“Final Decision” of the European Commission. Romania loses almost half a billion euros from PNRR

The Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoș Pîslaru, announced on Friday that Romania loses 458.7 million euros from payment request no. 3 of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, “because of the late, incomplete or badly done reforms in the past years”.

Dragoș Pîslaru stated that he had received the European Commission's assessment of this payment request the previous evening. According to the minister, Romania managed to recover “350.7 million euros from the money that was initially suspended”, but loses “458.7 million euros due to late, incomplete or badly done reforms in the past years”.

The official recalled that this request was submitted on December 15, 2023, when the related reforms “should have already been properly fulfilled.”

“Subsequently, in May 2025, the European Commission decided to partially suspend some amounts, because several reforms had not been carried out satisfactorily. Romania then had a correction period and submitted additional justifications on November 28, 2025. Unfortunately, the Commission decided that four important milestones were not properly resolved,” said Dragoș Pîslaru, on Friday, in a Facebook post.

“Significant sums” lost due to reforms “delayed for years”

The Minister of European Funds first mentioned the reform of special pensions, “a difficult file, which endured 6 postponements at the Constitutional Court, which made the deadline agreed with the Commission to be far exceeded”.

In the case of this milestone, described by Dragoș Pîslaru as “the most important victory” from payment request 3, Romania recovers 166 million euros out of the 231 million euros initially suspended.

In the case of the milestone related to AMEPIP and the governance of state companies, according to the minister, Romania managed to recover 132 million euros.

On the other hand, regarding the milestone related to state companies in the energy sector, Romania recovers 48 million of the money initially suspended, but loses 180 million euros, says Dragoș Pîslaru.

In the case of the milestone regarding the state transport companies, such as CNAIR, CNIR, CFR, Metrorex and CFR Călători, Romania recovers 4.5 million euros from the initially suspended money, but loses 15.4 million euros.

“Where there was political will, as was the case with special pensions, Romania recovered a large part of the allocated money. However, where the reforms were postponed for years, especially in the area of ​​state companies, Romania lost substantial sums”, added Dragoș Pîslaru.

He complained that “you can't claim European funds and, at the same time, keep appointing smart guys from the party to the management of state-owned companies”, as well as that “you can't ask for trust from Brussels, while you, in Bucharest, only imitate the selection based on professionalism criteria”.

Who does the minister think is to blame?

Dragoș Pîslaru claims that “every politician who used every opportunity to postpone or cancel any attempt at real reform, for fear of losing their privileges” is to blame for the loss of these sums.

“Every politician who appointed his mistresses, brothers and nephews to the management of state companies. Not professional and honest people. Every politician who considered the state budget as a chance for personal enrichment. Not as a debt to the Romanians. Every politician who chooses to block Romania's modernization through a motion of no confidence, because this modernization means stopping the looting of public money,” he added, alluding to the motion PSD-AUR against the Bolojan Government.

Dragoș Pîslaru also said, “every politician who runs away from European money because it forces you to take the country in the right direction for Romanians, not in the right direction for your accounts” is guilty.

He drew attention to the fact that “all Romanians” will pay.

“We have to bear the bill again for the villainy or incompetence of some tricksters who have reached the leadership of the party and who want to keep us poor and uneducated because that's the only way they can manipulate people to give them a new vote. Maybe, however, next time we'll learn our minds”, concluded the Minister of European Funds, Dragoș Pîslaru.