In the Government Meeting of October 16, 2023, an Emergency Ordinance on the financial management of non-reimbursable European funds allocated to Romania from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADR) and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA) for the 2021-2027 programming period was approved.

This ordinance provides the general financial framework for managing non-reimbursable financial assistance allocated to Romania from FEADR and FEGA for the 2021-2027 programming period. For the year 2023 alone, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development budgeted the following financial envelope: 10,846,520,000 lei in commitment credits and 8,850,675,000 lei in budget credits.

The ordinance establishes the funding mechanism for direct support schemes and measures for market regulation or support in the agricultural sector within the 2021-2027 programming period, financed from FEGA and FEADR. It also creates the legal framework for granting national transitional aid (ANT) in the plant and animal sectors from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development budget.

It should be noted that this legislation also provides the legal framework for the payment of over 1 billion euros in the form of advances during the payment campaign carried out by the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture from October 16 to November 30, 2023. Only approximately 800,000 farmers on Pillar I of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the 2021-2027 programming period will benefit from the provisions of this ordinance for the payment of advances related to the 2023 applications.