Romania and the European Commission (EC) have jointly decided to extend the assessment period for the first disbursement under the Resilience facility (EUR 2.6 bln) from the end of July to September 16, the EC confirmed for G4media.ro.

The Romanian Ministry of Investments and European Projects assures that the money is not lost and explains that the delay is due to a new facility that must be added, at the Commission’s request, to the national IT system used to handle the payments under the Resilience Facility.

“This practice is not unusual,” the EC states.

The response provided by the Commission also includes clarifications for the case when a member State fails to meet a milestone: the disbursement is proportionally reduced, but the Member State can continue with the implementation of the rest of the plan.

In the particular case of Romania, the disbursement can take place after the adoption of the decision by the Commission (expected for September 16), normally in a matter of days.

If the Commission assesses that not all milestones and targets associated with an instalment are satisfactorily met, it can make a partial payment; the rest of the payment of the instalment (whether loan or grant) will then be suspended. Only if the member State fails to meet the missed milestone within six months the respective portion of the disbursement is permanently lost.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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