Romania is still on track to meet a key Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) milestone linked to a €771mn grant for renewable energy investments, acting Agriculture Minister Tanczos Barna said on May 20, according to Agerpres.

The milestone concerns the earmarking of degraded state-owned land for renewable energy projects through the State Domains Agency (ADS).

Speaking at a press conference, Barna said a draft law establishing the required legal framework had been submitted to parliament after the government’s earlier emergency ordinance on the matter was not published due to objections by the Legislative Council.

“Together with former minister Barbu, during whose mandate this emergency ordinance was drafted, we signed a bill that we submitted this week to Parliament, to the Senate,” Barna said.

“I hope that next week we will be able to pass the normative act through the Senate, after which we will reach the Chamber of Deputies and, through approval, in due time, we will also meet the milestone,” he added.

The Ministry of Agriculture stated that ADS has already begun auctioning unproductive state land for projects involving photovoltaic panels, wind farms and electricity storage facilities.

According to Tanczos Barna, the initiative aims to establish “acceleration centres” for renewable energy investments.

Milestone 509 under Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) requires the adoption of legislation allowing state-owned land managed by ADS to be used as designated acceleration zones for renewable energy developments.

The measure forms part of Romania’s broader commitments under the EU-backed RRF scheme, which links disbursements to the implementation of reforms and investment targets.

Romania has been under pressure to accelerate the implementation of PNRR milestones after Minister of Investments and European projects Dragos Pislaru warned earlier this month that billions of euros in EU funds remain at risk due to delays in reforms and investment projects.