{"id":2120441,"date":"2026-08-31T13:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2120441"},"modified":"2026-08-31T13:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:16:19","slug":"romania-will-lose-e770-million-in-eu-funds-over-political-deadlock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2120441","title":{"rendered":"Romania will lose \u20ac770 million in EU funds over political deadlock"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/52\/67\/1200x675_cmsv2_5d28e189-c9ad-50b3-a94b-c9639aa3f38f-9895267.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"abe-2921884-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2921884\" data-cid=\"9895550\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921884-label-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/54\/11\/189x106_cmsv2_551fbace-e1c4-590b-ae04-65b1fadc5f69-9895411.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Treasure of Villena\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Europol theft alert mail arrives too late for Spain&#8217;s Villena museum\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921967-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2921967\" data-cid=\"9895872\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921967-label-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/58\/72\/189x106_cmsv2_0258a57c-e025-51ed-bb9f-11aab6790d7b-9895872.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away until 2045\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away and buried until 2045\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921920-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2921920\" data-cid=\"9895629\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921920-label-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/56\/29\/189x106_cmsv2_5ddccc46-6ee5-5823-938f-12e5ebc0a3b7-9895629.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Tango BA brings 800 couples from 47 countries to Buenos Aires, with world championship finals taking place at the Teatro Gran Rex.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    No Comment<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Buenos Aires welcomes 800 couples for Tango BA World Championship\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921860-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2921860\" data-cid=\"9895375\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921860-label-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/52\/66\/189x106_cmsv2_2745e711-24ed-51ee-81a0-fd1599e222cd-9895266.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A worker shields himself from the sun with a piece of cardboard in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, 26 May 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Health news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Spain records 5,232 heat-related deaths in 2026, the highest figure since 2015\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921884-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2921884\" data-cid=\"9895550\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921884-label-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/54\/11\/189x106_cmsv2_551fbace-e1c4-590b-ae04-65b1fadc5f69-9895411.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Treasure of Villena\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Europol theft alert mail arrives too late for Spain&#8217;s Villena museum\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921967-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2921967\" data-cid=\"9895872\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921967-label-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/58\/72\/189x106_cmsv2_0258a57c-e025-51ed-bb9f-11aab6790d7b-9895872.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away until 2045\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away and buried until 2045\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921920-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2921920\" data-cid=\"9895629\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921920-label-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/56\/29\/189x106_cmsv2_5ddccc46-6ee5-5823-938f-12e5ebc0a3b7-9895629.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Tango BA brings 800 couples from 47 countries to Buenos Aires, with world championship finals taking place at the Teatro Gran Rex.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    No Comment<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Buenos Aires welcomes 800 couples for Tango BA World Championship\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921860-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2921860\" data-cid=\"9895375\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921860-label-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/52\/66\/189x106_cmsv2_2745e711-24ed-51ee-81a0-fd1599e222cd-9895266.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A worker shields himself from the sun with a piece of cardboard in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, 26 May 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Health news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Spain records 5,232 heat-related deaths in 2026, the highest figure since 2015\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"helper-site-row o-article-newsy\">\n<div class=\"helper-site-container o-article-newsy__container\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__main\">\n<header class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__header\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs\">\n<div id=\"adb-article-breadcrumb\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs__list\">\n<p>                          Europe<\/p>\n<p>                          Europe News<\/p><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<h1 class=\"c-article-redesign-title\">\n                            Romania will lose \u20ac770 million in EU funds over political deadlock<\/h1>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-video u-position-relative \">\n<div class=\"js-superdiv u-aspect-ratio-16x9 u-position-relative \" data-controller=\"video-player\" data-sponsored=\"Partner content\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-poster-img c-article-media__img\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/52\/67\/1536x864_cmsv2_5d28e189-c9ad-50b3-a94b-c9639aa3f38f-9895267.jpg\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Ilie Bolojan is Romania&apos;s acting prime minister since May 2026, after his government collpased.\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-caption u-position-absolute\"><i id=\"article-caption-content\" class=\"c-article-caption__content\"><span class=\"c-article-caption__text\"><br \/>\n              Ilie Bolojan is Romania&#8217;s acting prime minister since May 2026, after his government collpased.