The Minister of European Funds, Dragoș Pîslaru, announced that the A7 and A8 highways will not be abandoned, despite no longer being included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
They will benefit from funding from other sources, including European grants and through the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) mechanism.
Highway A7, a priority for Romania
"The very good news that I would be happy to share is that the A7 highway, with the segments where we are most advanced and which, ultimately, are crucial for connecting with Moldova, we have agreed to move most of it to a grant," Minister Pîslaru declared to Antena3.
This infrastructure project will benefit from non-repayable funds, thus having zero impact on the budget deficit.
"There are two priority sections on A7: Focșani-Bacău and Bacău-Pașcani, which have the level of maturity and guarantees offered by constructors that they can be completed by August 2026," Pîslaru further explained.
In total, five sections of Highway A7, worth approximately 2.1 billion euros, will benefit from these funds.
Highway A8 moves to the SAFE program
Regarding Highway A8, the Minister of European Funds specified that this project will also be excluded from the PNRR, but will be moved to the SAFE program, another European financing mechanism.
"It does not remain in the PNRR and we are now trying to find funding under the transport program," Pîslaru said.
He also added that new funding options for A8 are currently being discussed, and an ambitious program has been submitted for approval by the European Commission.
"What I can tell you is that the major renegotiation effort now is to move everything that needs to be moved. Think of a complete rearrangement, so that all projects that can still be implemented by August 2026 are put on the grant component," the minister further stated.