concerning the entry into force of the new law on the pension system, replacing the provisions of Law No 127/2019, to reflect that the objectives of the reform will be reached by means of an overall better alternative solution.
Investment 4. Implementation of electronic customs – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 231 and target 232 to reflect that one contract for developing new IT systems for customs is removed. The budget linked to this contract is redirected to other activities within the same investment for which new technical needs have emerged.
Component 9 – Support to the private sector, research, development and innovation
Investment 1. Digital platforms on legislative transparency, de-bureaucratisation and procedural simplification for business – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 246 to reflect that the scope of the one-stop-shop platform is expanded, which constitutes a manifestly better alternative to achieve the objectives of the investment.
Investment 4. Cross-border and multi-country projects – Low Power Processors and Semiconductor Chips – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the timeline to select entities for participation or association in the project from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, and proposed to commit EUR 360 million (which represents 90% of the revised funding) by Q2 2024,instead of 50% by Q3 2023, which constitutes a better alternative solution to reach the objectives of the investment. Targets 267 and 269 have been amended accordingly.
Investment 7. Strengthening excellence and supporting Romania’s participation in partnerships and missions in Horizon Europe – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 283 to increase the funding devoted to co-funding research projects as part of the investment, which constitutes a manifestly better alternative to deliver the objectives of the investment.
Investment 9. Support for the holders of certificates of excellence received in the Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship Award – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 285 to reduce the number of grants (from 50 to 10) allocated to Marie Sklodowska Curie recipients of Seal of Excellence Certificates to carry out Horizon research projects, due to the limited number of applications received despite the efforts of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation to advertise this investment. The cost reduction is proportional to the adjustment of the target.
Component 10 – Local fund
Investment 1. Sustainable urban mobility – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the allocation of sustainable transport measures by EUR 275 million, i.e. EUR 95 million for electric vehicles charging stations and EUR 180 million for bicycle lanes at local/metropolitan level. As a consequence, targets 302, 305, 306 and milestone 304 have been removed from the RRP, while target 303 has been reduced with respect to its level of required implementation. In addition, due to supply-chain disruptions, Romania removed interim target 295, while keeping target 296 at its original value.
Investment 2. Construction of housing for youth and for professionals in health and education – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 318 and 319 due to prices increases.
Investment 3. Moderate rehabilitation of public buildings to improve public service delivery by administrative territorial units – In accordance with Article 21, due to supply chain disruptions and price increases, Romania removed interim target 321 and reduced target 322.
Investment 4. Development/updating in GIS format of spatial planning and urban planning documents – In accordance with Article 21, due to price increases, Romania removed interim target 324 and reduced target 325.
Component 11 – Tourism and culture
Reform 1. Operationalisation of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced target 330 due to a drop in tourist arrivals as a consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Investment 1. Promotion of 12 touristic/cultural routes – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 334 and target 335 to reflect a postponement of the completion date of the investment and changes to the final structure of the sites selected in each tourist and cultural route.
Investment 2. Modernisation/creation of museums and memorials – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 336 and target 337 to change the status of Satu Mare Museum from “renewal project” to “new construction”. Additionally, Romania removed the Museum of photography from the list of projects to be either renovated or newly constructed because of a high risk of non-implementation due to ongoing legal proceedings.
Reform 2. Framework for the operationalisation of cycling routes at national level – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 340 to reduce the length of the cycling routes to be renovated, due to price increases.
Investment 4. Implementation of 3 000 km of cycling routes – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 342 and target 343 to reduce the length of the cycling routes to be renovated to 2 404 km due to price increases.
Investment 7. Accelerating the digitisation of film production and distribution – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 349 and target 350. It clarified the categories of eligible applicants and the type of award procedure.
Component 12 – Healthcare
Investment 1. Development of pre-hospital medical infrastructure – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget allocated to this investment and consequently reduced target 367, concerning renovating or equipping practices of family doctors or associations of primary care practices, and target 372, on the renovation and/or equipment of family planning offices.
Investment 2. Development of public hospital infrastructure – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget allocated to this investment and consequently reduced target 377, concerning the construction and/or the equipping of new public health units/hospitals.
Component 15 – Education
Reform 1. Elaboration and adoption of the legislative package for the implementation of the "Educated Romania” project – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 452 to reflect a better, more streamlined legislative procedure to attain the objectives of the reform.
Investment 1. Construction, equipping and operationalisation of 110 crèches – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 457 reducing the minimum capacity of crèches to take into account the specific needs at local level and to comply with the relevant provisions on the design, construction, organisation and functioning of crèches.
Investment 2. Setting up, equipping and operationalising 412 complementary services for disadvantaged groups – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget of the measure and proportionally reduced milestone 458 and target 459.
Investment 4. Supporting educational establishments with high risk of drop-outs – In accordance with Article 21, Romania extended the timeline for achieving targets 466 and 467, to allow relaunching the second call for projects necessary to achieve these targets.
Reform 5. Adoption of the legislative framework for the digitalisation of education – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 479 to reflect a better, more streamlined legislative procedure to attain the objectives of the reform.
Investment 9. Ensuring digital technology equipment and resources for schools – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced the number of schools with new technological resources for IT laboratories in target 482, due to a low number of projects submitted and insufficient demand.
Investment 10. Green-schools network development and purchase of green minibuses – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 486, 487 and 488, due to price increases. For target 486, Romania also extended the timeline for completion.
Investment 11. Provision of facilities for pre-university classrooms and school laboratories/workshops – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestones 489 and 490, and targets 491 and 492 to better align the investment to the needs of the education institutions concerned.
Reform 7. Reform of the governance of the pre-university education system and professionalisation of management – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the timeline for the completion of milestone 495, as the reform of the governance needs to be in line with the upcoming legislative package for the implementation of the ‘Educated Romania’ project under milestone 452, which has a later date for completion.
Investment 15. Online School: Assessment platform and content development – In accordance with Article 21, Romania extended the timeline of milestone 498 to take into account the requirements of the new Education law and its implementation, as well as the complexity and functionalities to be delivered.
Investment 16. Digitisation of universities and their preparation for the digital professions of the future – In accordance with Article 21, Romania removed milestone 501 related to the digitalisation of the National Council of Rectors considering that the latter is not eligible to receive RRP funding.
Investment 17. Ensuring university infrastructure (homes, canteens, recreation facilities) – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced the output and postponed the timeline for implementation of targets 503, 504, 505 and 506, due to price increases.
Investment 18. Training and coaching programme for school managers and inspectors – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended the requirements of target 507, due to the ongoing restructuring process of the education system.
Component 16 – REPowerEU
Romania’s REPowerEU chapter amounts to EUR 2 017 million to be financed by Emissions Trading System resources (EUR 1 397 million), Brexit Adjustment Reserve transfer (EUR 43 million) and the freed-up loan capacity following the amendments under Article 21 to the RRP (EUR 577 million). The chapter includes two new reforms and seven investments, among which, an investment for renewable energy generation (C16.I2) that was previously included in the energy component (as C6.I1) and another one (C16.I3) that is a scaling-up of an existing energy efficiency scheme under the renovation wave component (C5). The chapter’s reforms and investments concern the acceleration of green energy generation, boosting energy efficiency in buildings and re- and up-skilling in the field of green energy generation.
Under the REPowerEU chapter and in accordance with Article 21c of the RRF Regulation, Romania has introduced the following nine measures:
Reform 1. Creating a legal framework for the use of state land as acceleration areas for RES investments – This reform aims at putting in place dedicated acceleration areas for renewable energy sources (RES) investments, with particularly short and simple permitting processes. The reform is expected to develop the appropriate tools and datasets to identify those areas for the rapid deployment of new installations to produce energy from wind and solar. Regular tenders for the concessions aim to ensure the level playing field between public and private investors. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through accelerating the development of renewables.
Reform 2. Setting up of one-stop-shops (OSS) to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and energy production from renewable sources for prosumers – This reform aims at putting in place dedicated offices, serving as one-stop-shops to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and the deployment of new installations to produce energy from RES. The reform aims to raise homeowners’ awareness on the benefits of energy efficiency renovations and installation of RES for self-consumption, provide general information on the practicalities and support opportunities, and thereby facilitate energy efficiency renovation works and installation of RES for self-consumption. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through providing better access to information.
