Romania is accelerating work to complete and formally receive around 4,500 projects financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) before the end of August, acting prime minister Ilie Bolojan said on August 13, cited by Profit.ro. He warned that delays could result in financial penalties.

Bolojan held a teleconference with prefectures and government representatives responsible for receiving investment projects, during which he called for as many outstanding works as possible to be completed and formally received over the following two weeks.

Romania has more than 15,000 projects financed through the PNRR across the country, according to Bolojan. Many are managed through the Ministry of Education to equip schools, while others are implemented through the Ministry of Development and local authorities.

The projects include investments in schools and medical facilities, apartment-block insulation and other local infrastructure. Around 4,500 projects have yet to be formally received.

Formal reception requires not only completion of the physical works but also registration in the land register and the submission of final documents through the electronic platform provided to local authorities, Bolojan said.

"For works that will not be completed by the end of August, Romania will face penalties," Bolojan warned, without specifying the potential financial impact.

The government has also established a reserve portfolio of "mature and compliant" projects to mitigate the risk of Romania failing to meet milestones and targets linked to PNRR payment requests 5 and 6.

The reserve portfolio is intended to provide alternative projects that can contribute to the required indicators if some projects in the active portfolio cannot be completed or otherwise fail to meet the relevant targets, according to the government.

Romania's PNRR implementation is under increasing time pressure as the program's deadline approaches. The country is scheduled to submit its fifth payment request, while the sixth and final request is expected at the end of September.

The government has been seeking to ensure that delayed investments and reforms are completed in time to avoid losing part of the EU funding allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

(Photo: Gov.ro)

iulian@romania-insider.com