Preparing for Demographic Change in Nord‑Vest, Romania

1. Assessment and recommendations

The Nord-Vest is one of Romania’s eight development regions, strategically positioned in the northwest of the country. It shares international borders with Hungary to the west and Ukraine to the north, serving as a gateway for trade. The region of 2.5 million inhabitants is characterised by a predominantly rural landscape, with half of the region’s population. While large urban centres such as Cluj-Napoca (420 000 inhabitants) and Oradea (220 000) are thriving economic hubs, extensive rural areas remain underdeveloped. Nord-Vest has been gradually converging towards the EU average in terms of GDP per capita, aided by significant investment through EU and national funds.

The Nord-Vest planning region is composed of 6 counties (Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Satu Mare and Sălaj). It contains 446 territorial administrative units, including 15 cities (municipii), 28 towns (orașe) and 403 rural communes (comună). Five cities have legally constituted metropolitan areas (Baia Mare, Cluj, Oradea, Satu Mare and Zalău), which aim to help coordinate development and infrastructure planning in these cities. At the planning region level, which is primarily statistical, the non-governmental North-West Regional Development Agency (NW RDA) manages the EUR 1.4 billion Regional Programme 2021‑2027, which is funded with EUR 1.19 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and EUR 242 million from the Romanian state budget.

Although Nord-Vest has been confronted with long-term population decline and outmigration, it has not been as strongly impacted as many other regions in Romania. While other Romanian regions (with the exception București-Ilfov) are classified by the European Commission as already being ‘in a talent development trap’, the Nord-Vest region is classified as being ‘at risk of being in a talent development trap’. In the ten years to 2024, the region’s population decreased by 1.8%, a trend that is expected to continue in the future, albeit at a slower pace than the national average.

In the face of demographic change, the region has many assets to leverage to remain attractive and competitive. It has twelve universities, a diverse industrial base, an emerging information technology sector, a strategic geographic position, significant natural capital and the RDA with robust investment capacity, amongst other areas. Making the most of these assets requires ensuring fit-for-purpose policies, governance structures, public services and investments across all levels of government.

Regional profile and key trends

Despite long-term population decline, outmigration is slowing as urban centres flourish

Nord-Vest has experienced long-term population decline. In the 10 years leading up to 2024, the population decline (1.8%) was below the national average decline of 4.0%. This decline has been driven by natural change linked to lower fertility—a fertility rate of 1.54 children per woman in Romania in 2023, well below the replacement rate of 2.1—and the ageing of the generation born during a baby boom in the late 1960s and 1970s resulting from pro-natalist policies under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist regime. It has also been driven by emigration. In the ten years to 2024, around 4 500 more people moved overseas from Nord-Vest every year than arrived. Fortunately, emigration rates have been decreasing, which indicates the region is becoming more attractive. While Nord-Vest had already experienced positive net domestic migration for many years, it also achieved positive net international migration in 2022. Despite this, the population of Nord‑Vest is projected to shrink by 15% by 2050, with 24% fewer working-age residents (15-64 years old) and 41% fewer young residents (15-49). It is also forecast to age, with a 23% increase in elderly residents (65+).

Population dynamics vary significantly within Nord-Vest. Urban centres of Cluj-Napoca, Oradea and Baia Mare continue to attract residents from rural areas and other parts of Romania. The higher education sector—concentrated in Cluj-Napoca—brings diverse and young individuals who migrate in pursuit of education, including students from Western Europe. At the same time, rural and non-metropolitan areas risk being left behind. Between 2014 and 2021, the elderly population (65+) in rural areas increased by 1% over the 7-year period. Looking ahead, all counties are expected to shrink and age. The predominantly rural counties of Salaj, Maramures and Satu Mare are forecast to have 20% fewer inhabitants by 2050, while Cluj—the least impacted—is forecast to have 9% fewer inhabitants. The region is ethnically diverse, with around 20% of its population Hungarian and 3.5% Roma.

Nord-Vest is an economically dynamic region that is converging towards the European Union average

Nord-Vest’s economy is steadily converging towards the European Union (EU) average. Although the GDP per capita (of EUR 24 370) remains below the average of the EU (39 088) and Romania (26 162), the region has witnessed the third fastest growth rate in Romania over the last 10 years. Robust economic performance is indicated by a 79% increase in labour productivity. While there is currently a low and declining unemployment rate of 4% in Nord-Vest, the share of inactive population remains high at 32.2% (age group 15-64 years), significantly above the EU average (22.5%), and it has increased in recent years. Although youth participation in education stands at 62.1%, the second highest in the country after the București-Ilfov region, it is below the EU average (65.6%). The share of the population at risk of poverty (14.7%) is lower than the national average (21.1%), having halved since 2013.