Investment 1. Training for green energy skills – This investment complements the one on renewable energy production by strengthening the skills and capacity of the workforce in the energy sector, which is currently insufficient to deliver the required shift to renewable energy deployment. Courses financed under this investment are expected to train 4 000 professionals and workers, to improve their skills in the area of renewable energy production. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through stepping up the policy efforts aimed at the provision and acquisition of skills and competences needed for the green transition.
Investment 2. New capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources – This investment was previously included in component 6 – Energy, as investment C6.I1 and aims to install 950MW of new renewable power production capacity (onshore wind and solar) through a competitive public call for tenders. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through the deployment of additional renewable energy capacity.
Investment 3. Boosting energy efficiency of public buildings – This investment scales up the existing investment C5.I1 – Establishment of a renovation wave fund to finance works to improve the existing building stock, concerning energy-efficiency renovations in public buildings, under component 5 – Renovation wave, by increasing the number of energy-efficiency renovations of public buildings. This contributes to addressing CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 to reduce overall reliance on fossil fuels and increase the pace and ambition of renovations to advance the energy efficiency of the building stock.
Investment 4. Grant Voucher Scheme to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy by households – This investment aims to increase the deployment of renewable energy by private households by providing vouchers for the installation of photovoltaic panels and battery storage systems. The investment is expected to add a total capacity of 180 000 kW of solar panels on residential buildings, and battery storage systems with a total electricity storage capacity of 300 000 kWh. This contributes to addressing CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 to reduce overall reliance on fossil fuels and accelerate the energy transition, in particular by deploying renewable energy faster.
Investment 5. Digitalisation, efficiency and modernisation of the national electricity transmission network – This investment aims at improving the security and resilience of Romania’s electricity transmission network. It consists of three strands. The first aims at improving the energy efficiency of critical network infrastructure by installing solar panels and storage units for the sole use of power stations. The second aims at equipping the transmission network operator to rapidly address bottlenecks in the network and facilitate the connection of new renewable plants. The third aims at improving the digital safety of the network through the installation of equipment to tackle cybersecurity attacks. The investment contributes to addressing CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 to reduce overall reliance on fossil fuels and accelerate the energy transition, in particular by upgrading energy transmission grids and increasing the interconnection.
Investment 6. Pilot project for the installation of 20 MW of floating solar panels on irrigation channels – This investment aims at installing 20 MW of floating solar panels on already refurbished irrigation channels owned by the State. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through the deployment of additional renewable energy capacity.
Investment 7. Grant Voucher Scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households – This investment aims to decrease energy demand of households, by supporting energy-efficiency renovations of single-family residential buildings, with a focus on energy-poor and vulnerable energy consumers (at least 50% of the estimated budget of the measure being earmarked for them). Under the investment, households can apply for vouchers to finance energy-efficiency renovations that achieve at least 30% primary energy savings compared to pre-renovation state. Vouchers for energy-poor and vulnerable energy consumers also cover the installation of solar panels. This contributes to addressing CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 to reduce overall reliance on fossil fuels and increase the pace and ambition of renovations to advance the energy efficiency of the building stock.
Table 1 – New and modified components and associated costs.
|
Component |
Status |
Costs (EUR million) |
|
C1: Water management |
Modified |
1 415.8 |
|
C2: Forests and biodiversity protection |
Modified |
903.9 |
|
C3: Waste management |
Modified |
1 233.4 |
|
C4: Sustainable transport |
Modified |
7 384.0 |
|
C5: Renovation wave |
Modified |
2 200.0 |
|
C6: Energy |
Modified |
760.0 |
|
C7: Digital transformation |
Modified |
1 835.0 |
|
C8: Tax and pensions reforms |
Modified |
456.9 |
|
C9: Business support, research, development and innovation |
Modified |
2 443.5 |
|
C10: Local fund |
Modified |
1 825.0 |
|
C11: Tourism and culture |
Modified |
449.0 |
|
C12: Healthcare |
Modified |
1 709.8 |
|
C13: Social reforms |
Modified |
196.7 |
|
C14: Good governance |
Modified |
165.6 |
|
C15: Education |
Modified |
3 515.4 |
|
C16: REPowerEU |
New |
2 017.5 |
2.3.Other elements not covered by assessment criteria
The description of the consistency with other programmes, administrative organisation, the contribution of the RRP to gender equality and equal opportunities for all, security self-assessment for investments, and planned communication strategy as reflected in the previous Staff Working Document SWD (2021) 276 remains valid.
State aid and competition rules fully apply to the measures funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Union funds channeled through the authorities of Member States, like the RRF funds, become State resources and can constitute State aid. When this is the case and State aid is present, these measures must be notified and approved by the Commission before Member States can grant the aid, unless those measures are covered by an existing aid scheme or comply with the applicable conditions of a block exemption regulation, in particular the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU 2 .
When State aid is present and it requires notification, it is the duty of the Member State to notify State aid measures to the Commission before granting them, in compliance with Article 108(3) TFEU. In this respect, the State aid analysis carried out by Romania in the RRP cannot be deemed a State aid notification. In as far as Romania considers that a specific measure contained in the RRP entails de minimis aid or aid exempted from the notification requirement, it is the responsibility of Romania to ensure full compliance with the applicable rules.
3.Summary of the assessment of the plan
3.1.Comprehensive and adequately balanced response to the economic and social situation
The original RRP put forward a balanced set of reforms and investments addressing both the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the main structural socio-economic and environmental challenges affecting Romania, pursuing cohesion objectives, and contributing towards all of the six pillars referred to in Article 3 of the RRF Regulation. The focus of the RRP remains unchanged, as the green transition and the digital transformation are at the core of the RRP. The green reforms and investments included in the RRP are boosted by the new REPowerEU measures. Digital reforms and investments are expected to help modernise Romania, supporting areas with the largest investment gaps through the digitalisation of public services and support for hospitals and schools.
The REPowerEU chapter impacts significantly the contribution of the RRP to the first pillar on green transition. The nature and extent of the modifications to the RRP do not have an impact on the previous assessment of the plan representing to a large extent a comprehensive and adequately balanced response to the economic and social situation, and on its appropriate contribution to all six pillars referred to in Article 3 of the RRF Regulation.
The measures in the REPowerEU chapter contribute to achieving the Union’s 2030 climate targets and the objective of EU climate neutrality by 2050 as they aim to accelerate the deployment of renewables by introducing measures to streamline permitting and administrative procedures. The chapter also includes an investment in new renewable energy capacity. In addition, the new REPowerEU measures include support for energy efficiency renovations of buildings and education and skills development for the green transition. All measures included in the REPowerEU chapter are expected to significantly contribute to the green transition, or to addressing the corresponding challenges.
