EditBrussels cuts Romania’s reforestation target after delays, unconvincing results
The European Commission, frustrated by slow progress and unconvincing results, forced Bucharest to lower its targets twice
Romania’s ambition to create 56,000 hectares of new forests with EU recovery funds has collapsed under the weight of delays, weak implementation, and a lack of confidence in Bucharest’s ability to deliver. What began in 2022 as a €730-million flagship measure of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) has now been reduced to just 18,000 hectares and €307 million.
The European Commission, frustrated by slow progress and unconvincing results, forced the government to lower its targets twice. Despite more than 30,000 hectares’ worth of projects filed with the environment ministry, only 9,000 hectares have been planted in three years.
“From 26,000 hectares, only 9,000 have been planted. The Commission told us it did not believe we could more than double that in a single year,” Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu explained in an interview with EUalive’s partner PressOne.
The initial plan
When Romania secured EU approval for its recovery plan in September 2021, tree planting was presented as one of its flagship green measures. The initiative, launched officially in November 2022 under then-minister Tanczos Barna, promised 56,000 hectares of new forests, including urban forests, protective belts, and reforestation along roads and agricultural lands.
Beneficiaries – individuals, companies, and municipalities, could obtain EU grants to convert farmland into forest. To stimulate participation, the scheme included multiple bonuses:
– a carbon sequestration premium of €456 per year for 20 years,
– establishment and maintenance subsidies depending on tree species (over €19,000 per hectare in the case of oak),
– and compensation for lost agricultural income.
In theory, the combination of financial support and environmental benefit should have made the scheme attractive. In practice, the first planting season was lost.
A slow start
By July 2023, eight months after the programme was launched, only projects for 200 hectares had been filed – a tiny fraction of the 56,000-hectare target.
Applicants complained of lengthy approval procedures. Forest Guards, tasked with validating projects, were unfamiliar with the new system, stretching the process to weeks and sometimes months. Seasonal restrictions made things worse: planting can only be carried out between October and April, when seedlings are dormant. With the financing guide published in late November 2022, the first season was already missed.
According to Aurelian-Marian Vasile, president of the association VanPes, “Planting has a seasonal character. You cannot do it if the soil is frozen or too wet. With the guide launched at the end of November, it was clear the 2022/2023 season was lost.”
Targets slashed in Brussels
By late 2023, negotiations with the European Commission led to the first downward revision: from 56,000 hectares to 26,760 hectares, with the budget cut to €460 million.
Eight months later, in August 2024, Minister Mircea Fechet amended the financing guide accordingly. But results still lagged. By the end of that year, just 8,800 hectares’ worth of projects had been submitted – barely one-third of the new target.
In early 2025, the government raised the carbon sequestration premium to €640 per year in a bid to attract more applicants. Yet the Commission remained unconvinced. Based on ministry data, Brussels concluded that Romania could not deliver more than 18,000 hectares by June 2026.
In August 2025, the second revision was imposed: the budget fell again, from €460 million to €307 million, and the target shrank to 18,000 hectares.
Disappointment among beneficiaries
The abrupt change triggered frustration among applicants who had already invested in project preparation. More than 30,000 hectares’ worth of projects were on the ministry’s table, far beyond the funding capacity.
“Today we know we don’t even have the money for the projects already submitted,” Minister Buzoianu admitted. “There are applications for 30,000 hectares, and we certainly have funding for 18,000.”
To prevent even more unfunded projects, the ministry shortened the deadline for submitting applications: instead of January 2026, the cut-off became 1 September 2025. Beneficiaries worried that their efforts, often involving thousands of euros – would be wasted if their projects failed to secure contracts.
Ironically, just as Brussels cut the targets, demand for the scheme began to grow. Data collected by VanPes from county environmental directorates and Forest Guards showed that, by April 2025, environmental approvals had already been issued for more than 23,000 hectares. By August, Forest Guards had validated around 22,000 hectares, with another 5,000 in the pipeline.
According to Vasile, this trend suggested Romania could have met the intermediate target of 26,000 hectares if allowed to continue. “It became evident that in the 2025/2026 planting season, Romania could reach the 26,760 hectares promised,” he argued.
Strategic lessons
The Ministry of Environment is now considering shifting some projects to a future national reforestation programme financed domestically. For the moment, however, beneficiaries face uncertainty, and Romania has lost the chance to use the full EU allocation.
Buzoianu herself acknowledged the systemic failure: “If something must change, it is the strategic planning of these projects. If you have four years of funding, you need to start building from the first year. Otherwise, you end up in the fourth year rushing to finish, and projects either fail or are poorly executed.”
Caption: A tree-planting action with volunteers in Ciugud commune during Forest Month./Ciugud Municipality/Facebook
Updated: September 8, 2025 - 06:23
