The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday, May 14, that it issued a positive preliminary assessment of Romania’s fourth payment request for EUR 2.62 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. The funds are tied to reforms and investments targeting transport decarbonization, digitalization, healthcare, tax reform, education, and public administration modernization.

“The Commission found that Romania has satisfactorily completed the  38 milestones and 24 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision," reads the statement.

Among the flagship measures highlighted by the Commission is the deployment of Romania’s governmental cloud infrastructure, with more than 30 public institutions already connected. The project aims to modernize public administration by improving data sharing and delivering more efficient digital public services.

The EC also cited reforms aimed at decarbonizing the transport and energy sectors, including higher ownership taxes for highly polluting vehicles and measures to gradually reduce reliance on coal-fired electricity generation.

Another key reform involves changes to Romania’s tax framework intended to simplify procedures, improve tax compliance, reduce administrative burdens, and create a fairer distribution of the tax burden.

The funding package also supports sustainable forest management, public pensions, healthcare infrastructure, social infrastructure for persons with disabilities, judicial reform, anti-corruption measures, and the development of the education system.

“The Commission has sent its preliminary assessment of Romania's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee, which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Romania can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission later,” the EC said.

Romania submitted its fourth payment request in December 2025. 

Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan is financed through EUR 21.41 billion under the EU mechanism, including EUR 13.57 billion in grants and EUR 7.84 billion in loans. 

With the approval of the fourth payment request, the total amount disbursed to Romania under the Recovery and Resilience Facility would reach EUR 12.97 billion, including pre-financing received in 2021, 2022, and through the REPowerEU mechanism in 2024. According to the Commission, this represents 60.6% of the total funding allocated to Romania’s plan, with 62% of all milestones and targets already assessed.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centerpiece of the EU’s NextGenerationEU recovery program, is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2026. EU member states must complete all remaining milestones by August 2026 and submit final payment requests by the end of September 2026.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Cosmin Iftode/Dreamstime.com)