EXCLUSIVE Analysis of second Recovery and Resilience Facility payment request for Romania of €3.2 billion extended for another month / European Commission has reservations about the protection of whistleblowers and decarbonization 

The European Commission has extended, by mutual agreement with Romania, the initial period of two months needed for the analysis of the second application for payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (NRP), amounting to €3.2 billion, officials of the European Commission Representation in Romania told G4Media. According to G4Media information, this is an extension of the analysis period by one month, which means that the new deadline is mid-March.

„On 16 December 2022, Romania submitted to the European Commission the second payment request for EUR 3.22 billion, based on the fulfillment of 51 targets and milestones set out in the Council Decision implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility. As a rule, the European Commission has two months to assess the payment request. In agreement with the Romanian authorities, the evaluation period has been extended to allow a thorough analysis of the outstanding elements”, reads the reply sent by the European Commission Representation in Romania.

G4Media previously wrote that the European Commission sent a letter to the Romanian government in mid-January warning of major backlogs in achieving the targets under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). According to them, the government’s main backlogs are decarbonization (the issue of coal mine closures) and the whistleblower law, which transposes a European directive in a way that, in the Commission’s interpretation, discourages anonymous reporting. Another problem would be certain provisions related to the second pension pillar (unrelated to the reform of the special pension system).