Table 2 – Coverage of the six pillars of the Facility by the new or modified RRP components
|
Green transition |
Digital transformation |
Smart, sustainable & inclusive growth |
Social and territorial cohesion |
Health, and economic, social and institutional resilience |
Policies for the next generation |
|
|
Pillar I - Green transition |
||||||
|
1 —Water management |
● |
○ |
○ |
|||
|
2 — Forests and Biodiversity protection |
● |
|||||
|
3 — Waste management |
● |
○ |
○ |
|||
|
4 — Sustainable transport |
● |
● |
● |
○ |
||
|
5 — Renovation Wave Fund |
● |
○ |
○ |
|||
|
6 — Energy |
● |
○ |
||||
|
Pillar II – Digital transformation |
||||||
|
7 — Digital transformation |
● |
|||||
|
Pillar III
|
||||||
|
8 — Tax pension reforms |
○ |
○ |
● |
● |
○ |
|
|
9 — Business Support, research, development and innovation |
● |
● |
||||
|
Pillar IV – Social and territorial cohesion |
||||||
|
10 — Local Fund |
● |
○ |
● |
|||
|
11 — Tourism and culture |
○ |
|||||
|
Pillar V - Health, and economic, social and institutional resilience |
||||||
|
12 — Healthcare |
○ |
○ |
○ |
● |
||
|
13 — Social reforms |
○ |
● |
● |
|||
|
14 — Good governance |
● |
|||||
|
Pillar VI – Policies for the next generation |
||||||
|
15 — Education |
○ |
● |
○ |
○ |
● |
|
|
16 - REPowerEU |
● |
○ |
○ |
○ |
○ |
Key: “●” investments and reforms of the component significantly contribute to the pillar; “○” the component partially contributes to the pillar
***
Taking into consideration all reforms and investments envisaged by Romania its modified recovery and resilience plan continues to represent, to a large extent, a comprehensive and adequately balanced response to the economic and social situation, thereby contributing appropriately to all six pillars referred to in Article 3 of the RRF Regulation, taking the specific challenges and the financial allocation of Romania into account. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.1 in Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.2.Link with country-specific recommendations and the European Semester
The modified plan continues to effectively address a significant subset of the challenges identified in the relevant CSRs. The modified plan still maintains to a significant extent the ambition of the investments and reforms, while also introducing new reforms and investments under the REPowerEU chapter that help maintain the coverage of a significant subset of the challenges identified in the CSRs.
As the maximum financial contribution for Romania has been adjusted downwards, the 2022 and 2023 recommendations not related to energy challenges, are not considered in the overall assessment.
The REPowerEU chapter reinforces the ambition of the plan as regards most of the relevant CSRs in the field of energy (CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3), notably to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and to accelerate the energy transition. Several measures included in the REPowerEU chapter aim at deploying renewable energy faster. This includes both reforms (C16.R1 on the creation of the legal framework for the use of state land as acceleration areas for RES investments, and C16.R2 establishing one-stop-shops (OSS) to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and energy production from renewable sources for prosumers), and investments C16.I2 (New capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources), C16.I4 (Grant Voucher Scheme to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy by households) and C16.I6 (Pilot project for the installation of 20 MW of floating solar panels on irrigation channels). Moreover, investment C16.I5 (Digitalisation, efficiency and modernisation of the national electricity transmission network) aims at improving grid capacity to allow the new-built capacity to operate in the market. Reform C16.R2 (Setting up one-stop-shops (OSS) to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and energy production from renewable sources for prosumers), and investments C16.I3 (Boosting energy efficiency of public buildings) and C16.I7 (Grant Voucher Scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households) aim to increase the pace and ambition of renovations to advance the energy efficiency of the building stock. The introduction of renovation offices under C16.R2 specifically addresses the recommendation to provide better access to information and sustainable finance options. Finally, investment C16.I1 (Training for green energy skills) aims to increase the provision and acquisition of skills and competences needed for the green transition.
***
Taking into consideration the reforms and investments envisaged by Romania, its modified recovery and resilience plan is expected to contribute to effectively addressing all or a significant subset of challenges identified in the country-specific recommendations, or challenges in other relevant documents officially adopted by the Commission under the European Semester, and the modified recovery and resilience plan represents an adequate response to the economic and social situation of Romania. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.2 in Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.3.Growth potential, job creation, economic, institutional and social resilience, European Pillar of Social Rights, mitigating the impact of the crisis, and social territorial cohesion and convergence
The modified RRP, including the REPowerEU chapter, continues to contribute to economic cohesion and to address vulnerabilities of the economy. The main contributions to growth and employment are expected to come from investments and reforms concerning education, including digital skills and vocational training, the decarbonisation of industry, the digitalisation of enterprises and the formalisation of domestic work. Measures in the REPowerEU chapter are also expected to contribute to sustainable growth. It is the case for instance for the support to green skills and to the development of renewable energy sources.
The modified RRP and the REPowerEU chapter contribute to social cohesion. The revised RRP includes measures to address long-standing social challenges. These cover the responsiveness and accessibility of healthcare and long-term care services, and the access to services for children in vulnerable communities and persons with disabilities. Social vulnerabilities should also be addressed through provision of a wide range of social services to ethnic minorities and through integrated programmes to support disadvantaged communities in deprived metropolitan areas. A new reform aims to improve social assistance and reduce poverty for the most vulnerable, while reducing the administrative burden for all stakeholders involved. It aims at stimulating employment through activation measures and at increasing education attainment. These measures are expected to help deliver on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan endorsed at the Porto Summit of 7 May 2021 and are expected to contribute to improving the levels of the indicators of the Social Scoreboard.
The revised RRP should also foster improved digital literacy for the new generations. Measures are also supporting the integration of digital technologies in the pre-university education system and the digitalisation of universities and their preparation for the digital professions of the future.
***
Taking into consideration all reforms and investments envisaged by Romania, its modified recovery and resilience plan is expected to have a high impact on strengthening the growth potential, job creation, and economic, social and institutional resilience of the Member State, on contributing to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including through the promotion of policies for children and youth, and on mitigating the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 crisis, thereby enhancing the economic, social and territorial cohesion and convergence within the Union. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.3 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.4.The principle of ‘do no significant harm’
The modifications of the measures included in the RRP do not have an impact on the assessment of the principle of ‘do no significant harm’, which remains identical.
Romania’s REPowerEU chapter includes a systematic assessment of each measure against the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ (DNSH), for each of the six environmental objectives within the meaning of Article 17 of the Taxonomy Regulation. While Romania’s assessment often stresses the environmental and climate benefits of measures, it also provides information allowing to assess that measures comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle – for instance by providing reassurances that the implementation of the existing EU and Romanian legislative framework will prevent any significant harm, or by indicating that any measure that could have had a significant impact has been carved out from funding under the RRP.
For some measures where calls for projects or calls for interest are necessary to select specific projects, adherence with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle is ensured by introducing specific safeguards in the milestones associated with each measure, to monitor the implementation of the measures.
No measure under the REPowerEU chapter of Romanian RRP falls under Article 21c(3), point (a) of the RRF Regulation.
***
Taking into consideration the assessment of all the measures envisaged, no measure for the implementation of reforms and investments projects included in Romania’s modified RRP, including its REPowerEU chapter, is expected to do significant harm to environmental objectives within the meaning of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 (the principle of ‘do no significant harm’). This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.4 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.5.Green transition
The modifications to the plan increased its contribution to the green transition, with respect to the initial assessment. The modified RRP continues to significantly contribute to the green transition and to the achievement of the Union 2030 climate targets, while complying with the objective of EU climate neutrality by 2050. The new measures introduced in the REPowerEU chapter significantly increase Romania’s efforts to advance the green transition. The REPowerEU chapter includes nine measures which aim to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources, the pace of energy efficiency renovations and the requalification of the workforce towards green skills.
The modified Romanian plan, including its REPowerEU chapter, includes measures supporting climate change objectives for an amount which represents 44.1% of the total plan’s allocation. For the REPowerEU chapter alone, the share is 96.5%, according to the methodology for climate tracking set out in Annex VI to the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation. The climate ambition of the revised plan without the REPowerEU chapter decreases slightly compared to the initial plan and stands at EUR 10.63 billion or 40.1%, compared to 41% for the original plan. Overall, the climate change contribution of the total plan, as well as of the REPowerEU chapter, exceeds the minimum climate target of 37% as set out in that Regulation.
The modified RRP of Romania continues to correctly follow the methodology for climate tagging set out in Annex VI to the RRF regulation, by identifying intervention fields, and corresponding coefficients for the calculation of support to the climate objectives, for each measure (the table in Annex I presents the detailed application of the climate tagging methodology). It should be noted that:
a)the tagging and the estimated expenditure of existing measures has not been modified, on this basis the assessment as reflected in the previous SWD (2021) 276 final is maintained for those measures.
b)For the new measures of the modified plan:
owhen they consist of several sub-measures, the plan indicates an intervention field for each sub-measure, and climate tagging is computed at sub-measure level;
othe choice of intervention fields for the green transition is well justified and reflects the nature, focus, objective, or expected outcome of the investments included in the component;
othe plan does not increase the climate coefficients of the selected intervention fields for any measure.