Nord-Vest’s EUR 39 billion economy is primarily focused on primary sectors, industry, trade and transport. The industrial sector makes-up about 28% of the regional workforce, well above the EU average of 17%. Agriculture is also dominant with 10% of the workforce, above the EU average at 3%. The region’s economic structure is evolving towards a more high-skilled economy with professional, scientific, and technical activities accounting for 45% of employment growth between 2014 and 2020. Other growing sectors include trade, transportation, services and public administration. While a positive transformation is underway, the region remains constrained by a skill-gap in the labour market exacerbated by youth emigration. The labour market is particularly tight for high-skilled industries such as ICT, which has emerged as a key growth sector in Cluj-Napoca in recent years.

Nord-Vest is at risk of being in a ‘talent development trap’

The European Commission’s Communication on Harnessing Talent in Europe’s Regions identifies that Nord‑Vest is at risk of falling in a “talent development trap”. This is where demographic decline is compounded by the outmigration of young and educated individuals. As in much of Romania, youth outmigration has been high in recent decades. Annual youth net out‑migration rate in Nord-Vest was equivalent to 1.2% of the youth population each year between 2011 and 2021. Despite the presence of universities and skill shortages in some industries, many young people continue to leave the region. This trend risks exacerbating the current skills mismatch and putting pressure on key public sectors such as education and health, which struggle to attract young workers. If not addressed, this dynamic could undermine the region’s transition toward a high-skill economy and its long-term development.

A range of national, regional and local programmes are already being implemented that can help develop, retain and attract youth in Nord-Vest – a key part of overcoming the “talent development trap”. Examples include the National Youth Strategy, North-West RDA participation in the Talent T4S3 initiative and the Com’ON Cluj-Napoca initiative that provides a participatory process for youth to create, vote on and implement ideas. These multi‑sectoral and multi-level efforts reflect the need for comprehensive and co-ordinated policies to both adapt to and mitigate demographic change and youth outmigration.

A fragmented multi-level governance framework and insufficient co-ordination limits local policy responses to demographic change

Romania is a unitary country with two tiers of subnational governments, operating at a county and local level. Since the 1989 Romanian revolution, the country has undergone a gradual decentralisation process. In 2022, county and local governments were responsible for 21.5% of public expenditure, below the EU average of 34.3%, but account for half of public investment, which is in line with the EU average. Public investment represents approximately half of subnational government budgets. Subnational governments are mainly funded through inter-governmental transfers (84% of revenue) with taxes only representing 4.6% of subnational government revenue, well below the EU average of 26.7%. The central government maintains strong oversight of county and local governments through prefectures and county directorates, which are deconcentrated territorial administrative bodies. Romania also has eight statistical development regions that correspond to the NUTS 2 territorial units, each of which has a corresponding Regional Development Agency (RDA) that has recently become a Managing Authority for the ERDF-funded Regional Programmes in the framework of Cohesion Policy. The North-West RDA is also an intermediary body for the Nord-Vest region under the ESF+ and ERDF funded National Health Programme.

The central government retains primary responsibility for most policy domains in Romania, while county and local governments support policy implementation and investment. For example, the central government has the main responsibilities for education, health and social services, although some activities such as facility maintenance are delegated to local authorities. The central government has adopted a range of policies that seek to shift demographic trends, including by focusing on fertility, families and the attraction and reintegration of Romanian citizens living abroad. The central government has also started to adopt various policies to respond to the impacts of demographic change, including through policies for long‑term care and active ageing, education, employment and integration of minority groups. The North‑West RDA, as well as county and local governments, are primarily focused on responding to demographic change by encouraging local economic development through investment, largely supported by EU funds. Some county and local governments seek to attract private investment through the creation of industrial parks and smart specialisation. Resource constraints, limited competencies, high use of earmarking and a hierarchical policy framework limit the scope for the RDA, and county and local governments, to design policies to adapt to demographic change, meaning their focus is on investment.