<br \/>\n                    <span class=\"u-color-white\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__copyright\">Copyright\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__credit\">Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-copyright c-article-image-copyright--novideo\">\n      Copyright\u00a0Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__body u-article-content\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__contributors-publication-date\">\n<div class=\"c-article-contributors\">\n  By&amp;nbspVincenzo Genovese\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-publication-date\" data-timestamp=\"1788182179\">\n                    Published on                 <time datetime=\"2026-08-31 15:16:19 +02:00\">31\/08\/2026 &#8211; 15:16 GMT+2<\/time><span class=\"c-article-publication-date__bullet\">\u2022<\/span>Updated<br \/>\n                                     <time datetime=\"15:34\">15:34<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span 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class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"threads\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"threads\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"whatsapp\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Whatsapp<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"whatsapp\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"c-article-summary\">\n        Romania&#8217;s main political parties missed a deadline to agree on a reform of public-sector salaries, a key condition for receiving post-pandemic EU funding. The failure has triggered a blame game between pro-European forces in the country.<br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-content js-article-content\">\n<p>Romania is set to lose at least \u20ac770 million in EU funds after political disagreements prevented the country from meeting a key deadline in its post-pandemic recovery plan.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-mobile-only\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The main political parties failed to reach a consensus on a new public-sector salary law before the 31 August deadline for completing reforms linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.<\/p>\n<p>According to EU sources, the missed deadline will cost Romania around \u20ac770 million, to be deducted from the \u20ac8.44 billion in EU funds still due to the country \u2013 around 40% of the entire \u20ac21.41 billion recovery plan. <\/p>\n<p>The final calculation of the financial loss will be made during the European Commission\u2019s assessment of Romania\u2019s final payment request, which must be submitted by the end of September.<\/p>\n<p>Romanian President Nicu\u0219or Dan said last week that the legislation was technically almost finalised and could still be adopted by the end of the year. He described the reform as a \u201ccomplicated topic with major social and economic implications\u201d that had been debated \u201cunder enormous time pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The failure to complete the public-sector salary reform is the main reason Romania is set to lose EU funding. Several smaller targets, including reforms linked to decarbonisation, have also not been met.<\/p>\n<p>Romanian trade unions have strongly opposed the proposed legislation, arguing that it could reduce salaries for some categories of public employees and that the proposed inflation-linked adjustments would be insufficient.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute has also triggered protests by trade unions. Several federations demonstrated outside the Labour Ministry on 25 August, demanding higher minimum wages and the resumption of collective bargaining.<\/p>\n<p>The deadlock has prompted a bitter blame game within the former governing coalition, which was led by centre-right Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.<\/p>\n<p>Acting Labour Minister Drago\u0219 P\u00eeslaru blamed the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for the failure, accusing it of blocking the reform and of making promises to trade unions that could not be met within Romania\u2019s financial constraints. P\u00eeslaru also accused the party of failing to prepare the legislation during the years in which it controlled the Labour Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>PSD has rejected the accusations and, in turn, blamed the National Liberal Party (PNL), Bolojan and P\u00eeslaru for the failure of the reform, accusing them of keeping the draft law from public scrutiny and failing to reach agreement with trade unions.<\/p>\n<p>Bolojan\u2019s government collapsed in May after a no-confidence motion backed by PSD and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). The vote marked the breakdown of the governing pro-European coalition and deepened political uncertainty in the country.<\/p>\n<p>PSD and AUR could potentially go as far as forming a new coalition, potentially together with the far-right SOS Romania, although such an alliance would represent a major departure from the country&#8217;s previous pro-European governing formula.<\/p>\n<p>Such a development would further fracture the pro-European political camp, which now appears increasingly difficult to reunite in the wake of the government\u2019s collapse.<\/p>\n<p>Another political dispute linked to EU funding erupted last week over legislation concerning conflicts of interest involving public officials.<\/p>\n<p>The so-called integrity law was finally approved, including a controversial amendment that would remove liberal party leader Dominic Fritz from his position as mayor of Timi\u0219oara.<\/p>\n<p>The European Parliament\u2019s European People\u2019s Party and Renew Europe groups had both criticised the bill, calling on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to pressure Romania\u2019s Parliament to amend it.<\/p>\n<p>Liberals and conservatives argued that the law\u2019s retroactive application was designed to target Fritz, warning that it could contribute to the \u201cundermining of Romanian democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the law was approved before the deadline, the corresponding payment could still be frozen if the European Commission concludes that the legislation does not comply with EU rule-of-law standards. That could result in a further reduction of EU funds available to Romania.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                                  Go to accessibility shortcuts<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"adb-article-you-might-also-like\" class=\"perf-cv-auto c-article-you-might-also-like\">\n<h2 class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__title\">\n        Read more<br \/>\n      <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Romania approves controversial law dismissing liberal party leader as mayor<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  European conservatives and liberals join forces to urge EU to freeze \u20ac770 million in Romania funds over mayor<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Romania is falling behind the renewables race. Can the EU&#8217;s biggest solar farm save it?<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"perf-cv-auto\">\n<ul id=\"adb-article-tags\" class=\"c-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Romania<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  European Commission<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  European Union<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"o-article-newsy__aside\">\n<div class=\"c-ad-wrapper o-article-newsy__aside__content-1\" data-ad-name=\"adzone-halfpage\">\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad-halfpage u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" 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width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921895-pos2-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921895\" data-cid=\"9895458\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921895-label-pos2-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/54\/58\/320x180_cmsv2_c83694b2-c7bc-5b4c-b066-e0200a9622b3-9895458.