Preliminary assessment of the third payment request of Romania (2024)

and RON 20 000.

• - Government Decision No nr.225/2014 approving methodological rules on the prioritisation of

public investment projects, as amended, (…) Government Decision No. 1574/2022 approving the methodological rules on the prioritisation of public investment projects (hereinafter referred to as “Decision No. 1574/2022”) was published in the Official Journal No. 1277 on 30 December 2022, and entered into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal, that is on 30 December 2022, as established by Article 12(3) of Law No. 24/2000 on the rules of legislative technique for the drafting of legislative acts. The sole Article of Government Decision No. 1574/2022 amends Government Decision No. 225/2014, approving the methodological rules on the prioritisation of public investment projects.

(…) which shall amend the prioritisation criteria applicable to significant new and on-going public investment projects and thereafter, so that the budgeting is oriented towards the completion, as a matter of priority, of major investment projects in advanced phases of implementation. The sole Article of Government Decision No. 1574/2022 states that the implementing rules on the assessment and prioritisation of significant public investment projects are set out in its annex, which is an integral part of this Government Decision. The sole Article of Government Decision No. 1574/2022 states that a significant new public investment project shall be deemed to be prepared if it cumulatively meets the condition of obtaining a minimum total score of 61 points, with minimum point requirements for each criteria. The Sole Article of Government Decision No. 1574/2022 states that the application by the Chief Authorising Officer of the principles and criteria for assessing and prioritising applies to all significant new and ongoing public investment projects.

The Annex to Government Decision No. 1574/2022 includes a table with the principles and, for each principle, criteria for assessing and prioritising new projects and ongoing projects, providing two additional columns on justification of scores and technical specifications for each principle. Justification of scores provide guidance for assigning a score within each criteria, while the technical specifications provide guidance on the evidence to be considered for assigning a score. The table includes the principle “Remaining period until the completion of the significant public investment project”, which grants up to 15 additional points based on the criteria of stage of implementation and estimated period for completion. For this principle, the column on justification of score requires that a higher score should be attributed to projects at more advanced stages of implementation and closer to completion. For instance, 1 additional point is attributed if the physical stage of implementation is lower than 10%, while 10 points are attributed if the stage of implementation is higher than 75%. Significant projects at advanced phases of implementation therefore receive a

higher score, which results in their prioritisation compared to projects which are at early stages of implementation. These specifications orient budgeting towards completion of significant investment projects in advanced phases of implementation. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled

Number: 205       Related Measure: Review of the tax framework

Name of the Milestone: Analysis of Romania’s tax system with the objective to produce recommendations to ensure that the tax system contributes to promote and preserve sustainable economic growth Qualitative Indicator: Completed analysis, publication of the report with the Time: Q4 2022 analysis and the recommendations, endorsed by/ co-authored with the