***
Taking into consideration the assessment of all the measures envisaged, the modified recovery and resilience plan, including its REPowerEU chapter, is expected, to a large extent, to make a significant contribution to the green transition or to address the challenges resulting from it and ensures that at least 37% of its total allocation contributes to the climate target. At least 37% of the total estimated costs of the REPowerEU chapter contribute to the climate target. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.5 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.6.Digital transition
Despite the downwards adjustment of the financial contribution, the modification of the plan does not impact its ambition towards the digital transition, as well as the initial assessment. The modified RRP continues to significantly contribute to the digital transition, including by developing necessary infrastructure (building up connectivity, cloud and improving cybersecurity) both for businesses and public administration. The plan also has a sectorial approach for the digital transformation, focusing, inter alia, on deploying an e-Health and a telemedicine system, improving the digitalisation of public employment services and social protection, digitalising road and rail transport, as well as education (modernising computer laboratories in schools, provision of additional IT equipment, trainings), tax and tax administration processes, culture, the judiciary and services related to environment.
In the original plan, all components contained measures that contributed to the digital transition. Following the revision, this continues to be the case. The newly added component 16 (REPowerEU) puts forward one reform and two sub-investments related to digitalisation of public authorities and software deployment and cybersecurity: (i) reform C16.R1 supporting the digitalisation of the State Domains Agency; (ii) sub-investment C16.5b, providing new digital solutions and equipment to SMART SA, a subsidiary of Transelectrica, to improve the efficacy and speed of intervention on the network; and sub-investment (iii) C16.5.c, concerning the optimisation of the communication network and creation of a data centre of Teletrans SA, another subsidiary of Transelectrica S.A., to limit the risk of cyber-attacks on Transelectrica’s IT infrastructure.
The main impact of the revision concerns measures from components 1 (Water management), 7 (Digital transformation), 9 (Business support, research, development and innovation), 12 (Healthcare), and 15 (Education), with a decrease in the contribution to the digital target of EUR 204 million, which is less than proportional to the reduction of the financial allocation available to Romania. Hence, the contribution to the digital transition of the modified RRP (excluding the REPowerEU chapter) stands at 21.8% (EUR 5.8 billion) of Romania’s revised maximum contribution of EUR 28.5 billion, which is above the contribution of the original RRP and the required target of 20% set out in the RRF Regulation. In compliance with Article 21c(c) of the RRF Regulation, the above-mentioned reform and the two sub-investments included in the REPowerEU chapter contributing to the digital transition have not been taken into account when calculating the plan’s contribution to the digital target.
***
Taking into consideration the assessment of all the measures envisaged, the modified recovery and resilience plan is expected, to a large extent, to make a significant contribution to the digital transition or to address the challenges resulting from it and ensures that at least 20% of its total allocation (excluding the measures in the REPowerEU chapter) contributes to supporting digital objectives. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.6 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.7.Lasting impact of the plan
With the revised plan, the implementation of the envisaged reforms and investments is expected to stay on its course and deliver lasting structural changes. The RRP continues to address both the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the main structural socio-economic and environmental challenges affecting Romania, pursuing cohesion objectives, and contributing towards all of the six pillars referred to in Article 3 of the RRF Regulation. The Romanian RRP includes reforms and investments with a lasting impact in all five key areas included in the plan – green economy, education, business environment, health, social inclusion, public administration, and digitalisation.
The modifications to Romania’s recovery and resilience plan, based on Articles 18 and 21, include the reduction and deletion of certain milestones and targets. Overall, these changes do not have a material impact on the previous assessment regarding the lasting impact on structural changes in administration, institutions and in policies.
Moreover, Romania’s newly-added REPowerEU chapter is expected to have a lasting impact by helping reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and increase decarbonisation and the uptake of renewable energy and therefore shape Romanian energy policy beyond the lifespan of the RRP.
***
Taking into consideration all reforms and investments envisaged by Romania in its modified recovery and resilience plan, their implementation is expected, to a large extent to bring about a structural change in to bring about a structural change in the administration, in relevant institutions and in relevant policies and to have a lasting impact. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.7 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.8.Milestones, targets, monitoring and implementation
Adequacy of the recovery and resilience plan’s implementation structure, arrangements for the monitoring of progress and reporting
The modified RRP clearly describes the arrangements in place, which ensure its effective coordination and implementation. The Ministry of Investment and European Projects maintains its role as national coordinator in charge with the overall implementation of the plan. Since the adoption of the plan, the ministry has reinforced the administrative capacity of its specialised structure, through an internal reorganisation and increasing the number of staff. The Ministry of Investment and European Projects has also kept its responsibility for the implementation, development and operation of the IT platform, which ensures compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 22(2)(d) of the RRF Regulation. The high-level coordination is ensured by the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the Plan, working in close cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and European Projects.
The monitoring and reporting mechanism is adequate and reliable. The Ministry of Investment and European Projects continues to be responsible for monitoring the progress achieved for each milestone and target, as well as for reporting on the achievement of milestones and targets based on the information provided by the implementing bodies. In this regard, the ministry has implemented an early warning mechanism, a three-layers IT system which facilitates an automated monitoring and reporting of progress made in achieving milestones and targets, while providing an early warning alert system which signals any risk of delays during implementation. The mechanism allows the transfer of information in real-time and at all levels of decision-makers. The ministry also remains responsible for preparing and submitting the payment requests to the European Commission. In this regard, it is responsible for the verification of the legality and regularity of expenditure and for ensuring the prevention, detection and correction of conflict of interest, fraud, corruption and double funding at the level of the plan together with the reform and investment coordinators.
Quality of the new or modified milestones, targets and related indicators
The new and revised milestones, targets and indicators set out in the Romanian RRP are sufficiently ambitious and clearly defined to enable their effective monitoring and reporting. All modified measures in the plan and the additional ones in the newly added REPowerEU chapter include an adequate number of milestones and targets, clearly defined to ensure that progress in implementing the plan can be robustly monitored. All measures in the revised RRP include milestones and targets consistent with the reforms or investments’ long-term objectives, cost estimates and implementation schedule, and are reflected in specific qualitative or quantitative indicators.
Overall, milestones and targets remain sufficiently detailed, clear and ambitious to ensure that their completion can be reported and verified. Key reforms and investments in the revised plan maintain an adequate response to CSRs. Milestones and targets for reforms present an appropriate level of qualitative information to ensure that the achievement of their objectives can be measured at specific moments of the implementation. For investments, milestones and targets are measured by sound, reliable and verifiable quantitative indicators. Their sequencing is sufficiently regular, reflecting the complexity, progress and completion of implementation.
Overall organisational arrangements
While the initial implementation arrangements remain in place, the REPowerEU chapter will include several new implementing bodies, alongside others which already have a hands-on experience with the RRP specificities. Considering the ambition of the plan, the implementation remains challenging and will need to be closely monitored. The institutional framework is maintained as already approved by Government Ordinance 155/2020, Government Emergency Ordinance 214/2021 and Government Emergency Ordinance 70/2022, as subsequently amended and supplemented. The professional experience of the staff involved in the implementation of the plan varies and covers areas such as European funds management, public procurement, audit and control. The administrative capacity of the national coordinator and of the implementing bodies has been reinforced with additional staff and through the support of technical assistance. Procedures are in place to ensure the adequate implementation of the plan. For most of the measures in the new chapter, the existing structures with responsibilities in implementing the plan will continue to fulfil the role of reform and/or investment coordinator, while for the new structures it will require support and training.
***
The arrangements proposed by Romania in its modified recovery and resilience plan are expected to be adequate to ensure effective monitoring and implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, including the envisaged timetable, milestones and targets, and the related indicators. This would warrant a rating of A under the assessment criterion 2.8 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.9.Costing
Romania has provided individual estimated costs for all the measures in the REPowerEU chapter. Apart from the measures in the REPowerEU chapter, there are no new measures. Romania has also provided individual justifications for all the measures whose modifications entailed a change in the cost estimates or related milestones and targets, including on the proportionality of the relevant amendments.
