The Ministry of Finance has approved the allocation of 135.622 million lei from the Government's budget reserve fund to supplement the budget of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, ensuring that ROMATSA's operations and air navigation services can continue safely.

According to a statement from the institution, the measure was approved by the Government on Friday and allows for the funding of expenses necessary to maintain operational safety, as well as personnel costs and other obligations arising from ROMATSA's operations and applicable legislation.

'The intervention became necessary because the resources collected through the EUROCONTROL mechanism—intended to fund the services provided by ROMATSA—had been temporarily rendered unavailable. ROMATSA provides air navigation services within Romanian airspace for both flights operating to and from the country's airports and aircraft in transit. The continuity of these services is essential for safe air traffic operations, and a temporary funding blockage cannot be allowed to compromise the functioning of such a service,' the Ministry of Finance explains.

For passengers, this means that a temporary funding issue does not end up affecting flight operations.

'We are talking about a strategic service that must operate without interruption and under conditions of complete safety. The Ministry of Finance has approved this solution to ensure the continuity of ROMATSA's operations during a period of temporary unavailability of the resources due to it under the EUROCONTROL mechanism. At the same time, we have structured the mechanism so that the budgetary intervention is temporary: should these funds be recovered or subsequently transferred, they will be returned in full to the state budget. We thus ensure the functioning of an essential service without turning a temporary liquidity issue into a permanent cost for the budget,' stated Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, as quoted in the press release.

By approving this allocation, the Ministry of Finance ensures the necessary resources to prevent a temporary funding situation from affecting the continuity of a strategic public service and air traffic safety.

The funds enable ROMATSA to continue its operations without interruption and to provide air navigation services for national and European traffic under normal conditions.

The approved mechanism simultaneously protects the state budget. In the event of the subsequent recovery or remittance of amounts due via the EUROCONTROL mechanism, ROMATSA will fully reimburse the state budget for the funds received from the Reserve Fund.

'Thus, the allocation is temporary in nature and ensures the financial continuity of ROMATSA's operations, without permanently transferring obligations normally funded by EUROCONTROL resources to the state budget,' the statement notes.

The Ministry of Finance gives assurances that it will continue to support the solutions necessary for the uninterrupted operation of strategic infrastructure and services, while maintaining budgetary discipline and protecting public resources. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea; EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)