The project was developed by the Ministry of Education and Research in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Entrepreneurship Development Organization, and the Competition Council, and has been submitted for public comment. It is proposed to implement the state aid scheme starting in the 2025–2026 academic year.
As the authors of the proposal explain in the explanatory note to the draft, over the past three years, enterprises have been unable to fully utilize budget funds. The reason is that the current compensation mechanism is considered to provide only minimal assistance.
This prevents institutions that enroll a larger number of students from receiving compensation. The calculation formula also limits the amount of compensation and does not allow for reimbursement of 50% of eligible expenses.
In this regard, the introduction of a new state aid mechanism is envisaged. Enterprises that submit an application to the Enterprise Development Organization will be able to recover up to 50% of expenses falling under the categories of costs eligible for compensation.
According to the draft, an overall budget for the scheme will be established. For the entire duration of the scheme, it will amount to 125 million lei, and funds for each fiscal year will be allocated in accordance with the law on the state budget.
