Romania drafts first version of its recovery and resilience plan

Romania's Government has completed the draft of the national recovery and resilience plan that will use EUR 30 billion worth of EU funds, president Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday, October 28.

However, he didn't present any details about the plan, except for the basic structure suggested by the European Commission itself. EU member states are required to submit such plans by April 30, 2021, but they can already present their plans starting October 15.

Member states may finalize their plans following the initial presentation of the drafts to the Commission.

"The funds [to be absorbed under the recovery and resilience plan], in addition to those we will absorb under the Union's multiannual budget for the period 2021-2027, represent a historic opportunity for us to develop Romania, build highways and railways, modernize energy infrastructure and environment, implement digitization programs in the economy and administration," president Iohannis said in a press conference, quoted by Digi24.

He added that Romania set 12 priority areas for these funds, namely: health, education, digitalization and cybersecurity, sustainable transport, combating climate change, environmental protection, energy, energy efficiency, urban mobility, business and entrepreneurship, research and innovation, and building resilience to crises in the health and food field.

The 12 priority areas are grouped into three main pillars of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, namely Green Transition and combating climate change; Public Services, urban development and capitalization of heritage; and Economic competitiveness and resilience, according to Iohannis.

Romania will get EUR 30 billion under the European Union's EUR 672.5 bln Recovery and Resilience Facility, aimed at helping member states recover from the COVID-19 crisis and build resilience to new crises.

The money will come in the form of grants and loans and are separate from the multi-annual EU budget.

(Photo: Presidency.ro)