The cost information provided by Romania is mostly sufficiently detailed and substantiated. Romania provided estimates and assumptions on costs using the standard template table, which was intended to summarise the key information and evidence on costing. Descriptions of the methodology underlying the cost calculations are found in a document which Romania submitted separately.
Romania also submitted additional documents and materials intended to clarify costing discrepancies and provide costing data and benchmarks on comparable investments done in the past or in other countries. These documents also include descriptions and explanations of the main drivers and changes in the costs of the amended measures and their proportionality.
Reasonable costs
Overall, assumptions used by Romania to estimate the costs of the measures in the REPowerEU chapter provide a reasonable explanation of their primary cost drivers. The provided materials generally allow to identify the methodology used in costing calculations, even if for a small number of measures this information is missing or not as clear. Nevertheless, there is no concrete evidence that would put into question the costing estimates provided.
Measures in the REPowerEU chapter, comply with the eligibility criteria set out in the RRF Regulation. All costs are incurred into after February 2022. Value-added tax (VAT) is not included in any of the cost estimates. The reasonability of the costs of the modified measures has not changed from the initial assessment of these measures. Changes in the cost estimates for all of them are duly justified and proportional. In the case of measures whose costs are being amended under Article 21(1) of the RRF Regulation, sufficient information has been provided to justify the objective circumstances and the proportionality of the changes in the cost estimates or related milestones and targets. In this context, the reasonability of the cost estimates, taking into account the new measures in the REPowerEU chapter and the amended measures, has been established to a medium extent.
Plausible costs
The amount of the estimated costs in the REPowerEU chapter, is in line with the nature and type of the envisaged reforms and investments. Romania provided supporting documents and evidence to substantiate the cost estimates for most of the new measures in the REPowerEU chapter. However, additional information on the plausibility of cost estimates was necessary in instances where the given explanations were not detailed or substantiated enough for plausibility to be established.
The plausibility of the costs of the modified measures has not changed from the initial assessment of these measures, as the changes in the cost estimates for all of them are duly justified and proportional. Sufficient information has been provided to justify the objective circumstances and the proportionality of the changes in the cost estimates or related targets. Considering the limitations of an ex-ante assessment of cost estimates, the financing amounts were deemed appropriate.
No double Union financing
Romania has indicated that the costs for the new measures in the REPowerEU chapter will not be funded at the same time by other Union funding sources. The commitment to put in place safeguards which are meant to prevent double funding remain and has not been altered by the plan’s modification.
Commensurate and cost-efficient costs
The total cost of the modified Romanian RRP is commensurate to the expected social and economic impact of the envisaged measures. The plan is expected to effectively address a significant subset of challenges identified in the CSRs. The main objectives of the plan are to foster the twin transition, address bottlenecks to a lasting and sustainable growth, job creation and economic, social and institutional resilience, thereby reducing vulnerability to shocks. The plan contributes to strengthening social cohesion and social protection and to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The plan enhances the economic, social and territorial cohesion and convergence within the Union. The economic and social impact of the plan in combination with the positive cost assessment, indicates that its cost is in line with the principle of cost-efficiency.
***
The justification provided by Romania on the amount of the estimated total costs of the modified recovery and resilience plan is to a medium extent reasonable, plausible, in line with the principle of cost-efficiency and is commensurate to the expected national economic and social impact. Romania provided sufficient information and evidence that the amount of the estimated cost of the reforms and investments of the modified recovery and resilience plan to be financed under the Facility is not covered by existing or planned Union financing. This would warrant a rating of B under criterion 2.9 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.10.Controls and audit
The original assessment on the robustness and adequacy of the control system and other arrangements included in the Romanian RRP had concluded that these arrangements were adequate subject to the timely fulfilment of two milestones pertaining to the setting up of a repository system for the collection of data in line with art 22(2)(d) of the RRF Regulation and entry into force of the mandate of the main institutions implementing and controlling the Romania RRP. This warranted a rating of A under assessment criterion 2.10 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
The Romanian authorities have confirmed that the internal control system, as well as the arrangements for the prevention, detection and correction of fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and double funding as previously assessed remain in place. In addition, as provided by the first relevant milestone included in the Annex to the original Council Implementing Decision, a Government Ordinance provided the Ministry of Investments and European Projects with the legal mandate to act as coordinating body and laid down the roles of the Ministry of Finance and the Audit Authority. In compliance with the second milestone, a repository system for monitoring the implementation of the RRP has been set up, including for the collection and storage of data required by Article 22(2)(d), points (i) to (iii). The adequacy of these measures has been assessed positively by the Commission in the context of the first payment request, including through commitments fulfilled by the second payment request.
The modifications to the original plan and the introduction of the REPowerEU chapter as such do not affect the original assessment. However, in the context of the modifications to the Romanian RRP, its audit and control system needs to be reassessed. Since the original assessment, the Commission has had access to information on its actual implementation. This includes the preliminary findings of the audit on the protection of the financial interests of the Union performed by the Commission in Romania.
In light of this information, the Commission considers that the internal control system of Romania’s RRP is overall adequate.
Robustness of internal control system and distribution of roles and responsibilities
The previously assessed arrangements as regards the roles and responsibilities of the actors for control and audit, the segregation of functions and independence of actors performing audits remain adequate and were further enhanced through the entry into force of the Government Ordinance enacting the legal mandate of the Ministry of Investments and European Projects as coordinating body, and of the Ministry of Finance and the Audit Authority.
Adequacy of control systems and other relevant arrangements
The control system and other arrangements to prevent, detect and correct fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest when using funds provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility continue to appear overall adequate. The implementation of an IT system for the monitoring and control of the measures, as well as for the collection of data in line with the requirements set out in Article 22(2)(d), points (i) to (iii) of the RRF Regulation is confirmed.
Adequacy of arrangements to avoid double EU funding
The previously assessed arrangements as regards the prevention, detection and correction of double funding remain in place as initially assessed by the Commission.
Legal empowerment and administrative capacity of control function
The legal mandates of all the institutions involved in implementation, control and audit have been approved by means of a Government Emergency Ordinance 3 . In line with this Ordinance, the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, as coordinating body, exercises all the tasks related to the monitoring, verification, control and recovery, and to the drawing up and signing of payment requests and management declarations. The implementation of the RRP is ensured by line ministries and their subordinated structures, through financing agreements with the Ministry of Investments and European Projects. Audits are entrusted to the audit authority within the Court of Accounts. This body is the same audit authority as the one used for the European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds. Its independence from the coordinating body and the institutions responsible for the implementation of the reforms and investments is confirmed.
***
The nature and extent of the proposed modifications to Romania’s recovery and resilience plan do not have a material impact on the previous assessment (rating of A) of the adequacy of the control and audit arrangements proposed by Romania, as reflected in the previous SWD(2021)276 final.
3.11.Coherence
The modifications to Romania’s RRP, in particular those related to green transition and the newly added REPowerEU chapter do not affect the overall coherence of the plan.
For all key areas included in the Romanian RRP – green economy, education, business environment, health, social inclusion, public administration, and digitalisation – an explicit and coherent explanation of their respective contribution to the six pillars in Article 3 of the RRF Regulation is provided. The main focus of the Romanian RRP is unchanged, as green transition and digital transformation remain at its core, where the green reforms and investments included in the original RRP components are boosted by the new REPowerEU measures. Digital reforms and investments remain focused on supporting areas with the largest investment gaps such as digitalisation of public services and schools.
The REPowerEU measures are coherent with Romania’s policy framework aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the share of renewable energy sources. They also reinforce the measures included in the original RRP on energy efficiency and strengthening the electricity network by increasing the share of renewable energy and decreasing energy demand. The modifications to the RRP display coherence within the components, maintained throughout the overall structure and objectives of the plan.
