Romania's Rabla car subsidy program to use 2025 rules to avoid delays

Romania's Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu confirmed on Tuesday that the Rabla 2026 program will proceed with the same regulations as the previous year. This decision aims to prevent significant delays in the registration process, as introducing new criteria would have required an additional three months of consultations.

Buzoianu explained that while there was a desire to incorporate new criteria, such as manufacturing origin and input from various authorities including the European Union, the timeline necessitated launching the program with the existing framework. These new considerations are now slated for the 2027 edition, pending favorable opinions.

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This idea of an interim government is closer to the idea of a European government that we all promote, meaning a government that can do its job administratively, but cannot issue an emergency ordinance every day. And for Rabla, there is no need for an emergency ordinance.

The program has seen a budget increase of 100 million lei compared to last year, bringing the total to 300 million lei. Of this, 165 million lei is designated for internal combustion and hybrid vehicles, 120 million lei for plug-in hybrid and electric cars, and 15 million lei for motorcycles. Notably, diesel-powered vehicles are not eligible for funding under this program.

Registrations for individuals will open on July 20th at 10:00 AM via the Environment Fund Administration's online application. The session will remain open until December 31st, 2026, or until the budget is fully allocated. Buzoianu also commented on the interim government's administrative capacity, suggesting it aligns with the concept of a functional European government that can manage administrative tasks without resorting to frequent emergency ordinances.

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We also increased the budget this year by 100 million. We would have liked to add the criterion of manufacturing and viewpoints from all authorities, especially from the European Union level, but it would have meant going through another three months of consultations. So we proposed to launch it this year in last year's format and go through all the stages for next year. We hope to have favorable viewpoints and next year we can introduce this criterion.