The Measure 3 (investment grants) of the broader Government grant scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, investment grants for SMEs will be abolished.

The EUR 550 mln budget will be re-allocated to Measure 2 (working capital grants) to meet all eligible funding applications currently submitted, according to a draft ordinance adopted by the Government, Profit.ro reported.

Out of the 22,000 grant requests submitted under Measure 2 (summing up to RON 5.25 bln, or EUR 1.1 bln), fewer than 4,000 were disbursed before the complete depletion of the budget.

Measure 3 will be relaunched with European funds, amounts from the REACT - EU program.

Measure 3 provided financing for investments, the individual grants being designed between 50,000 euros and 200,000 euros for each beneficiary.

The Ministry of Economy has abandoned the plan to implement Measure 3 due to the verifications carried out by four institutions, the national anti-corruption directorate DNA, the Court of Accounts, the Department for Anti-Fraud, and the Prime Minister's Control Corps.

(Photo: Octav Ganea/ Inquam Photos)

andrei@romania-insider.com