European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Bucharest at the end of the month where she is expected to sign the EU recovery plan.
“I can confirm that we are finalizing the assessment of the Romanian recovery plan,” said Dana Spinant, the Commission’s Deputy Chief Spokesperson on Friday. “It will be finished in the next few days. The EC president will visit Bucharest on Sept 27,” she added.
Once signed, the plan needs to be adopted by the European Council.
Following that, the first installment of €1.82 billion will be released. Romania stands to receive a total of €29 billion. This includes about €15 billion in soft loans and nearly €14 billion grants to reform key areas.
The EC president customarily visits EU countries with the purpose of adopting the national resilience plan.
Romania submitted its plan to Brussels in late May. It sets out reforms and public investment projects it plans to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Romanian plan is structured around six pillars: the green transition, digital transformation, smart growth, social and territorial cohesion, health and resilience, and policies for the next generation.
The plan includes measures on sustainable transport, education, healthcare, building renovation and the digitalization of public administration.
The RRF is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU. This is the bloc’s plan for emerging stronger from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It will provide up to €672.5 billion across the EU to support investments and reforms. It is broken down into grants worth a total of €312.5 billion and €360 billion in loans.
It is designed to play a crucial role in helping Europe emerge stronger from the crisis and securing the green and digital transitions.
EU tells Bucharest critics to chill: Discussions on Romania’s Recovery Plan ‘normal and expected’.
