Preliminary assessment of the first payment request of Romania

(purchase of new rolling stock, upgrade of existing rolling stock)  Measure 3: New metro railway services  Measure 4: Promoting public transport and attracting and retaining public transport users by developing multi-modality and improving rail services (operationalisation of new train stopping points, introduction of timetables for the main rail routes)  Measure 5: Analysis of the opportunity to build a high-speed line Constanța — Bucharest- Budapest The action plan also foresees impact assessments to monitor how these measures are contributing to increasing railways passengers with the 25% increase target in mind (p.96).  measures to increase the use of newly acquired rolling stock; The efficient use of new rolling stock is envisaged on pp.79-80 of the action plan updated by Government Decision 652/2022. According to the plan, the inefficient use of rolling stock has led to a low level of rail transport services provided to passengers. To maximise the use of new rolling stock, all newly purchased rolling stock will be used on the TEN-T network, with priority on upgraded lines, and will be procured together with long-term maintenance and repair services. 7 These actions will be complementary to the one aimed at increasing the competitiveness of rail passenger services.  measures to shift passengers from buses/minibuses to railways on shuttle routes; Such measures can be found on p.56 and p.60 of the action plan updated by Government Decision 652/2022. Measures proposed to attract passengers using the road transport services aim to focus rail services on passenger needs (information and digital systems, facilities and promotions, attractive train timetables). Measures are also put forth to operationalise new train stopping points and develop multimodality in major cities or rail hubs. 4. The adopted Investment Plan prioritises rail investments. The prioritisation of rail is detailed in the sub-chapter “Prioritisation of projects on the core rail network” (pp.127-129) of the investment plan. 5. The adopted investment plan prioritises European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) operationalisation. The investment plan, which makes limited reference to the prioritisation of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) operationalisation, is supplemented by the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) action plan, adopted by Government Decision 651/2022 on 18 May 2022. This latter document identifies sets of actions and measures for the accelerated deployment of ERTMS along the TEN-T corridors in a table which lists the implementation status of ERTMS per railway section and the action to be taken. This European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) action plan states in its background section that it supplements the investment plan’s chapter on the development of railways infrastructure with European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) operationalisation (pp.137-138). In turn, the investment plan contains a clear link to the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) action plan (pp.133-135). Considering the intrinsic link between the Investment Plan and the action plan, the milestone is considered satisfactorily fulfilled. Beyond the requirements of the milestone, the Romanian Audit Authority has found that the funds allocated under the recovery and resilience plan for the modernisation and renewal of railway infrastructure are not included as a source of funding in the table on “national public funds allocated for the development of railway infrastructure during the period 2021-2025" in the action plan. Additionally, the action plan specifies under point B.6 (p.19) that the implementation of the railway infrastructure development strategy calls for the rescaling of the multiannual financing plan for railway infrastructure. This rescaling should take into account (i) the financing needs presented in Government Decision 985/2200 approving the strategy and; (ii) the RRP funds allocated to the development of railway infrastructure. The Audit Authority therefore recommends that CNCF CFR SA update its activity and performance contract in light of the above. Noting this, the Audit Authority only considers this recommendation partially implemented. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled 8 Number: 113 Related Measure: Decommissioning of coal-fired power-production capacity Name of the Target: Decommissioning of coal-fired power-production capacity Quantitative Indicator: Megawatts (MW) Baseline: 0 Target: 1 695 Time: Q4 2021 Context: Target 113 is part of Reform 1 under the Energy Component, which aims at decarbonising the energy sector, with a focus on power generation. The reform covers two main measures: the coal phase-out and the increase of renewables electricity generation capacity. The first element of the reform aims at phasing-out coal and lignite-fired power plants by 2032 with concrete steps during the lifetime of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Target 113 is the initial step of the decommissioning of coal-fired power-production capacity. This target is followed by target 115 due by Q4 2022 and target 119 due by Q4 2025, which are expected to reach a cumulative decommissioned capacity of 3 780MW out of 4 590MW total coal/lignite fired installed power-production capacity. Evidence Provided: In line with the verification mechanism set out in the Operational Arrangements, the following evidence was provided by the authorities: 1. Summary document duly justifying that the target was satisfactorily fulfilled (Cover Note). This summary document justified how the target was satisfactory fulfilled by detailing the Decisions and Certifications needed in line with the CID to deliver on the target. 