Romania did not spend the advance payments received under the Resilience Facility, some EUR 3.9 bln (loans and grants), because "the organizational structures necessary for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) were not operationalized yet," the minister of investments and European projects, Marcel Boloş, announced on May 23.

But this is actually good, he assured as the Government thus built up a buffer.

"The big thing that the Romanian Government has done is this buffer that we have at our disposal so that no obstacle will appear when the implementation of the projects starts. It is a great thing for what it means to manage the funds within PNRR," he explained.

The application for the first payment under the Resilience Facility, advance payments not counted, will be carried out by the end o May, minister Bolos assured.

"The deadline is May 31, as we promised, and the amount is EUR 3 bln, and we stick to that plan," he said.

The European Commission has two months to request any additional information it wishes on the milestones and targets we have to meet. "It is a period of continuous dialogue," he added.

(Photo: Gov.ro)

andrei@romania-insider.com