Romania

Public consultation quality

Overall public consultation quality was reasonable during the first phases of the drafting process, but lagging behind in the last 6 months of 2025. A summary of the draft Plan was put in public consultation without any communication and it lacked essential information. In more detail:

Working Group Phase – Drafting:
Meetings were held less frequently than initially planned, and documents were shared with very short feedback deadlines of only 2–3 days.

Stakeholder Meeting Phase:
There was a high level of participation. A question was raised regarding the absence of energy communities in the Plan, and the response was that they would coordinate with the Ministry of Energy and return with an answer.

Public Consultation Phase (31.10.2025–01.12.2025):
The consultation period is generous, allowing sufficient time to submit comments. However, the published text is only a summary outlining general directions.

Cross-ministerial coordination & participation of social ministries

Relevant ministries were present in the Working Groups created for supporting the drafting of the Plan, but interinstitutional coordination remains weak. A notable absence was the Ministry of Environment, responsible for the transposition of the ETS2 Directive.

Stakeholder consultation scope

Stakeholders were consulted throughout the preparation of the Plan, however the quality of each consultation stage differed, limiting the possibility to provide timely comments. 

Consultation timing

During the consultations that took place in the context of a dedicated working group, the documents arrived at the last moment, providing stakeholders with only 2-3 days for comments. The Draft Plan presented on the website for consultation provided for enough time for commenting.

Stakeholder representation

Stakeholders at all levels were consulted, but there was no specific effort for reaching vulnerable households. While some actors were included, input from their side was sometimes limited. 

Stakeholder feedback integration

During the drafting process some stakeholder comments were broadly taken into account, yet this was not always straightforward. 

Arrangement to set up a standing consultation/monitoring body for the Plan

A monitoring committee will be set up following approval of the Plan. 

Involvement of Local Authorities

Associations of local authorities were part of the working groups and were consulted during the drafting process. 

Energy poverty definition

The Plan's definition of energy poverty is aligned with the Energy Efficiency Directive. 

Effective targeting of vulnerable households

The summary draft Plan mentions One Stop Shops, technical assistance, and mobilising local partners, as levers for improving reach of vulnerable households. However, the specific targeting methodology is not yet presented, and thus cannot be fully assessed. 

Measures addressed to households that are not immediatedly impacted by ETS2

The Plan includes measures to support users that are not directly affected by ETS2. In Romania, the majority of energy poor use firewood for heating (and reside in rural areas). Measures are also foreseen for those characteristics. 

Pass-on benefit guarantee (100% of benefits reaching vulnerable households)

Applicants must demonstrate vulnerability to ETS2 (increased energy and transport costs) and the Plan's investments must target specific beneficiary groups. The eligibility conditions are based on socio-economic indicators such as income levels, energy expenditures exceeding 10% of household income, energy or transport poverty, and dependence on fossil fuels. Priority is given to vulnerable local administrative units (LAUs), rural areas, small urban settlements, and energy-intensive sectors. Selection is carried out through competitive calls, with additional points awarded for projects located in vulnerable areas.

However, the Plan does not (yet) detail what additional steps will be taken to ensure that the full benefit of an investment reaches a vulnerable household in specific scenarios (e.g., in cases of landlords receiving money to renovate their rental home). 

Housing sector reforms & investments

The draft Plan includes several investments in the housing sector:

• I1: Energy renovation of urban multifamily buildings (thermal renovation, energy audits); applicants: Vulnerable households living in buildings dependent on fossil fuels, district heating, or biomass.
• I3: Renovation and decarbonisation of rural single-family buildings (moderate renovation, 3 kW PV installation, 5 kWh storage); applicants: Households experiencing energy poverty in rural or small urban areas; priority is given to vulnerable local administrative units .

Heating & cooling sector reforms & investments

I2: Installation of heat pumps, PV panels, and storage systems in multifamily buildings; applicants: Urban households dependent on natural gas, district heating, or biomass; based on the technical project developed under I1. No support is foreseen community or cooperative owned projects.

Measures and investments for energy communities

Energy communities were included in the preparatory discussions but removed in the summary draft made public

Public transport & active mobility

The Plan includes the following measures and investments in terms of transport:

• M1: Institutional framework for integrated mobility (governance, digitalisation, subsidies); applicants: Public authorities (county councils, local public authorities) for functional clusters. 
   
• I5: Social electric vehicle leasing (grants, guarantees); applicants: Vulnerable households with medium incomes, located in areas without public transport.
  
  • I1: Improving access to urban/rural public transport (purchase of electric vehicles, adjacent infrastructure, 3-year subsidies); applicants: Local administrative units affected by transport poverty; vulnerable population.
  
  • I2: Flexible/on-demand regional transport (electric minibuses, dispatch centre, supporting infrastructure); applicants: County councils/local public authorities in isolated areas; vulnerable users (via app/phone).

Questions remain with regards to the capacity at local level to adopt, implement and sustain proposed investments, as with regards to the potential of proposed investments to reach in a targeted manner the population most affected.

Vulnerable micro-enterprise support

The Romanian Plan includes dedicated support for micro-enterprises. This includes:

• Financial instruments for low/zero-emission vehicles; applicants: Vulnerable micro-enterprises in transport-dependent sectors (loan + rebate).
• Energy efficiency for micro-enterprises; applicants: Vulnerable micro-enterprises located in inefficient buildings, dependent on natural gas, within local administrative units (LAUs) experiencing energy poverty.

Problematic investments

The Romanian Plan includes one investment on social leasing of Low Emission Vehicles for medium-income households and inclusion of LEV across transport measures. 

Cost-supportive measure design

Direct income support will be allocated as a buffer before energy efficiency works will be implemented

Strategic alignment & linkages with other major national strategies & plans

This section was not included in the publicly available summary of the draft Plan. 

Mobilisation of broader ETS2 revenues

The Romanian Social Climate Plan currently relies solely on the EU SCF allocation and mandatory national co-financing. It does not include a clear provision or pledge to direct additional ETS2 revenues to the SCP, leaving the long-term financial sustainability and scaling potential of measures uncertain.