2. Copy of the Decisions No. 2391/29.12.2021 and No. 309/24.02.2021 issued by the National Energy Regulator (ANRE) amending the licences of the power generators by withdrawing the licenses to operate power generation capacities of 1 695MW of lignite/coal installed electricity production capacity. 3. Certification issued by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) in letter No. 18132/28.04.2022 of permanently withdrawing and decommissioning from the National Transmission System (NTS) 1695MW of lignite/coal installed production capacity, endorsed by the Ministry of Energy (by form of official stamps from Ministry of Energy on certificated letter). The authorities also provided: 4. Additional annexes providing evidence that actions have been initiated towards the dismantling/reconversion of the power plants that stopped their operation such as: a. Letter of the Ministry of Energy no. 13994/VDP/19.05.2022 to the Ministry of European Investments and Funds detailing the actions carried out regarding the achievement of T113. b. Letter of the Complexul Energetic Hunedoara S.A. (CE Hunedoara) No AS 4752/19.04.2022, listing all actions taken for the decommission of its power units within the Deva-Mintia power plant. c. Letter of the National Agency for Environmental Protection registered under no. AS 4733/19.04.2022 confirming that installations have been removed from the Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme and the Greenhouse Gas Emission permits are no longer valid. d. Letter of the Agency for Environmental Protection Hunedoara no. 10200/AAA/07.03.2022, detailing cessation of the activity and the sale of assets at the Deva-Mintia power plant (5 power units of Mintia) of CE Hunedoara. e. Minutes of the meeting of the CE Hunedoara’s creditors no. 9973/21.12.2021, 9  formally approving recovery of CE Hunedoara’s assets through scrapping following closure of the power groups within the Deva-Mintia power plant. f. Letter of the Ministry of Energy no. 16619/VDP/09.12.2021 requesting the withdrawal from operation and closure of mothballed power units within the Deva-Mintia power plant, due to non-compliance with environmental standards. Analysis: The evidence provided by the Romanian authorities demonstrates that 1 695MW of coal/lignite- fired installed electricity production capacity have been decommissioned. First, with its Decision No 2391/29.12.2021, the National Energy Regulator (ANRE) amended License no. 1122 granted to the Hunedoara Energy Complex (CE Hunedoara) for the production of electricity and thermal energy in cogeneration from hard coal by removing from the licence Power Units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (210 MW each) of Mintia-Deva power plant. Likewise, with its Decision No 309/24.02.2021, ANRE amended License no. 1085 granted to the Oltenia Energy Complex (CE Oltenia) for the production of electricity and thermal energy in cogeneration from lignite by removing from the licence Power Unit 8 Isalnita (315 MW) and Power Unit 3 Turceni (330 MW). In addition, ANRE confirmed that by amending the licenses of the two- electricity generators CE Oltenia and CE Hunedoara units, a total installed capacity of 1 695 MW were excluded from electricity generation. Second, the certificates issued by Transelectrica (the Transmission System Operator) in letters No. 8132/28.04.2022 and No. 5087/07.02.2022 sent to the Ministry of Energy confirmed that the above mentioned units (Power Unit 8 Isalnita, Power Unit 3 Turceni and Power Units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Mintia-Deva) with a total coal/lignite-fired installed capacity of 1 695 MW were permanently withdrawn from the national transmission system (NTS). This confirmation was subsequently endorsed by the Ministry of Energy by form of official stamps from Ministry of Energy on certificated letter No. 18132/28.04.2022 – submitted as annex 8. Transelectrica also specified that those power units are no longer producing electricity nor participating on the electricity balancing market. Those capacities (1 695 MW) were also removed from the relevant section of transparency platform of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), a register available online: https://transparency.entsoe.eu/generation/r2/installedGenerationCapacityAggregation/show. Third, according to the annexes submitted by the authorities, the following actions have been initiated to dismantle/reconvert the power plants that stopped their operation: a. Letter of the Ministry of Energy no. 13994/VDP/19.05.2022 to the Ministry of European Investments and Funds detailing the actions carried out regarding the achievement of T113. b. Letter Complexul Energetic Hunedoara S.A. (CE Hunedoara) No AS 4752/19.04.2022, listing all actions taken for the decommission of its power units within the Deva-Mintia power plant. c. Letter of the National Agency for Environmental Protection registered under no. AS 4733/19.04.2022 confirming that installations have been removed from the Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme and the Greenhouse Gas Emission permits are no longer valid. d. Letter of the Agency for Environmental Protection Hunedoara no. 10200/AAA/07.03.2022, detailing cessation of the activity and the sale of assets at the Deva-Mintia power plant of CE Hunedoara. e. Minutes of the meeting of CE Hunedoara’s creditors no. 9973/21.12.2021, formally approving recovery of their assets through scrapping following closure of 10  the energy groups within the Deva-Mintia power plant. f. Letter of the Ministry of Energy no. 16619/VDP/09.12.2021 requesting the withdrawal from operation and closure of mothballed power units within the Mintia - Deva power plant, due to non-compliance with environmental standards. This provides reasonable reassurance that the stoppage is permanent. In light of the above, it is concluded that 1 695 MW of coal/lignite fired generation capacities have been decommissioned. