In brief

  • The Recovery and Resilience Plan financing contract for electronic identity card projects can from now on be amended in both directions: the budget may be reduced or increased by addendum.
  • The reduction targets explicitly the savings resulting from procurement procedures and the amounts that are no longer needed. It can be requested by the beneficiary, but it can also be proposed by the ministry.
  • An increase is possible only out of money still available across the call and only if it is genuinely needed. The order says it bluntly: an increase is not a right of the beneficiary.
Act: MAI Order no. 130/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 692 of 21 August 2026
Issued: 20 August 2026

Institutions that received European money for the electronic identity card now know, in black and white, what happens to the amounts left over after procurement: they can be cut from the funding, including on the ministry’s own initiative. Order no. 130 of 20 August 2026 of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 692 of 21 August 2026, amends Annex no. 14 to the specific guide of the non-competitive call for projects coded PNRR/2024/C.7/I.8/1, that is, the very model of the financing contract. It is a pattern that keeps recurring in the management of European money, as was also seen when Romania moved 200 million euro from the Recovery Plan into guarantees for small business loans.

The call is part of component C7, digital transformation, investment 8, dedicated to the electronic identity card and the digital signature, and it covers milestone 174, the implementation of the support measures for rolling out the electronic identity card. The underlying guide had been approved by Order no. 75/2024 of the Minister of Internal Affairs, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 398 and No 398 bis of 29 April 2024.

The order changes neither the objectives of the projects nor the indicators undertaken. It changes only the mechanism by which money can move inside a contract that has already been signed.

What it changes in practice

The first effect is the introduction of an explicit rule on reduction. The new paragraph (41) of Article 3 of the financing contract allows the approved eligible value to be lowered by the amounts that are no longer needed in order to carry out the activities, the results and the indicators, including by the savings resulting from public procurement procedures or from the performance of the procurement contracts.

The second effect concerns who can trigger the reduction. It is done by addendum, at the request of the beneficiary, but also at the proposal of the ministry’s specialist structure, referred to in the contract as MAI-RI. Both routes require a well-founded justification and neither may affect the purpose, the objectives, the results and the indicators undertaken.

The third effect is the possibility of an increase, subject to cumulative conditions. Under the new paragraph (42), the eligible value may be raised by addendum, in duly justified cases, at the request of the beneficiary and with the approval of MAI-RI, but only within the limit of the amounts that have become available and have been confirmed at the level of the financial allocation of the call and of the approved commitment appropriations, with budget appropriations and, where applicable, VAT amounts secured.

The fourth effect is a limit placed on expectations. The text states that an increase may be approved only if the additional amounts are needed for implementation, can be used within the implementation period and meet the eligibility conditions, and it adds a sentence that leaves no room for interpretation: an increase is not a right of the beneficiary.

The fifth effect is one of alignment. A change in the eligible value entails a corresponding update of the total value of the project and, where applicable, of the VAT amounts and of the non-eligible value, under the new wording of Article 3 paragraph (4). In addition, Chapter 3 paragraph (11) letter b) of Annex no. 1, the general conditions, now refers expressly to Article 3 paragraphs (4) to (42).

What has changed compared with the previous situation

Until now, the model contract said only that the total value and its components could be amended by addendum, under the conditions of Chapter 3 of the general conditions. There was no dedicated text on what happens to the savings from procurement and no written procedure for an increase.

The second change is the direction from which the initiative comes. A reduction could be discussed before, but now the ministry can propose one itself, which turns a matter for negotiation into a procedure written into the contract.

The third change is the ceiling on any increase. It no longer depends on a general assessment, but on the amounts that have actually become available across the call and have been confirmed by MAI-RI, within the limit of the approved commitment appropriations.

What does not change are the milestone and the indicators. Any budget change, upwards or downwards, must be made without affecting the purpose, the objectives, the results and the indicators set out in the financing contract, and without touching the decision awarding the financing.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • It writes into the contract what happens to the savings from procurement, instead of leaving the matter to the interpretation of the parties.
  • For the first time under this call, it creates a formal route for increasing the funding in justified cases.
  • It frees up amounts that can be redirected to other projects under the same call, instead of leaving them locked in contracts that no longer have any use for them.
  • It aligns the wording of the contract with that of the general conditions, so the risk of contradictory cross-references between the two annexes disappears.
  • It protects the outcome of the project: any budget movement is made without touching the purpose, the objectives and the indicators.

What remains a problem

  • An increase is not a right, so a beneficiary may meet every condition and still not receive the additional amount.
  • The order sets no deadline within which the ministry must answer a request for an increase or for a reduction.
  • It does not say how priority is established among several beneficiaries who ask at the same time for an increase out of the same remaining pot.
  • The phrase „well-founded justification” is left without criteria, both for reductions and for increases.
  • The order enters into force on publication, with no period of adjustment, even though it amends a contract that has already been signed and is under way.

Practical advice

  1. If you are implementing a project under this call, check now the difference between the contracted value and the value resulting after procurement. That is the amount exposed to reduction.
  2. Prepare in good time the justification for the amounts you want to keep. The order requires a well-founded justification for reductions too, not only for increases.
  3. If you need extra money, file the request as early as possible within the implementation period. One of the conditions is that the amounts can actually be used before the end.
  4. Do not build your budget on the assumption of an increase. The text says expressly that it is not a right of the beneficiary.
  5. Check whether the change affects the VAT amount and the non-eligible part. Their update is automatic under the new wording of Article 3 paragraph (4).
  6. Re-read Chapter 3 of Annex no. 1, the general conditions. Letter b) of paragraph (11) now refers to Article 3 paragraphs (4) to (42) of the contract.

Frequently asked questions

Who is this order aimed at?
The beneficiaries of financing contracts under the non-competitive call PNRR/2024/C.7/I.8/1, component C7 digital transformation, investment 8, dedicated to the electronic identity card and the digital signature, milestone 174.
What happens to the money saved at procurement?
It can be taken out of the funding. The new paragraph (41) allows the eligible value to be reduced by the amounts that are no longer needed, including by the savings from public procurement procedures or from the performance of the contracts.
Can I ask for more money than I have in the contract?
Yes, by addendum, but only in duly justified cases, with the approval of the MAI-RI structure and within the limit of the amounts that have become available across the call. The order states that an increase is not a right of the beneficiary.
Can the ministry cut my budget without me asking for it?
It can propose the reduction, and that reduction is carried out by addendum. A well-founded justification is mandatory, and the purpose, the objectives, the results and the indicators of the project may not be affected.
Do the indicators or the milestone of the project change?
No. The order changes only the rules for amending the budget. Any adjustment is made without affecting the purpose, the objectives, the results and the indicators undertaken through the financing contract.
When does it start to apply?
From its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, that is, from 21 August 2026. The order does not lay down any other date of entry into force.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 692 of 21 August 2026 16 pages PDF, 122 KB the act starts on page 11

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.