Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan warned that ministers and state secretaries risk being dismissed from office if Romania loses funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), emphasizing that accountability for not meeting commitments will be both political and administrative.
The statements were made on Monday during the Interministerial Coordination Committee meeting of the PNRR, held under the coordination of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoș Pîslaru.
During the meeting, the status of the reforms and investments included in payment requests 3 and 4, already submitted to the European Commission, was analyzed, as well as the preparations for requests 5 and 6, which are yet to be submitted.
Ilie Bolojan urged ministries to accelerate the implementation of reforms and investments and to remove obstacles so that Romania's commitments are fulfilled by August 31, 2026.
Additionally, the Prime Minister requested that payments for work carried out in projects no longer experience delays.
"Accountability for not meeting commitments will be twofold. There will be political accountability for ministers and state secretaries. I am referring even to dismissals from office if Romania loses money from the PNRR. As for directors and staff in the administration, we should not see them receiving bonuses from European funds if our country loses money," emphasized Prime Minister Bolojan, as quoted in a statement from the Government.
The Head of Government also stated that periodic monitoring of the status of reforms and investments in the PNRR is necessary.
Minister Dragoș Pîslaru, on the other hand, announced that after increasing the absorption of funds from about 4 to over 10.5 billion euros last year, the pace must be accelerated in the next six months.
"If last year we increased the absorption from the PNRR from about 4 billion euros to over 10.5 billion euros, in the next six months, we need to move at an even more intense pace to double this amount.
I call on each ministry to provide MIPE with updated information on progress by the end of the week and a calendar of activities planned to have the most current status of implementation," the Minister stated.
Regarding funding, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Florin Zaharia, stated that the budget for 2026 will need to provide amounts up to 70% higher than last year to ensure that the total allocations for the PNRR reach around 73 billion lei, including co-financing and ineligible expenses.
The official added that local public authorities will benefit from the largest budgets in history to support the implementation of projects.
Romania has exceeded 50% of the total value of the PNRR
According to the data presented, Romania has exceeded 50% of the total value of the PNRR, specifically 50.08%, having received 10.72 billion euros to date, including pre-financing and funds related to payment requests 1 and 2, as well as part of request 3.
Romania has a total of six payment requests, with the last two to be submitted in 2026, and the deadline for the final request is September 30, 2026.
Request 5 will include 28 targets and milestones, while request 6 will encompass 151 targets and milestones, related to both non-repayable and repayable components.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister and Minister of Investments, as well as Deputy Prime Ministers Oana Gheorghiu and Marian Neacșu (PSD), along with ministers and state secretaries responsible for the implementation of reforms and investments in the PNRR.