September 20 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) said that president Ursula von der Leyen will visit Bucharest on September 27 for talks on Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
"I can confirm that we are finalizing the evaluation of the plan submitted by Romania and that we will complete this process in the next few days," EC deputy spokeswoman Dana Spinant said during a press conference on Friday evening.
In May, the liberal government sent the EC a final version of the plan through which the country can draw up to 29.2 billion euro ($34.4 billion). Investment projects under the PNRR are focused on six areas: green transition; digital transformation; sustainable, intelligent and inclusive growth; social and territorial cohesion; health, social and institutional economic resilience; policies for the next generation of children and young people.
Von der Leyen's visit will take place two days after an internal election within the governing National Liberal Party (PNL), in which prime minister Florin Citu will challenge party leader Ludovic Orban.
In November 2020, when the government presented the main ideas of the PNRR, the EC criticized the plan for the lack of reforms in fields considered a priority under the Green Deal.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Commission aims to help the EU emerge stronger and more resilient from the current crisis prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. The facility will make 672.5 billion euro in loans and grants available to support reforms and investments undertaken by Member States.
So far, the EC has approved the recovery and resilience plans of 18 member states, while 12 of the countries already received the first tranches, data from the Commission's website showed.
($=0.8489 euro)