Romania gives up EUR 740 mln Resilience Facility grants for hospitals, must borrow more

Out of the EUR 2.1 billion reduction in the volume of grants extended to Romania under the Resilience Facility, EUR 740 million is money earmarked for investments in hospitals. This is part of the revised Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), sent by Romania to Brussels for endorsement following consultations between national and European authorities.

Romania's volume of Resilience grants was cut, given its better-than-expected economic growth in 2021.

Thus, the volume of grants for the segment of hospitals drops from EUR 2.45 billion to EUR 1.7 billion. Consequently, the number of hospitals scheduled for modernisation or expansion under the scheme drops from 27 to 21.

Minister of health Alexandru Rafila (Social Democrat) claims that the government will borrow the EUR 740 million no longer available under the Resilience Facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Hotnews.ro reported.

However, finance minister Marcel Bolos (Liberal, former minister of European projects] said that Romania will anyway not be able to use the money made available for hospitals under the Resilience Facility. "Maybe it's better to admit that they don't have time now to build these hospitals because they don't have the physical time, the projects aren't ready, and we can relocate that money elsewhere."

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