Beyond the diagnosis
Proposals and theories
What has already been proposed for the problems documented in the pillars, by whom, and which theoretical frameworks explain why inefficiencies arise. Each proposal is attributed to its author; it is not a recommendation by the editors.
Why we show proposals without recommending one
ROptimizaRE takes no political position and recommends no particular solution: the same measure can have different effects in different contexts. What we do: we show what the International Monetary Fund, the Fiscal Council, the European Commission or researchers have already proposed, with the source and what actually happened to the proposal. That is verifiable information, not opinion.
Documented proposals
- International institution2024
European Commission
Speeding up the implementation of the NRRP and cohesion funds by strengthening administrative capacity
In its country-specific recommendation for 2024–2025, the European Commission explicitly asked for a significant acceleration in the implementation of the cohesion programmes and the NRRP, by ensuring effective governance and strengthening administrative capacity.
Public procurement and EU fundsPartly implemented - National institution2025
Government of Romania
A 10–30% cut in posts at the autonomous administrative authorities
A bill initiated by the Government became, in October 2025, Law no. 145/2025: a 10% cut in specialist posts and a 30% cut in support-service posts at ANRE, ASF and ANCOM, plus a 30% cut in management allowances from 2026.
Institutional duplicationImplemented - National institution2025
Fiscal Council of Romania
Urgent measures to unblock the absorption of European funds
The Fiscal Council formally asked the authorities to act quickly and decisively to unblock the absorption of European funds, warning of the risk of losing €5.2 billion through decommitment.
Public procurement and EU fundsPartly implemented - Academic research2024
Steluța Enache (independent researcher)
A gradual adjustment of public-sector staff, on the model of 2010
An independent 96-page study, which also synthesises the World Bank's recommendations, proposes a gradual reform of the number of public-sector employees and the removal of distortions in the granting of pay supplements, especially in local government.
Salaries and public-sector staffRejected
Economic and public-administration theories
All theoriesThe analytical frameworks that explain why inefficient structures appear: not proposals, but tools for thinking.
- Public economicsFiscal federalismThe theoretical framework that explains at which level of government (national, regional, local) each spending decision should be taken, and why excessive fragmentation at the local level loses its advantages.
- Public economics / public choiceThe budget-maximising bureaucracyA model from public choice theory that explains why public institutions tend to grow, through the incentive structure of those who run them, not necessarily through ill will.
- Public economics / regulationRegulatory captureThe theory that explains why authorities created to regulate an industry in the public interest sometimes end up serving the interests of the companies they are supposed to oversee.