The Future of the Just Transition in Romania: How European Funds Will Be Allocated for 2028–2034

The European Commission is proposing a major change in the way European funds are organized for the 2028–2034 period, with a focus on security, resilience, and competitiveness. Instead of separate instruments and programmes dedicated to cohesion or the Common Agricultural Policy, a significant share of EU funding would be channeled through “National and Regional Partnership Plans” (NRPP).

One major concern for the resilience and competitiveness of Romania’s industrial hubs is the proposed removal of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) from the future EU budget. While the JTF will no longer existas a separate instrument, this does not mean that the transition in affected regions is coming to an end. In Romania, the economic and social transformation of counties dependent on fossil fuel-based industries will continue well beyond 2027. Projects aimed at economic restructuring and diversification require a longer-term perspective and cannot be completed within a single funding period. The lessons learned from implementing the current Just Transition Fund (JTF) can help shape future just transition policies and improve the funding, planning, and governance mechanisms that have proven effective. These are some of the issues addressed in the study “Financing Just Transition Policies in Romania”, authored by Eliza Barnea and Alexandru Kelemen and launched on Thursday in Bucharest by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Romania is currently the third-largest beneficiary of the EU’s Just Transition Fund, with an allocation of approximately 2.1 billion euros allocated tosix counties undergoing transition: Gorj, Hunedoara, Dolj, Galați, Prahova, and Mureș. In these regions, the energy and industrial transition is driving significant economic change, with major implications for jobs, skills, and local communities.

Lessons from the First Years of Implementation

An analysis of the experience to the date shows that economic investments are essential for the transformation of the affected regions. More than half of the funding contracted through the FTJ has been allocated to the business development: supporting 421 projects, worth a total of 1.23 billion euros.

At the same time, the study highlights that a just transition cannot be reduced to investments in businesses and infrastructure. Reskilling, education, social services, and the ability of communities to adapt to economic changes must be part of an integrated strategy.

The transition also has an important territorial dimension. A significant share of investments is concentrated in major urban centers, while smaller towns and communities directly dependent on mining and industry risk benefiting less from the economic transformation.

The experience of the Jiu Valley demonstrates how integrated territorial instruments can help ensure a more balanced distribution of resources and while strengthening local capacity. The study recommends considering similar approaches in other territories heavily affected by the transition.

What the study recommends for the period 2028–2034

The authors make recommendations at European, national, and local levels. These include: maintaining a dedicated budgetary guarantee for regions undergoing transition, introducing mandatory regional and/or territorial chapters into the future National Territorial Development Plan (NRPP) based on territorial transition strategies, maintaining a territorial component specifically dedicated to Romania’s six transition counties, expanding dedicated funding to the sub-county level, and strengthening local administrative capacity.

The study “Funding Just Transition Policies in Romania”, together with the authors’ recommendations, is available here: Read the study!