***
Taking into consideration the qualitative assessment of all components of Romania’s modified recovery and resilience plan, their individual weight (importance, relevance, financial allocation) and their interactions, the plan contains measures for the implementation of reforms and public investments which, to a high extent, represent coherent actions. This would warrant a rating of A under the assessment criterion 2.11 of Annex V of the RRF Regulation
3.12.REPowerEU
Romania’s REPowerEU chapter is expected to have a lasting impact on reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the uptake of renewable energy. The chapter includes an important reform aiming at facilitating the identification of acceleration areas, for a swifter deployment of new renewable energy plants. This reform is complemented by two investments aimed at deploying renewable energy. The plan also includes setting up one-stop-shops dedicated to providing information and assistance to individuals for the installation of renewable energy equipment and for energy efficiency renovations. This reform is complemented by an investment aimed at deploying solar energy on single-family residential buildings, and two investments to improve energy efficiency in the country by renovating public and private buildings respectively.
By financing an investment aiming at improving the electricity network, the REPowerEU chapter submitted by Romania aims to improve the maintenance and efficacy of the transmission network, facilitating the connection of new renewable energy plants and ensuring better security and reliability of the infrastructure.
Energy poverty is addressed by the introduction of an investment setting up a grant voucher scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households, with a focus on vulnerable energy consumers and households affected by energy-poverty.
The plan is also expected to contribute to an accelerated requalification of the workforce towards green skills with a focus on developing skills in clean technologies needed for the deployment and use of renewable energy sources.
The REPowerEU chapter is coherent with Romania’s original RRP and extends its ambition in terms of green transition. The chapter further increases the ambition of component 5 (Renovation wave) of the original plan with a focus on energy efficiency renovation of public buildings. The chapter continues to support Romania’s effort to greening its energy mix with two reforms to simplify the procedures necessary for renewable energy deployment.
Finally, consultations were held with relevant stakeholders in the preparation of the REPowerEU chapter. An inter-ministerial working group was set-up to prepare the plan. The draft was presented to the RRP monitoring committee composed of representatives of non-governmental organisations and representative trade unions and employers’ associations, representatives of associations of local public administration (National Union of County Councils of Romania, Association of Romanian Municipalities, Association of Romanian Towns/Small Urban Municipalities and Association of Rural Municipalities of Romania), as well as representatives of the Economic and Social Council. They had the opportunity to make suggestions. In March, a public consultation was organised, as well as a public event with the participation of business representatives, civil society and stakeholders. Comments and proposals were sent by stakeholders to the Ministry of Investments and European Projects. Following these consultations, a new draft of the chapter was prepared.
***
Taking into consideration the assessment of all the measures envisaged in the REPowerEU chapter, the chapter is expected, to a large extent, to contribute effectively to energy security, the diversification of the Union’s energy supply, an increase in the uptake of renewables and in energy efficiency, an increase of energy storage capacities or the necessary reduction of dependence on fossil fuels before 2030. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.12 of Annex V to the RRF Regulation.
3.13.Cross-border or multi-country dimension or effect
Most measures included in Romania’s REPowerEU chapter have a multi-country or cross-border dimension. The REPowerEU chapter is expected to contribute to reducing dependency on fossil fuels and to reducing energy demand. In particular, a majority of the measures in the REPowerEU chapter support the deployment of renewable energy sources and reduction of energy demand in buildings.
The estimated costs of the measures with a multi-country dimension or effect included in the REPowerEU chapter represent 96.5% of the total estimated cost of the chapter, which is significantly above the 30% indicative target.
Table 3 – Cross-border or multi-country dimension of REPowerEU measures
|
REPowerEU measure |
Costs (EUR million) |
Contribution to the target in % |
|
Creating a legal framework for the use of state land as acceleration areas for RES investments |
3.01 |
0% |
|
Setting up one-stop-shops (OSS) to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and energy production from renewable sources for prosumers |
0.43 |
0% |
|
Training for green energy skills |
10.38 |
0% |
|
Boosting renewable energy production |
460.00 |
100% |
|
Boosting energy efficiency of public buildings |
300.00 |
100% |
|
Grant Voucher Scheme to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy by households |
610.76 |
100% |
|
Digitalisation, efficiency and modernisation of the national electricity transmission network |
56.24 |
0% |
|
Pilot project for the installation of 20 MW of floating solar panels on irrigation channels |
17.00 |
100% |
|
Grant Voucher Scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households |
559.65 |
100% |
***
Taking into consideration the assessment of all the measures envisaged in the REPowerEU chapter, the measures in the chapter are expected, to a large extent, to have a cross-border or multi-country dimension or effect. This would warrant a rating of A under criterion 2.13 of Annex V of the RRF Regulation.
3.14.ANNEX I: Climate tracking and digital tagging
|
Measure ID |
Measure/ Sub-Measure Name |
Budget (EUR m) |
Climate |
Digital |
||
|
Int. field |
Coeff. % |
Int. field |
Coeff. % |
|||
|
C1.I.4 |
Rehabilitation of existing defence lines in accordance with the Floods Directive and the National Strategy for Flood Risk Management |
96.97 |
035 |
100% |
||
|
C1.I.4 |
Rehabilitation of existing defence lines in accordance with the Floods Directive and the National Strategy for Flood Risk Management - Other types of ICT infrastructure |
8.03 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C1. I.4 |
Rehabilitation of existing accumulations that require emergency response for safe operation |
209.37 |
040 |
40% |
||
|
C1. I.4 |
Rehabilitation of existing accumulations that require emergency response for safe operation – Other types of ICT infrastructure |
25.93 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C1.1.5 |
Appropriate endowment of river basin administrations for flood monitoring, prevention and emergency response |
1.60 |
035 |
100% |
||
|
C1.1.5 |
Appropriate endowment of river basin administrations for flood monitoring, prevention and emergency response – Other types of ICT infrastructure |
5.20 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C1.1.6 |
Implementation of the water cadastre |
30.00 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C1.1.7 |
Extension of the national observation network of the National Integrated Meteorological System (SIMIN) |
40.00 |
035 |
100% |
055 |
100% |
|
C2.I.1 |
Afforestation and reforestation national campaign, including urban forests |
460.88 |
035 |
100% |
||
|
C2.I.2 |
Development of modern production capacities of forest reproduction material |
50.00 |
035 |
100% |
||
|
C2.I.3 |
Update of approved management plans and identification of potential areas for strict protection in natural terrestrial and marine habitats in order to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030_Update of approved management plans |
120.00 |
050 |
40% |
||
|
C2.I.3 |
Update of approved management plans and identification of potential areas for strict protection in natural terrestrial and marine habitats in order to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 |
5.00 |
050 |
40% |
||
|
C2.I.4 |
Integrated investments for the ecological reconstruction of habitats and the conservation of species related to meadows, aquatic and water-dependent areas Removing obstacles in watercourses to facilitate the restoration of the connectivity of water-dependent habitats and species |
150.00 |
050 |
40% |
||
|
C2.I.4 |
Integrated investments for the ecological reconstruction of habitats and the conservation of species related to meadows, aquatic and water-dependent areas_Reconstruction of grassland habitats in protected natural areas |
35.00 |
050 |
40% |
||
|
C2.I.4 |
Integrated investments for the ecological reconstruction of habitats and the conservation of species related to meadows, aquatic and water-dependent areas_Decolourisation of the Danube Delta lakes in the Danube Delta to reduce eutrophication and maintain biological diversity |
35.00 |
050 |
40% |
||
|
C2.I.4 |
Integrated investments for the ecological reconstruction of habitats and the conservation of species related to meadows, aquatic and water-dependent areas_Implementation of a wild sturgeon monitoring system along the Lower Danube |
7.16 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C2.I.5 |
Integrated flood risk mitigation systems in forest river basins |
22 |
040 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level_Establishment of voluntary collection centres |
452.20 |
042 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level _Household waste management: prevention, minimisation, sorting, reuse, recycling measures |
108.33 |
042 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level _Other types of ICT infrastructure |
91.77 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level _Integrated voluntary injection collection centres for agglomerations |
75.51 |
042 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level _Commercial, industrial waste management: prevention, minimisation, sorting, reuse, recycling measures |
2.61 |
044 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.1 |
Development, modernisation and completion of integrated municipal waste management systems at county level or at city/municipality level_Construction of waste recycling facilities to meet the recycling targets of the circular economy package |
220.00 |
042 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.2 |
Development of infrastructure for manure and other compostable agricultural waste management |
255.00 |
044 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.3 |
Development of public monitoring, control and institutional capacities for waste management and pollution prevention _ Household waste management: prevention, minimisation, sorting, reuse, recycling measures |
0.36 |
042 |
40% |
||
|
C3.I.3 |
