Preliminary assessment of the second payment request of Romania

Ex-ante debates on the public policies to be financed are established in the context of the institutional strategic plans and the draft annual budget discussions. Being a constitutive element of the budgetary programmes (as established by Article IV of the Annex to the Government Decision), which integrate institutional strategic plans, efficiency indicators allow rigorous ex-ante debates on the public policies to be financed.  Article IV of the Annex to the Government Decision specifies that when drawing up the budgetary programmes and budgetary indicators, account shall be taken of the provisions of Government Decision No. 427/2022 approving the Methodology for drawing up, monitoring, reporting and revising the institutional strategic plans. Article III(2) subparagraph a. of Annex 1 of Government Decision 427/2022 mentions that for the implementation of a strategic objective defined in the institutional strategic plan, it is mandatory to present at least one programme supporting the delivery of results that

contribute adequately to determining an impact on beneficiaries. According to Annex 2 of Government Decision 427/2022, the revised institutional strategic plans are sent to the General Secretariat of the Government for comments and methodological proposals. As institutional strategic plans include at least one budgetary programme attached, comments and methodological proposals on the revised institutional strategic plans also encompass budgetary programmes, therefore constituting ex-ante debates on the public policies to be financed.

Indicators allow for a transparent and reasoned assessment of how the budgeted programmes have achieved policy objectives and targets. Article IV of the Annex to the Government Decision specifies that the Chief Authorising Officers shall be responsible for drawing up and implementing budgetary programmes relating to the sectors of activities or objectives financed from their own budget, and for assessing the achievement of public policy results and the effectiveness of public spending in the light of its short, medium and long-term effects. In addition, Article VI(2) of the Annex to the Government Decision states that within 25 days from the end of the first semester of the budget year, the Chief Authorising Officers shall send to the Ministry of Finance data on the implementation of the programme indicators and within 90 days from the end of the budget year, the Chief Authorising Officers are required to send to the Secretariat-General of the Government and to the Ministry of Finance data on the implementation of the programme indicators, as well as an overview of the progress of the programmes resulting from their monitoring, which must be

structured logically, contain explanations, conclusions and measures to achieve the strategic objectives.

(…) This government decision shall be linked to the revision of the budget_NG application. Article IV(D) of the Annex to the Government Decision specifies that the budgetary programmes shall be entered in the budgetary application ‘BUGET_NG’ for the preparation of the State budget and the State social security budget, their annexes and the budgets of the chief authorising officers and their annexes. The Government Decision therefore contributes to the revision of the application. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled

Number: 213        Related Measure: Reform of the public pension system
Name of the Milestone: Entry into force of the amendments to the regulatory framework to ensure
the sustainability of Pillar 2 pensions
Qualitative Indicator: Provision in the regulatory framework indicating the
                                                                              Time: Q1 2022
entry into force of the legislation
Context:
Milestone #213 is part of reform C8.R6, which should reform the entire public pension system to

35