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Ministry of Energy announces European Commission's last requests to be implemented according to terms in regulation
The latest requests and observations of the European Commission for the completion of milestones 129 and 133 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) will be implemented according to the terms provided in the regulation, the Ministry of Energy informs through a press release.
The European Commission (EC) issued on Tuesday a positive preliminary evaluation of the second payment request requested by Romania within the PNRR, after analyzing and finding that our country met 49 of the 51 milestones and targets assumed in this sense. The EC indicated that two milestones related to energy investments (milestones 129 and 133) were not satisfactorily achieved.
Milestone 129 concerned the signing of contracts for the construction of a capacity of new electrolyzers of at least 100 MW, within a competitive procedure, and Milestone 133 concerned the signing of contracts for high-efficiency co-generation projects on gas and central heating, the nature of the call being a non-competitive one.
The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, specified that there were administrative reasons that led to this situation, the Audit Authority of Romania carrying out an analysis of these milestones and declaring them to have been met.
"There were discussions with the European Commission. Hydrogen is the first scheme at the level of the European Union that was practically approved as part of the PNRR, thus Romania is a pioneer at the European level and the European framework is constantly evolving. Similarly, the regulatory framework at the level national. Regarding the co-generation plants - again there were administrative reasons. We will solve them urgently. PNRR is a chance for Romania's development that should not be missed under any circumstances. It is not only a road map, it is a country program, which includes reforms and projects - both components are vital. As I did in the ministry I was in before, one of my main priorities is the timely fulfillment of milestones and targets in the PNRR," Sebastian Burduja said.
On December 16, 2022, Romania sent the Commission a payment request based on 49 milestones and 2 targets established in the Council's Implementation Decision for the second payment. According to a press release from the EC sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, after examining the evidence provided by the Romanian authorities, the Commission considered that 47 milestones and 2 targets out of a total of 49 milestones and 2 targets were satisfactorily achieved.
"Therefore, the Commission activates the procedure for suspending payments, pursuant to Article 24 paragraph (6) of the Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. In accordance with the Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and the explanations in the Communication published on February 21, 2023, this procedure gives Member States additional time to achieve outstanding milestones, while allowing them to benefit from a partial payment related to milestones and targets that have been satisfactorily met," the EC release informed.