The European Commission could trigger the formal procedure of temporarily suspending European funds for Romania, including money from the Resilience Facility, in June, according to sources consulted by G4media.ro. The procedure would be triggered by uncontrolled fiscal slippage and lack of reforms, seen as more likely in case far-right candidate George Simion wins the May 18 presidential elections.

In the event of a victory for Nicuşor Dan, a candidate with a pro-European discourse, the suspension could be avoided at the last moment if a solid, pro-European government is quickly installed, according to G4media.ro.

"I can already tell you that the Commission has not made such a decision," according to an official response sent by representatives of the European Commission, from the office of Celine Gauer, the coordinator of the Resilience Facility, according to Economedia.ro.

The information indicates that the European officials involved in the management of the EU budget and the Resilience facility expect the win of far-right politician George Simion in the May 18 presidential elections would result in uncontrolled fiscal slippage and significant alteration of the rule of law. The process of temporarily suspending the EU funds for Romania is, however, more complex, and such a decision is technically unlikely in June or July, as indicated by G4media.ro.

G4media.ro concluded, based on discussions with several European officials, that if George Simion, the far-right candidate with an anti-EU discourse, becomes the president of Romania, the cutting of funds will "inevitably occur." The process, however, involves certain developments in Romania and related decisions at the level of the European Union.

The technical procedure to trigger the suspension will begin with a letter signed by Celine Gauer, responsible within the European Commission, and will be conditioned by a political agreement of the college of European Commissioners.

In a case that may serve as precedent, the European Union has suspended a significant portion of EU funds to Hungary due to persistent concerns over rule-of-law violations that directly threaten the integrity of the EU budget. The key reasons for the suspension were public procurement irregularities; conflicts of interest in public interest trusts (Hungary established "public interest trusts" to manage entities like universities and research institutes); weak anticorruption measures; judicial independence concerns and inadequate implementation of agreed reforms.

As a result of these issues, the EU has suspended approximately EUR 6.3 billion in cohesion funds for Hungary, representing 55% of commitments under three operational programs for the 2021–2027 period. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Marian Vejcik/Dreamstime.com)