Romania’s negotiator for Resilience Plan: “we’re not sure whether we can win”

“We don’t know whether we can win this battle, because the European experts are very rigorous in their arguments,” said Romania’s chief negotiator for the National Relaunch and Resilience Plan (PNRR) Cristian Ghinea, speaking about the ongoing talks in Brussels that are not at all advancing smoothly.

Prime minister Florin Citu met EC President Ursula von der Leyen on May 12, when he expressed optimistic views but no specific detail, while the line ministries will advocate in Brussels for the EUR 29.2 bln worth of projects included by Romania in its PNRR document.

The rhetoric of the minister of investments and European projects Cristian Ghinea reflects serious concerns.

As regards the technical details, the Commission “is right,” Ghinea admits - while also arguing that the Romanian Government is right in more general terms, Bursa.ro reported. In essence, Romania’s Government backs projects that the Commission does not find particularly “green” or supporting digitalisation - while admitting that they are necessary to the country’s development.

On a more optimistic note, minister Ghinea announced that the programs for small entrepreneurs, EUR 1.5 bln in total, are accepted by the Commission. The European Commission agreed to allocate EUR 1.5 billion for financial instruments for SMEs, which would be created with the support of the European Investment Bank.

(Photo source: Mfe.gov.ro)