The Rabla program should be financed through European funds, said on Thursday the Minister of Environment, Diana Buzoianu, who argued that the decrease in the value of the voucher was not a wrong decision, considering the current budgetary context.

„It is obvious that, when there is a voucher of 7,500 euros versus a voucher of approximately 2,000 euros, there is a lower interest in a voucher of 2,000 euros. But that does not automatically mean that the voucher of 7,500 euros was the correct one, because we are looking at what the comparison was between the states around us and, in fact, at the European level. We had one of the largest vouchers for similar programs. Moreover, the perspective of this program – from my point of view, it should be moved to European funds, no longer from the national budget, because from the national budget we need to spend this money on strategic projects, which can also help save lives,” declared Buzoianu, during a press conference at the Victoria Palace.

She estimated that the funds allocated to the program will be exhausted this year. The Environmental Fund Administration recently decided to redirect 45 million lei from the budget allocated to electric vehicles to the category of new vehicles with thermal propulsion systems (internal combustion, including LPG/CNG engines), motorcycles and vehicles with hybrid propulsion systems. The registration of applicants in the computer application began on Thursday, at 10:00.

„I believe that by the end of the deadline for this program, absolutely all vouchers that had a budget in the program will be given. We are happy to see that there was interest in the program and, even with the amendments that were made, the budget is still being finalized,” she said.

On the other hand, Buzoianu did not provide a definite answer regarding the continuation of the Rabla Program in 2026.

„It depends a lot on the budget that will exist, it depends a lot on whether we will have the Social Climate Fund, but, most likely, following the discussions to postpone ETS2, we will not have the Social Climate Fund next year. At this moment, for next year’s AFM budget, we have focused on completing the projects from the PNRR, which were moved to the AFM. (…) We are talking about projects worth more than several billion RON,” explained Diana Buzoianu.AGERPRES