Preliminary assessment of the first payment request of Romania

7. Ministerial Order No. 20137/2022 introducing the rules on the organisation and functioning of the MRDI – including the UIRPSF. 8. Letter No. 475379/27.05.2022 certifying the resources the Ministry of Finance (MoF) supplemented to the budget of MRDI for the implementation of RRP measures. 9. Interim activity report of the UIRPSF, covering the period December 2021 — May 2022

The MRDI/UIRPSF also shared several documents that concern other milestones and targets than Milestone 270, to demonstrate that the UIRPSF is already operational and working for the implementation of future R&D&I reforms and investments. The documents are: 10. Guide for researchers living abroad applying for grants to conduct R&D&I activities in Romania (Investment 8) and design of the related state-aid scheme (for applicants employed by companies where R&D&I is not the core activity). 11. Guide for holders of certificates of excellence received in the Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship Award applying for grants to carry out Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe research projects (Investment 9) and design of the related state-aid scheme (for applicants employed by companies where R&D&I is not the core activity). Analysis:

   All elements of the CID Annex have been addressed, in particular: The Government Decision
    371/2021, Art. 7(4) introduces the UIRPSF within the MRDI, at a directorate level. According to
    Art. 2(6), the UIRPSF provides “independent support to national public authorities responsible
    for RDI”.
   In line with the first and second provisions of Milestone 270 in the CID Annex, the Rules on the
    organisation and functioning of the MRDI (introduced by Ministerial Order 20137/2022) specify
    that, as a general objective and together with experts of the European Commission, the UIRPSF
    shall carry out an external evaluation of national R&D&I policies, governance and institutional
    architecture, and support MRDI in the implementation of recommendations received from the
    European Commission through the Policy Support Facility. It shall moreover ensure the
    implementation of reforms and investments set out in Romania’s RRP (section 4.12, page 36).
   As required in the CID Annex, the Rules set out (section 4.12, page 38) the mandate of the

    UIRPSF, which shall focus on priorities: a) the governance of the R&D&I system; b) framework
    conditions for public research, human resources for research and innovation; (c)
    internationalisation of research, development and innovation organisations; d) public-private
    partnerships in research, development and innovation; e) the impact of the Structural Funds on
    the R&D&I system;
   In particular, the Rules stipulate that the UIRPSF “ensures coordination at MRID level on
    redesign, together with the relevant public authorities, of the architecture and functions of the
    Romanian R&D&I system, in order to improve the quality of RDI investments for a resilient and
    performing system at European level” (pg.36). Moreover, since by design, the UIRPSF will
    coordinate the implementation of all R&D&I-related reforms and investment in the RRP as well
    as recommendations of the PSF report, it will also steer the implementation of reforms to
    achieve two milestones that aims at redesigning the governance of the R&D&I system in

    Romania: Milestone 272 – which is about the entry into force of a permanent system to design,
    implement, monitor, and evaluate research, development, and innovation policy - and Milestone
    273 – which is about the entry into force of a Government Ordinance establishing a single body
    that encompasses the existing councils, ensures inter-ministerial coordination, and reaches out
    to the private sector.
   The Rules clarify that the UIRPSF shall operate from 2021 to 2026, thus fulfilling the CID Annex
    (section 4.12, page 36).
   An interim report (and minutes from technical meetings held by the European Commission and
    MRID on other measures in Component 9 involving the UIRPSF) confirms that the unit is

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