The European Commission has issued a positive preliminary assessment of Romania’s fourth payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, moving Bucharest closer to a further €2.62bn disbursement under NextGenerationEU.
The European Commission has given a positive preliminary assessment to Romania’s fourth payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, clearing an important procedural step towards the release of €2.62bn in EU recovery funding.
The request falls under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the central instrument of NextGenerationEU, created to support reforms and investments after the Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission said Romania had satisfactorily completed 38 milestones and 24 targets linked to the payment request.
The assessment covers measures in several policy areas, including sustainable forest management, decarbonisation of transport and energy, tax administration, public pensions, healthcare infrastructure, social infrastructure for persons with disabilities, education, digitalisation, justice efficiency and anti-corruption.
The Commission’s decision does not mean the money will be transferred immediately. Its preliminary assessment has been sent to the Economic and Financial Committee, which has four weeks to issue an opinion. The payment can be made only after that opinion and after the Commission adopts a final payment decision.
Romania submitted the fourth payment request on 19 December 2025. The latest assessment therefore marks progress in a recovery plan that has faced scrutiny over implementation pace, fiscal reform and the need to complete remaining milestones before the facility closes.
One of the flagship measures cited by the Commission is the deployment of Romania’s governmental cloud. More than 30 public institutions have already been connected, with the measure intended to improve data-sharing across public administration and support more efficient digital services.
The payment request also includes reforms connected to transport and energy decarbonisation. These include higher ownership taxes on the most polluting vehicles and steps to reduce Romania’s reliance on coal-fired power generation. The Commission also cited changes to the tax framework designed to simplify procedures, reduce administrative burden and improve compliance.
The broader Romanian recovery and resilience plan is designed to support the country’s green and digital transitions, while also financing reforms in public administration, healthcare, education, justice and fiscal governance.
According to the Commission, Romania’s plan is financed by €21.41bn, made up of €13.57bn in grants and €7.84bn in loans. Once the fourth payment is made, the total amount paid to Romania under the RRF would reach €12.97bn, including pre-financing received in 2021 and 2022, and a REPowerEU pre-payment received in January 2024.
That would correspond to 60.6 per cent of all funds in Romania’s plan. The Commission also said 62 per cent of all milestones and targets in the plan had been assessed.
The timing is significant because the RRF is entering its final phase. Member states must implement all outstanding milestones and targets by August 2026 and submit final payment requests by the end of September 2026. This leaves limited time for national governments to complete remaining reforms and investments and to secure the full amount available under their plans.
For Romania, the payment would come at a sensitive moment for public finances and investment planning. Recovery funding remains important for major reform programmes, infrastructure upgrades and digitalisation projects, but access to each tranche depends on verified delivery of agreed milestones.
