Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on Tuesday that the government had decided to withdraw its decision approving the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2026-2030 following a legal challenge filed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), adding that its provisions have now been incorporated into a bill submitted to the Senate.

'For me and for the Government, there is no political interest above Romania's interests. And when significant funds destined for our country's economy are at stake, we cannot take the risk of major losses. The adoption of the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2026-2030 is a milestone undertaken by Romania under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR, Milestone 31). Failure to meet it would trigger a penalty of more than EUR 970 million. The Romanian Government fulfilled this milestone through a government decision adopted at its meeting on July 23, 2026, with the approval of the Ministry of Justice, in implementation of the Environment chapter of the government's programme and in line with Romania's international commitments. (...) In an attempt to harass a government that it dismissed without having any alternative to put forward, and also to satisfy the interests of its own clientele, the PSD has initiated court proceedings seeking the suspension and annulment of several government decisions, including this one,' Bolojan wrote on Facebook.

He added that three of the challenged decisions concern commitments linked to non-repayable European Union funding.

'Overall, the PSD is putting EUR 1.1 billion at risk. One of these decrees, concerning the Biodiversity Strategy, the adoption of which by August 31 is necessary to avoid a penalty of EUR 1 billion, is one that the PSD says it is prepared to support through the rapid adoption of a bill. Although I have no doubt about the legality of these decisions, I cannot assume the risk of the act being suspended pending a final court ruling. (...) Consequently, we have decided to withdraw the government decisions approving the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2026-2030. Its provisions are now contained in a bill submitted to the Senate today. We are doing what is right for Romania. We will see whether the PSD keeps its word, at least this time,' the acting prime minister said.

Bolojan noted that the current version of the strategy had been agreed with the European Commission and warned that any amendments could be regarded as a failure to meet the relevant PNRR milestone, resulting in financial penalties. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)