Romania is facing big problems with the second instalment of the NRRP payment, which is currently far behind schedule. FACIAS has warned about this since last year, showing that there will be multiple milestones with problems.
According to information obtained by FACIAS, the European Commission has asked for further explanations on almost half of the milestones related to the second payment tranche. Clarifications have been requested for 23 NRRP milestones and targets, out of the total of 51 assessed.
The list of problematic milestones includes milestone 430, the entry into force of the whistleblower protection law, and milestone 114 on the entry into force of the decarbonisation law adopting the coal/lignite phase-out schedule.
Romania requested an extension of the deadline for the assessment of the second tranche of the NRRP, which should have been approved by the European Commission by 15 February.
The additional deadline for assessing the payment request is two months, so we are fast approaching the key moment for this phase of the NRRP. While some of the targets and milestones could be approved by mid-April, experts warn that others are impossible to meet, and missing some targets completely could mean losing some or all of the €3.2 billion of the second payment request in the NRRP.
The authorities' official replies can be found on the FACIAS website.