Vehicles manufactured in the European Union (EU), in the European Economic Area (EEA), or in countries party to the Mediterranean Treaty will be eligible under the Rabla program, which this year has a budget increased to 300 million lei, Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu announced on Tuesday.

“Today we will publish the guide for the Rabla program to streamline its implementation as quickly as possible. We have proposed keeping the value of the vouchers at last year’s level so that the platform does not need to be modified and the implementation period of this project is not extended. But we have also introduced a new criterion related to manufacturing in the EU, the European Economic Area, or in countries that are party to the Mediterranean Treaty. So, basically, if a car is manufactured in one of those countries, it is eligible for any Romanian who wants to apply to the Rabla’ program,” Diana Buzoianu stated during a press conference.

She specified that the ministerial order will also be published on Tuesday and will enter a public consultation period.

‘Today (Tuesday, ed.) the order will be published. It must remain open for public review for ten days. I am convinced there will be requests for debate, especially given the new conditions that have been set. I am convinced there are operators who would have liked to import cars into Romania from other, very distant continents. We will also hold public debates; we will have these 10 days for debate and public review. After 10 days, the order can be approved, and then all the subsequent stages will follow—the registration stages and the application submission stages,” the minister stated.

According to her, the program will follow the same schedule as last year.

‘We will have the same schedule as last year, exactly the same schedule, with the same deadlines, and the same dates that were set last year. It will be exactly the same schedule this year as well. The Rabla program will be able to begin its first stage in June, but it must follow all the steps outlined in the guidelines,” said Buzoianu.

The minister also announced an increase in the budget allocated to the program.

‘Last year we had 200 million lei, this year we have 300 million lei, so that’s an increase of 100 million lei,’ said Diana Buzoianu.

The minister noted that the 100 million lei budget increase reflects support for continuing the program and the goal of reducing its environmental impact.

In her view, the new rules also aim to stimulate production in Europe.

‘It’s one thing to import a car from 20,000 kilometers away, and another to import it from 2,000 kilometers away, in terms of environmental impact, and at the same time, we also want a component that supports production, those who invest closer to Romania or even in Romania. We essentially want to amplify, to multiply the effect of this program, to have a much better impact on the environment, but also a much more significant effect—a multiplier effect on the economy,” the minister explained.

In 2025, the eco-vouchers granted through the ‘Rabla’ Program had the following values: 18,500 lei – for the purchase of a new all-electric vehicle or a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, 15,000 lei – for the purchase of a new plug-in hybrid vehicle or an electric motorcycle; 12,000 lei – for the purchase of a new vehicle with a hybrid propulsion system; 10,000 lei – for the purchase of a new vehicle with a thermal propulsion system (internal combustion, including LPG/CNG engines) or a motorcycle.

Source: AGERPRES