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled Related Measure: Development of a unitary framework for defining the Number: 142 architecture of a government cloud system Name of the Milestone: Task-force to implement and monitor Digital Transformation reforms and investments established and operational Qualitative Indicator: Entry into force of the Ministerial Order for the Time: Q4 2021 establishment of the task force Context: Milestone 142 is part of the reform for the development of a unitary framework for defining the architecture of a government cloud system. The reform’s overarching objective is to modernise the public administration by adopting advanced technologies and focusing on the citizens and businesses’ needs, while ensuring the prerequisites for data-driven policy development and increasing the interoperability of existing digital technologies. This reform contains four interrelated milestones, to be achieved between Q4 2021 and Q2 2022. The operationalisation of the task force required by milestone 142 should facilitate the completion of the analysis for the options for the government cloud architecture (milestone 143), which should facilitate the subsequent entry into force of the law for the governance of cloud services for the government area (milestone 144) and the entry into force of the interoperability law (milestone 145). Milestone 142 aims to create a temporary task force during the implementation period of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, formed by specialists for the monitoring and implementation of all digital-related measures in the Romanian recovery and resilience plan. Evidence provided: In line with the verification mechanism set out in the Operational Arrangements, the following evidence was provided: 1. Summary document duly justifying how the milestone was satisfactorily fulfilled (Cover Note). 2. Government Emergency Ordinance 30/2022. 3. Ministerial Order 20374 issued on 1 April 2022 establishing the organization and functioning of the task force. 4. Ministerial Order 20373 issued on 1 April 2022 establishing the procedure for recruiting the task force personnel. The authorities also provided: 5. The announcement of the 17 vacancies for the task force Unit published in the Official Journal. 11  6. The link to the results of the recruitment procedure. 7. Ministerial Order 20437 issued on 8 April 2022 for the establishment of the salary scale for the task force staff. 8. Ministerial Order 20397 issued on 15 April 2022 for the organization of the competition for recruitment of the task force employees. 9. Organization chart. 10. The employment contracts of the task force employees employed as of August 2022. 11. Link to the results of the recruitment process for the Executive Manager position. 12. Ministerial Order 20586 issued on issued on 31 May 2022 establishing a committee for the periodical evaluation of the performance of the task force employees. 13. Ministerial Order 20912 issued 12 July adding 6 new members to the evaluation committee. Analysis: The requirements set out in the Council Implementing Decision have been addressed as follows:  Entry into force of the Ministerial Order for the establishment of the task force; Government Emergency Ordinance 30/2022, published on 24 March 2022, and which entered into force on 27 March 2022, established the task force. Although the CID Annex requires the entry into force of a Ministerial Order for the establishment of the task force, a Government Emergency Order is a higher normative act in the hierarchy of normative acts under Romanian national legislation than a Ministerial Order. Such deviation from a formal requirement as to the internal national procedure does not affect the progress towards the achievement of the reform in question. Following the entry into force of the Government Emergency Ordinance 30/2022, Ministerial Order 20374 has been adopted to define concrete operational details of the Task Force, namely the organization, functioning and status of the task force.  The task force shall be under the coordination of a director, subordinated to the minister who holds the portfolio of digitalisation; Article 1 of Government Emergency Ordinance 30/2022 establishes that the task force is coordinated by a director subordinated to the minister who holds the portfolio of digitalisation and that the task force will be composed of specialists in the field of digital technologies and project management.  Main tasks of the unit; Article 3 of Government Emergency Ordinance 30/2022 list the main tasks of the unit which are in line with the requirements established in the CID Annex. These tasks are: o the development and implementation of the sectoral components of the national recovery and resilience plan; o monitoring the implementation of the digital-related reforms and investments within the national recovery and resilience plan focusing on key projects, and proposing immediate remedial m