Development of public monitoring, control and institutional capacities for waste management and pollution prevention _Other types of ICT infrastructure |
11.97 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C3.I.3 |
Development of public monitoring, control and institutional capacities for waste management and pollution prevention_Air quality, radioactivity and noise monitoring equipment for the National Environmental Protection Agency |
1.80 |
048 |
40% |
055 |
100% |
|
C3.I.3 |
Development of public monitoring, control and institutional capacities for waste management and pollution prevention_Air quality, radioactivity and noise monitoring equipment for the National Environmental Protection Agency |
13.20 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Core sections — Railway infrastructure construction |
994.00 |
064 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Core sections — digital infrastructure with the exception of traffic management systems |
115.00 |
070 |
40% |
070 |
100% |
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Core sections — ERTMS |
46.00 |
071 |
40% |
071 |
100% |
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Comprehensive sections — Railway infrastructure construction |
927.00 |
065 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Comprehensive sections — Digital infrastructure with the exception of traffic management systems |
183.00 |
070 |
40% |
070 |
100% |
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - Modernisation of TEN-T Comprehensive sections — ERTMS |
38.00 |
071 |
40% |
071 |
100% |
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - “Quick wins” sections TEN-T Core |
261.00 |
067 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure - “Quick wins” sections TEN-T Comprehensive |
191.00 |
068 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure – Renewal of TEN-T Comprehensive sections |
223.00 |
068 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure – Renewal of sections non TEN-T |
53.00 |
069 |
40% |
||
|
C4.I.1 |
Modernisation and renewal of railways infrastructure – Centralisers for railways stations |
213.00 |
070 |
40% |
070 |
100% |
|
C4.I.2 |
Railways rolling stock - Electric Locomotives, EMU/HEMU railcars, wagon retraction |
382.00 |
072bis |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.2 |
Railways rolling stock - Hydrogen refuelling infrastructure |
15.00 |
077 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.2 |
Railways rolling stock - ERTMS on board for electric locomotives, EMU/HEMU railcars |
15.00 |
071 |
40% |
071 |
100% |
|
C4.I.3 |
Development of sustainable road infrastructure - TEN-T Core sections (A1, A7, A8) — ITS infrastructure |
47.00 |
063 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.3 |
Development of sustainable road infrastructure - TEN-T Comprehensive (A3) sections — ITS infrastructure |
11.00 |
063 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.3 |
Development of sustainable road infrastructure - Infrastructure for charging and control |
101.00 |
063bis |
40% |
063bis |
100% |
|
C4.I.3 |
Development of sustainable road infrastructure - ITS infrastructure (other than A1, A3, A7, A8), Road safety infrastructure — digital |
95.00 |
063 |
100% |
||
|
C4.I.4 |
Development of the underground transport network in the municipalities of Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca |
600.00 |
073 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.1 |
Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock_residential buildings |
987.50 |
025bis |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.1 |
Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock_alternative fuels infrastructure |
12.50 |
077 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.1 |
Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock_public buildings |
1 157.50 |
026bis |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.1 |
Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock_alternative fuels infrastructure |
12.50 |
077 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.2 |
Implementation of the National Building Register |
5.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.3 |
Strengthening the professional capacity of professionals and workers in the renovation sector by developing trainings on energy efficiency construction |
2.00 |
01 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.3 |
Strengthening the professional capacity of professionals and workers in the renovation sector by developing trainings on energy efficiency construction |
8.00 |
01 |
100% |
||
|
C5.I.4 |
Circular economy and increased energy efficiency of historic buildings |
5.00 |
023 |
40% |
||
|
C5.I.4 |
Circular economy and increased energy efficiency of historic buildings |
5.05 |
026 |
40% |
||
|
C5.I.4 |
Circular economy and increased energy efficiency of historic buildings |
1.70 |
01 |
100% |
||
|
C6.I.2 |
Green hydrogen production capacities and/or use for electricity storage |
115.00 |
032 |
100% |
||
|
C6.I.3 |
Development of flexible and high-efficient gas-fired combined heat and power generation (CHP) in district heating to achieve deep decarbonisation |
300.00 |
034 |
40% |
||
|
C6.I.4 |
Industrial chain of production and/or assembly and/or recycling of batteries, cells and photovoltaic panels (including ancillary equipment), and new electricity storage capacities |
150.00 |
027 |
100% |
||
|
C6.I.4 |
Industrial chain of production and/or assembly and/or recycling of batteries, cells and photovoltaic panels (including ancillary equipment), and new electricity storage capacities |
50.00 |
027 |
100% |
||
|
C6.I.4 |
Industrial chain of production and/or assembly and/or recycling of batteries, cells and photovoltaic panels (including ancillary equipment), and new electricity storage capacities |
80.00 |
033 |
100% |
033 |
40% |
|
C6.I.5 |
Ensuring energy efficiency in the industrial sector |
64.00 |
024ter |
100% |
||
|
C7.R.1 |
Developing and implementing a unitary framework for defining the architecture of a government cloud system |
11.89 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.1 |
Deployment of the Government Cloud Infrastructure |
374.73 |
011bis |
40% |
011bis |
100% |
|
C7.I.2 |
Cloud development and migration |
187.05 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.3 |
Development of eHealth and telemedicine system |
400.00 |
095 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.4 |
Digitalisation of the judiciary_construction of energy efficient buildings |
35.00 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C7.I.4 |
Digitalisation of the judiciary |
127.31 |
011quater |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.5 |
Digitalisation in the field of the environment |
52.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.6 |
Digitalisation in employment and social protection |
85.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.7 |
Implementation of the eForms electronic forms in public procurement |
0.85 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.8 |
Electronic identity card and digital signature |
150.00 |
011ter |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.9 |
Digitalisation of the non-governmental organisations sector |
10.30 |
010 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.10 |
Digital transformation in civil service management |
10.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.11 |
Implementation of a scheme to support the use of communication services through different types of instruments for beneficiaries, with a focus on white areas |
94.00 |
054 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.12 |
Ensuring cybersecurity protection for both public and private IT & C infrastructures, with critical value for national security, using smart technologies |
100.00 |
021 quinquies |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.13 |
Development of security systems for the protection of the government spectrum |
28.86 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.14 |
Increase of the resilience and cybersecurity of Internet Service Provider infrastructure services provided to public authorities in Romania |
18.39 |
021 quinquies |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.15 |
Creation of new cybersecurity skills for the society and the economy |
25.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.16 |
Advanced digital skills training programme for civil servants |
20.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.17 |
Funding schemes for libraries to become digital skills hubs |
21.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.18 |
Digital transformation and Robotic Process Automation in public administration |
14.70 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C7.I.19 |
Schemes to upskill/reskill employees in firms |
36.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.1 |
Facilitating taxpayers’ compliance through the development of digital services |
4.20 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.2 |
Improving tax and tax administration processes, including through the implementation of integrated risk management |
196.40 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.3 |
Ensuring the capacity to respond to current and future information challenges, including in the context of the pandemic, through the digital transformation of Ministry of Finance / National Agency for Fiscal Administration |
78.50 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.4 |
Implementation of electronic customs |
28.10 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.5 |
Improving the budgetary programming mechanism |
3.57 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.5 |
Improving the budgetary programming mechanism |
0.43 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.6 |
Economic modelling instrument (Pension Reform Options Simulation Toolkit) to improve institutional capacity to forecast pension expenditures |
0.40 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.7 |
Technical support for the revision of the taxation framework |
3.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.8 |
Operationalisation of the National Development Bank |
9.00 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.9 |
Supporting the process of assessing pension files |
1.27 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C8.I.10 |
Operational efficiency and advanced e-services through digitalisation of the pension system |
61.88 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.1 |
Digital platforms on legislative transparency, de-bureaucratisation and procedural simplification for business |
5.3 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.2 |
Financial instruments for the private sector digitising SMEs |
50.00 |
010 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.2 |
Financial instruments for the private sector_low carbon economy |
100.00 |
027 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.3 |
Private sector aid schemes _digitising SMEs |
315.00 |
010 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.3 |
