Romania issues first request for funds under Resilience Facility

The Ministry of investment and European projects (MIPE) sent to the European Commission on May 31, just before the deadline, the first request for payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), worth about EUR 3 bln.

The request was conditioned on meeting targets and milestones with the deadline at the end of Q4, 2021.

The next request should be submitted in Q3, conditioned on targets and milestones with the deadlines in the first half of this year.

Of the nearly EUR 3 bln under the first payment, EUR 2.03 bln is non-reimbursable financial support (grants), and EUR 0.90 bln is soft loans, according to a MIPE statement.

The actual disbursements will be smaller, though, as the sums are corrected with part of the advance payments already extended.

Thus, the actual payments will be EUR 1.77 bln in grants and EUR 0.78 bln in loans.

While the Executive claims that it met all the targets and milestones scheduled under the calendar of reforms and actions, it remains unclear how many projects to be financed under the RRF are actually ready to absorb the money.

The EUR 3.8 bln already received as payments in advance are still in Government’s vaults.

(Photo: Marian Vejcik/ Dreamstime)