The deadline for settling the milestones related to the second payment under the Resilience Plan was long overdue, and it might take another 30 days until a final agreement is reached, minister of investments and European projects Marcel Bolos admitted.

While unblocking the second payment still seems feasible, the third one may prove to be a much higher obstacle as the Government and the ruling coalition as a whole are not willing to go ahead with eliminating the so-called "special pensions".

"On February 15, the 60-day deadline [the request was filed in mid-Devember] expired, but under a joint agreement with the European Commission, we can extend the deadline, as happened with the first payment request. It depends on how the EC evaluates our performance in meeting the targets. It may take another 30 days," minister Bolos said, according to G4media.ro.

The milestones still not settled are the bill on protecting the whistleblowers (of public interest); the mining closure calendar (decarbonisation chapter); and initiating the contracting of projects related to the H2 infrastructure.

The second disbursement under the Resilience Plan accounts to EUR 3.23 bln, out of which EUR 2.15 bln grants and EUR 1.08 bln loans.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gov.ro)