Private sector aid schemes_IT services and applications for digital skills and digital inclusion |
35.00 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.3 |
Private sector aid schemes _Investments in advanced technologies |
130.00 |
021quater |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.3 |
Private sector aid schemes _Development and employment of cybersecurity technologies |
20.00 |
021 quinquies |
100% |
||
|
C9.I.4 |
Cross-border and multi-country projects — Low Power Processors and Semiconductor Chips |
400.00 |
021 quater |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.1 |
Sustainable urban mobility_clean urban transport rolling stock |
580.00 |
074 |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.1 |
Sustainable urban mobility_ ITS |
100.00 |
076 |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.1 |
Sustainable urban mobility — other ICT infrastructures |
175.00 |
021ter |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.1 |
Sustainable urban mobility — recharging points for electric vehicles |
70.00 |
077 |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.2 |
Construction of housing for youth and for professionals in health and education_construction of energy efficient buildings |
282.50 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C10.I.2 |
Construction of housing for youth and for professionals in health and education_Other types of ICT infrastructure |
2.50 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.3 |
Moderate rehabilitation of public buildings to improve public service delivery by administrative territorial units |
575.00 |
026bis |
100% |
||
|
C10.I.4 |
Development/updating in GIS format of spatial planning and urban planning documents |
40.00 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C11.I.1 |
Promotion of the 12 touristic/ cultural routes |
10.05 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C11.I.2 |
Modernisation/ creation of museums and memorials —construction of new energy efficient buildings |
15.46 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C11.I.4 |
Implementation of 3 000 km of cycling routes |
247.50 |
075 |
100% |
||
|
C11.I.6 |
Development of a digital system for cultural funding processes |
3.75 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C11.I.7 |
Accelerating the digitalisation of film production and distribution |
5.46 |
021bis |
100% |
||
|
C12.I.1 |
Development of pre-hospital medical infrastructure — Integrated community centres construction of new energy efficient buildings |
28.14 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C12.I.2 |
Development of pre-hospital medical infrastructure — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
346.82 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C12.I.2 |
Development of public hospital infrastructure — equipment and facilities, new-born ATI, reduction of the risk of hospital infections — part of telemedicine |
42.51 |
095 |
100% |
||
|
C13.I.1 |
Creation of a network of day centres for children at risk of separation — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
1.31 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C13.I.2 |
Rehabilitation, renovation and development of social infrastructure for persons with disabilities — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
3.36 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C13.I.3 |
Operationalisation of the introduction of work cards for domestic work |
4.03 |
055 |
100% |
||
|
C14.R.1 |
Enhancing the predictability and efficiency of decision-making processes by strengthening the capacity for policy coordination and impact analysis at the level of the government and coordinating ministries, as well as by strengthening the tools to increase the quality of public consultations at all levels of the administration. |
2.80 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C14.R.2 |
Strengthening coordination at the centre of government through an integrated and coherent approach to climate change and sustainable development initiatives |
5.23 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C14.R.3 |
Developing performance human resources management in the public sector |
5.0 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C14.R.9 |
Improve the procedural framework for the implementation of corporate governance principles in state-owned enterprises |
1.46 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C14.I.1 |
Optimising judicial infrastructure to guarantee access to justice and quality of services |
42.22 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C14.I.2 |
Development of the logistical infrastructure (non-IT) needed to fight corruption and recover the proceeds and damage caused by crime, including training in these areas |
13.00 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C14.I.5 |
Monitoring and implementation of the plan |
12.84 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.1 |
Construction, equipping and operationalisation of 110 crèches — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
189.00 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.2 |
Setting up, equipping and operationalising 412 complementary services for disadvantaged groups — digitalisation part |
0.95 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.4 |
Supporting educational establishments with high risk of drop-outs — part of digitalisation |
100.00 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.6 |
Development of 10 regional consortia and development and equipping of 10 vocational campuses — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
280.00 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.6 |
Development of 10 regional consortia and development and equipping of 10 vocational campuses — IT services and applications for digital skills |
33.80 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.7 |
Transformation of agricultural high schools into professionalisation centres _construction of new energy efficient buildings |
6.99 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.7 |
Transformation of agricultural high schools into professionalisation centres _energy renovation |
15 |
026 |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.7 |
Transformation of agricultural high schools into professionalisation centres —digitalisation |
3.88 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.8 |
In-service training programme for teaching staff |
80.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.9 |
Ensuring digital technology equipment and resources for schools |
478.50 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.10 |
Green-schools network development and purchase of green minibuses — energy renovation |
150.00 |
026 |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.10 |
Green-schools network development and purchase of green minibuses —construction of new energy efficient buildings |
75.00 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.10 |
Green-schools network development and purchase of green minibuses — purchase of electric minibuses |
200.00 |
074 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.11 |
Provision of facilities for pre-university classrooms and school laboratories/workshops — part of digital laboratories |
60.00 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.12 |
Support for the rural school consortia — construction of new energy efficient buildings |
28.82 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.13 |
Equipping of IT laboratories in vocational education and training (VET) schools |
16.36 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.14 |
Equipping of practice workshops in VET schools — digitisation part |
30.00 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.15 |
Online School: Assessment platform and content development |
78.59 |
012 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.16 |
Digitisation of universities and their preparation for the digital professions of the future — universities |
234.00 |
108 |
100% |
||
|
C15.I.17 |
Ensuring university infrastructure (homes, canteens, recreation facilities) —construction of new energy efficient buildings |
143.30 |
025ter |
40% |
||
|
C15.I.17 |
Ensuring university infrastructure (homes, canteens, recreation facilities) — energy renovation |
116.70 |
026 |
40% |
||
|
C16.R1 |
Creating a legal framework for the use of state land as acceleration areas for RES investments_digital |
0.76 |
011 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I1 |
Training for green energy skills |
10.38 |
01 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I2 |
(Transfer from C6.I1) Renewable electricity generation capacities |
460.00 |
029 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I3 |
Boosting energy efficiency of public buildings |
300.00 |
026bis |
100% |
||
|
C16.I4 |
Grant Voucher Scheme to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy by households |
610.76 |
029 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I5a |
Installation of photovoltaic plants (CEF) and electricity storage facilities to supply internal services installed in C.N.T.E.E. Transelectrica S.A. stations |
29.56 |
029 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I5b |
Repowering SMART SA – subsidiary C.N.T.E.E. Transelectrica S.A_software |
18.24 |
010bis |
100%* |
||
|
C16.I5c |
Optimisation of the communication network and creation of a data centre – Teletrans SA, subsidiary C.N.T.E.E. Transelectrica S.A. |
8.44 |
055 |
100%* |
||
|
C16.I6 |
Pilot Project for the installation of 20 MW of electricity generation capacity with floating photovoltaic technology on hydro-improvement infrastructure under the management of ANIF |
17.00 |
029 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I7 |
Grant Voucher Scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households – Axis I: solar panels |
71.00 |
029 |
100% |
||
|
C16.I7 |
Grant Voucher Scheme to make energy efficiency improvements to households |
468.13 |
025bis |
100% |
||
* Reforms and investments in the REPowerEU chapter are not taken into account when calculating the plan’s contribution to the digital target requirement set by Regulation (EU) 2021/241.
SWD(2023) 623 final.
Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1315 of 23 June 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty and Regulation (EU) 2022/2473 declaring certain categories of aid to undertakings active in the production, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, OJ L 167, 30.6.2023, p. 1–90, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1315 .
Emergency Ordinance No 124 of 13 December 2021 on the financial stability of financial institutions and institutions for the management of European funds allocated to Romania under the recovery and conversion mechanism and amending Government Emergency Order No 155/2020 as regards the development of the Recovery and Recovery, Recovery and Reduction Plan required by Romania for access to the foreign and reimbursable business space and to the budget of the Land of the Recovery and Recovery and Recovery Mechanism