RSS
Iohannis: By April, PNNR must be submitted to the European Commission
President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that the recent discussions with members of the Government were aimed at preparing projects in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNNR), showing that these projects will mainly cover hospitals, schools, the environment and jobs.
"By April we will have a coherent National Plan, which will be submitted to the European Commission and, as soon as all the necessary approvals are received, we will start its implementation in hospitals, schools, jobs and the environment. We will have in this plan many other areas that are extremely important for Romanians," Klaus Iohannis said at the Cotroceni Palace.
He said that Romania can obtain "significant" European funds through the PNRR, with more than 30 billion euros at its disposal.
"There are huge opportunities and we want to use them. We want to use this money on many levels," President Iohannis said.
The president stressed that there is a need for "significant" investments in Romanian hospitals, "in the public health system in Romania, if we think only of the tragic accidents that have occurred in the last months. Something like that cannot happen again. Important investments are needed in new hospitals, in existing hospitals to modernize them, in the systems of existing hospital to make them safer for patients. Consider how important it is to have investments in the intensive care area, the oxygen supply area, the safety of patients and hospital staff," Iohannis said.
He pointed out that another fear addressed on Wednesday was that of jobs, because "many Romanians have already lost their jobs because of the pandemic or the economic crisis generated by the pandemic and some, unfortunately, are still in danger of losing their jobs. So it is vital for all of us to develop mechanisms through which we develop jobs, encourage entrepreneurs to create jobs for Romanians hit by the pandemic."
"The Romanian education system needs a lot of money, if we think only of the safety of the pupils and students. It also takes a lot of investment here to avoid having fires, avoid accidents in schools, to have licensed schools, to have simple endowment. Let's eliminate wood heating, the toilets behind the courtyards and so on. On the other hand, we need modern teaching materials, we need new schools, we need green schools, schools that are examples for others, how we can get involved for the environment," Iohannis said.
According to the president, serious, environmentally sustainable programmes are needed, "issues that can be done without huge complications, for example foresting programmes that can be put into operation, practically starting from this year".
The president held two working meetings on Wednesday with Prime Minister Florin Citu and several members of the Government. The first meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna and Minister of Health Vlad Voiculescu, and the second by Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Raluca Turcan, and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Claudiu Nasui.