FinMin Citu: European Economic Recovery Plan must be implemented fast and without useless conditionalities

The European Economic Recovery Plan must be implemented fast, without bureaucracy and useless conditionalities, and it must focus on the top priorities, like investments, on the less developed member states' needs and, especially for those states, it is very important that we focus on grants, Minister of Public Finance Florin Citu stated on Tuesday.

Florin Citu participated in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting, where he said that the future recovery fund should be non-discriminatory at the EU 27 level and that it must focus on the top priorities, including investments. He also said the programme meant to combat unemployment needs to be implemented very fast, according to a press release of the Ministry of Public Finance.

"We want the European instrument to be implemented very fast and of a flexible manner for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), which will allow member states that need funds to fully use this opportunity," said Citu.

This instrument provides financial assistance of up to 100 billion euros as loans and is meant for all Member States. The MS will contribute with guarantees representing 25% of the loans granted, which will be considered as guaranteed public debt, without any impact in the deficit, unless they are not executed. In Romania's case, the guarantees will be worth approximately 393 million euros.

In respect to a possible economic recovery fund to be established at the EU level, the Minister of Finance once again showed that this unprecedented crisis requires a strong and coordinated answer, to be based on solidarity, pragmatism, cohesion, convergence and fair competition.

"We believe that it would be better if the recover fund will be complementary to the proposals of the new Multiannual Financial Framework, which must include more flexibilities and an increased financial envelope. The allocation criteria should be based on the cohesion principle," said Florin Citu.

The Minister told his counterparts in the EU that Romania expects a unitary approach in what concerns the instruments meant for the states in the Eurozone and those outside the Eurozone.

"The economic recovery plan must be implemented fast, without bureaucracy and useless conditionalities, and it must focus on the top priorities, like investments, on the less developed member states' needs and, especially for those states, it is very important that we focus on grants," underscored Citu.

He participated on Tuesday, May 19, through a videoconference system, in the informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), where opinions were exchanged related to the measures adopted at the EU level in the context of the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus.

The communication of the Committee regarding the action plan in money laundering and combating terrorism financing, as well as the results of the written procedure for the adoption of the conclusions regarding the country reports, published by the European Commission on February 26, 2020, completed the agenda of the informal meeting of the ECOFIN.