Romania is launching its most ambitious industrial policy package in recent times: 9 state aid schemes, with an estimated budget of 5 billion euros by 2032, including a dedicated instrument for projects exceeding 200 million euros, a significant gap until now in the arsenal for attracting strategic investments, according to Sebastian Popescu, Partner, coordinator of the Grants and Incentives Advisory service line, EY Romania.
In recent years, overlapping crises – the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, the energy transition, and global technological competition – have led governments to rethink the state's role in guiding investments. In Central and Eastern Europe, states are actively competing to attract investments in strategic value chains, such as batteries for electric vehicles, semiconductors, renewable energy equipment, or advanced digital technologies.
In this context, as well as in the context of Romania's macroeconomic situation, the Bucharest government has launched a new comprehensive package of state aid schemes, estimated at approximately 5 billion euros until 2032. This represents one of the most ambitious industrial policy initiatives in recent times and comes at a time when the Romanian economy is simultaneously facing structural challenges and opportunities for repositioning within the European industrial architecture, according to an EY analyst.
New state aid scheme package: structure and objectives
The package proposed by the Romanian Government includes 9 distinct state aid schemes, managed mainly by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and with the involvement of the Investment and Development Bank. These target a wide range of areas – from advanced technologies and research-development, to strategic industries, regional convergence, and support for the entrepreneurship of Romanians in the diaspora. The total budget for the schemes with clearly defined allocations is 3.95 billion euros, and estimates suggest that the total amount could reach approximately 5 billion euros if we also include the instrument dedicated to large-scale strategic investments.
One of the most relevant novelties of the economic recovery package is the establishment of a dedicated framework for financing investments with significant economic impact, targeting projects exceeding 200 million euros. This instrument, long-awaited by the investment community, addresses a gap in Romania's industrial policy: the absence of a sufficiently robust mechanism to attract „anchor” projects, capable of generating high added value, developing locally integrated value chains, and producing multiplier effects across the economy. The importance of such a framework is even greater as investors' decisions are influenced not only by the level of financial support but also by the predictability of the regulatory framework, the speed of administrative processes, and the state's ability to provide integrated solutions – from infrastructure and utilities to authorization and interinstitutional coordination.
Beyond this central pillar, the government package includes a series of sectoral schemes targeting clear objectives: developing industrial clusters and stimulating production in sectors with a significant trade deficit; utilizing strategic and critical mineral resources; accelerating investments in „net-zero” technologies and low-carbon industries; strengthening research, development, and innovation capacities through a combination of grants and extended tax incentives, as well as supporting the defense industry, in a geopolitical context that emphasizes the importance of industrial autonomy and economic security.
Complementarily, the package proposes financial instruments focused on regional convergence and increasing the competitiveness of local economies, as well as programs dedicated to Romanian entrepreneurship in the diaspora, with the role of mobilizing capital, know-how, and entrepreneurial initiative towards the national economy. This diversification of instruments reflects a mature approach to investment policy, which recognizes the need for differentiated solutions, adapted to the typology of projects and the profile of beneficiaries.
EY Perspective: How could these tools be refined
From EY's perspective, the package of support schemes proposed by the Government represents one of the most ambitious industrial and investment policy initiatives in recent times. Romania already benefits from solid experience in designing and implementing state aid schemes, and the Ministry of Finance has demonstrated, over the last 10–20 years, a very good institutional capacity to manage complex programs, complying with European state aid rigor and achieving quantifiable results in attracting productive investments. According to official data for the last decade, financing schemes managed by the Ministry of Finance have awarded state aid totaling over 1.8 billion euros to more than 230 companies, supporting total investments of approximately 4.4 billion euros and contributing to the creation of over 36,000 jobs.
In this context, the new package comes not as a change of direction, but as a significant expansion of the intervention area, both in terms of financial volume and diversity of instruments and strategic objectives.
In the case of the dedicated framework for investments with significant economic impact (over €200 million), international practice confirms that strategic investors do not choose a location solely based on the grant amount. The decision is decisively influenced by the speed of the administrative process, the predictability of the regulatory framework, and the state's capacity to deliver the necessary infrastructure on time. In this regard, the scheme could be strengthened by introducing real administrative fast-track mechanisms, with clearly defined deadlines for obtaining permits and approvals, as well as by integrating, from the planning phase, essential infrastructure components: access to energy, utilities, logistic and digital connectivity.
At the same time, an explicit prioritization of anchor investments capable of generating local industrial ecosystems could amplify the long-term impact. Relevant examples include batteries and electric mobility, semiconductors and advanced electronics, advanced materials, or the green chemical industry. A simplified framework, pre-notified to the European Commission for priority areas, would bring added flexibility and predictability in investor relations.
Concurrently, the development of a dedicated platform for strategic investors, serving as a point for inter-ministerial coordination and a single interface with central and local authorities, would contribute to reducing administrative fragmentation – one of the main risks perceived by large-scale investors.
Regarding the scheme intended for the manufacturing industry, the stated objective – reducing the trade deficit and increasing domestic production – could be more effectively supported by focusing on specific value chains, not exclusively on general NACE codes. The list of eligible activities can remain broad, but prioritization could target those segments where gaps are structural and the potential economic impact is high: electronic equipment and components, chemical and pharmaceutical products, machinery and transport equipment, or sub-segments of the automotive industry with complex technology.
Correlating the intensity of state aid with the net impact on the trade balance, as well as introducing additional incentives for the integration of local suppliers, could more efficiently direct public resources towards high value-added projects. At the same time, including a mandatory technological modernization component – for example, a minimum level of automation – as an eligibility criterion, not just a scoring one, would help avoid financing low-cost investments and steer support towards genuine industrial transformation.
Simplifying the evaluation mechanism by reducing scoring criteria to a concise set directly correlated with economic and fiscal impact could accelerate the administrative process and increase decision-making transparency. Establishing recurring submission windows, within the same periods of the year, as well as shortening analysis and payment deadlines, would strengthen predictability for the private sector.
Last but not least, the scale of this economic relaunch package naturally presents operational challenges. Given the volume of potential projects, the diversity of instruments, and the complexity of assessments, it is reasonable to anticipate that efficient implementation will require the allocation of additional human resources, beyond the current capacity of the teams involved. This does not diminish the performance demonstrated by the authorities in managing state aid schemes in recent years, but rather reflects an objective reality: the success of such an ambitious package depends not only on the legislative structure but also on the administrative capacity to deliver quickly, coherently, and predictably.
For Romania, the new package of state aid schemes represents a very good opportunity to change the economic development model. If implemented efficiently, these instruments can contribute to attracting strategic investments capable of generating industrial ecosystems, stimulating innovation, and reducing import dependence in key sectors.
In a period when regional competition for investments is intensifying, Romania has the chance to position itself as a relevant player in the new European industrial chains. But this opportunity depends on our country's ability to transform an ambitious package of public policies into a functional and credible tool for the business environment.