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Destroyed vehicles and debris are scattered the day after a Russian attack struck a warehouse in the village of Myla, 30 August, 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Russian strikes destroy 12m textbooks ahead of new school year<br \/>\n  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<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921707-pos2-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-video the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921707\" data-cid=\"9894609\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Relief and sorrow in Iceland as EU membership talks referendum fails<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921646-pos3-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921646\" data-cid=\"9894405\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Spain announces \u20ac165m emergency package for Ceuta<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2920942-pos4-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2920942\" data-cid=\"9890947\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>     Europe&#8217;s most expensive cities to buy an apartment<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921710-pos5-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921710\" data-cid=\"9894628\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Venezuela says it will retain &#8216;sovereignty&#8217; over its oil reserves<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articleBody\" data-key=\"articleBody\">Romania is set to lose at least \u20ac770 million in EU funds after political disagreements prevented the country from meeting a key deadline in its post-pandemic recovery plan.The main political parties failed to reach a consensus on a new public-sector salary law before the 31 August deadline for completing reforms linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.According to EU sources, the missed deadline will cost Romania around \u20ac770 million, to be deducted from the \u20ac8.44 billion in EU funds still due to the country \u2013 around 40% of the entire \u20ac21.41 billion recovery plan.The final calculation of the financial loss will be made during the European Commission\u2019s assessment of Romania\u2019s final payment request, which must be submitted by the end of September.Romanian President Nicu\u0219or Dan said last week that the legislation was technically almost finalised and could still be adopted by the end of the year. He described the reform as a \u201ccomplicated topic with major social and economic implications\u201d that had been debated \u201cunder enormous time pressure\u201d.The failure to complete the public-sector salary reform is the main reason Romania is set to lose EU funding. Several smaller targets, including reforms linked to decarbonisation, have also not been met.Romanian trade unions have strongly opposed the proposed legislation, arguing that it could reduce salaries for some categories of public employees and that the proposed inflation-linked adjustments would be insufficient.The dispute has also triggered protests by trade unions. Several federations demonstrated outside the Labour Ministry on 25 August, demanding higher minimum wages and the resumption of collective bargaining.The deadlock has prompted a bitter blame game within the former governing coalition, which was led by centre-right Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.Acting Labour Minister Drago\u0219 P\u00eeslaru blamed the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for the failure, accusing it of blocking the reform and of making promises to trade unions that could not be met within Romania\u2019s financial constraints. P\u00eeslaru also accused the party of failing to prepare the legislation during the years in which it controlled the Labour Ministry.PSD has rejected the accusations and, in turn, blamed the National Liberal Party (PNL), Bolojan and P\u00eeslaru for the failure of the reform, accusing them of keeping the draft law from public scrutiny and failing to reach agreement with trade unions.Bolojan\u2019s government collapsed in May after a no-confidence motion backed by PSD and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). The vote marked the breakdown of the governing pro-European coalition and deepened political uncertainty in the country.PSD and AUR could potentially go as far as forming a new coalition, potentially together with the far-right SOS Romania, although such an alliance would represent a major departure from the country&#8217;s previous pro-European governing formula.Such a development would further fracture the pro-European political camp, which now appears increasingly difficult to reunite in the wake of the government\u2019s collapse.Another political dispute linked to EU funding erupted last week over legislation concerning conflicts of interest involving public officials.The so-called integrity law was finally approved, including a controversial amendment that would remove liberal party leader Dominic Fritz from his position as mayor of Timi\u0219oara.The European Parliament\u2019s European People\u2019s Party and Renew Europe groups had both criticised the bill, calling on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to pressure Romania\u2019s Parliament to amend it.Liberals and conservatives argued that the law\u2019s retroactive application was designed to target Fritz, warning that it could contribute to the \u201cundermining of Romanian democracy.\u201dAlthough the law was approved before the deadline, the corresponding payment could still be frozen if the European Commission concludes that the legislation does not comply with EU rule-of-law standards. That could result in a further reduction of EU funds available to Romania.<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2026\/08\/31\/romania-will-lose-770-million-in-eu-funds-over-political-deadlock&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/52\/67\/1200x675_cmsv2_5d28e189-c9ad-50b3-a94b-c9639aa3f38f-9895267.jpg&#8221;] Culture news Europol theft alert mail arrives too late for Spain&#8217;s Villena museum Culture news Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away and buried until 2045 No Comment Buenos Aires welcomes 800 couples for Tango BA World Championship Health news Spain records 5,232 heat-related deaths in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[226,36],"class_list":["post-2120441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","tag-crawlmanager","tag-euronews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2120441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2120441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2120441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2120441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}