PM Orban: Gov't committed to make full use of EU financial package made available to Romania for development

The government is committed to make full use of the EU financial package made available to Romania in the coming years for its development, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Thursday at the launch for public consultation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. "We are about to enter the most prolific period since our accession to the European Union. Romania and all of us, Romanians, will benefit in the coming years from the largest financial support package we've ever had. We are committed to making full use of it for Romania's development. President Klaus Iohannis has achieved an unprecedented performance in extremely difficult negotiations, managing to secure for Romania a substantial financial support for the coming years, which will be a driver for modernization and development, a driver that will truly allow Romania to take the necessary quantum development leap and take its rightful place among the developed nations of Europe," Ludovic Orban said.   The Premier added that in the context of an unprecedented crisis, the European leaders have decided to act in sync so that the recovery is a joint process. "Because only if we all move together and leave no one behind will we recover quickly and become strong. Of course, the decision to support this recovery and economic relaunch effort in each EU country will depend on each country's ability to implement all projects eligible for funding through the national resilience and recovery program," Orban said. The head of the Executive pointed out that the Recovery and Resilience Plan is just one pillar for Romania's development in the next period. "This National Recovery and Resilience Plan must be seen in complementarity with the funding that will be provided under the 2021-2027 European Union budget. All the measures, all the programs covered by this National Recovery and Resilience Plan are included in coordination, in complementarity with the other sources of financing Romania will benefit from in the coming period. In addition to the over 30 billion euro worth of financial resources available under the National Resilience and Recovery Plan, we will also have at our disposal over 46 billion euros for the cohesion policy, for agriculture, for the Just Transition Fund," Orban said. He also mentioned other EU funding sources Romania will be able to access. "No further than this week, the European Commission has decided to allocate to Romania a first instalment of 3 billion euros under the SURE program, which is intended to finance active measures in support of companies and employees in activity sectors that have been hit by the pandemic. Romania also benefits from another 6 billion euros through the Modernization Fund, which are intended for investments in increasing energy production capacities, renewable energy capacities, the modernization of the cogeneration capacities, supporting energy efficiency, financing for the modernization of heat or gas transmission networks. All these financial resources Romania benefits from can be used for the country's economic development," Ludovic Orban said. He also pointed out that the government is ready to implement "an unprecedented, extremely ambitious and thoroughly devised development plan, which relies on an implementation plan and all the necessary financial resources and capabilities required for implementation." "The implementation of this program will include a comprehensive reform of the Romanian state, the state's modernization and digitization, increasing competence quality in the public sector, improving communication among government institutions and all other institutional or social actors, a joint effort to partner for the implementation of these complex projects. I guarantee you that all this effort will be worthwhile; in the coming years we will witness a fast-paced development, and together we can carry out this extremely ambitious project," Orban concluded. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Georgiana Tănăsescu; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)