Adapting land use and spatial planning

Streamline the spatial and urban planning framework to support a coordinated response to demographic change

Spatial and urban planning is essential for an efficient and coordinated response to demographic change; however, the framework in Romania is characterised by outdated spatial tools and insufficient coordination both across and within the level of governance, particularly within the same Functional Urban Area (FUA). Coordination with sectoral policies and local or regional development strategies also remains weak. This results in fragmented policies and creates a risk of conflict. In the national spatial planning framework, a Zonal Regional Spatial Plan (PATZR) is intended to provide strategic guidance at the level of the eight development regions. In Nord-Vest a PATZR was developed in 2003, but its update remains incomplete – although the region prepares a Regional Development Plan to support access to EU funds. Within Nord-Vest, six separate County Spatial Plans (Planul de Amenajare a Teritoriului Județului – PATJ) vary considerably in focus and scope, partly due to differences in capacity among counties, undermining coherence. All local authorities must prepare urban plans (General Urban Plan - PUG), but these are updated infrequently – especially by communes – as local capacity to prepare them is often limited. Urban localities, especially those with county seat, can also develop Integrated Urban Development Strategies (SIDU) to coordinate and prioritise urban investments, as required under EU regional funding frameworks and according with the National Urban Policy. SIDU can be developed at the local and metropolitan level. While the RDA is making important efforts to strengthen regional planning, many planning decisions in the region are still made with limited up-to-date data and analysis. Furthermore, the land cadastre is still incomplete, digital tools remain underused and spatial plans do not systematically integrate population projections. As a result, there is limited control over the expansion of built-up areas, increasing the risk of misallocated investments and inefficient land use.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Coordinate county spatial plans to better plan the adaptation to demographic change. The county councils, in cooperation with the RDA and the MDPWA, could develop an updated Zonal Regional Spatial Plan (PATZR). This updated regional spatial plan could then serve as a coordination framework for aligning the county spatial plans (PATJ) across Nord‑Vest. County and local authorities could also better ensure spatial and urban plans are regularly updated through a structured consultation and approval process involving all relevant county councils and the RDA. The RDA should ensure that investments they fund are integrated in regional spatial plans (PATZR), county spatial plans (PATJ) and urban plans/urban strategies (PUG/ SIDU).

• Strengthen coordination between local urban plans at the metropolitan level to promote more integrated and sustainable development with urban-rural linkages. Local authorities within the same metropolitan area, especially in growing metropolitan areas such as Cluj-Napoca or Oradea, could prioritise development of an integrated metropolitan urban plan. This plan could serve as a strategic framework to guide and align individual General Urban Plans (PUGs), helping to avoid overlaps, ensure coherent territorial development and reduce urban planning costs through shared resources and coordinated efforts. Alternatively, MDPWA could consider exploring legislative changes to simplify the planning framework for metropolitan areas. The metropolitan urban plan should be developed based on, and in alignment with, the SIDU of the metropolitan area to ensure strategic and spatial coherence. Cohesion funds could be used to finance projects that are included in both the SIDU and the metropolitan plan.

• Digitalise spatial and urban planning to gain efficiency and integrate demographic data. The MDPWA and the National Statistics Institute (NIS) could facilitate better spatial planning by digitalising maps and establishing a comprehensive GIS database, which could also incorporate demographic projections at the local level. The RDA could support county-level projects to enhance urban planning capacity at the local level, building on examples such as the GIS database developed by Cluj County or the town planning certificate issuance software implemented in Bistrița-Năsăud. The RDA could promote and support the establishment of a dynamic data collection system at the regional level to support up-to-date and evidence-based planning and the development of strategic documents. Additionally, given its role in the allocation of EU funds, the RDA could directly assist selected local authorities by providing targeted funding to develop digital tools, update urban plans and integrate demographic projection data into planning processes (while ensuring value for money in the investment appraisal process).

Enhance access to affordable housing in urban areas

The dynamic cities of Nord-Vest are magnets for youth and have a key role to reduce out‑migration from the region. However, the success of urban areas, particularly Cluj-Napoca and Oradea, has significantly increased housing costs for their residents. Cluj-Napoca has experienced the strongest property price growth in Romania in recent years, with the total value of real estate transactions reaching EUR 679 million in 2019, more than double the EUR 284 million recorded in 2014. Limited access to affordable housing risks deterring young talents from moving to, or staying in, the region. Amid the ongoing housing crisis and as part of the European Affordable Housing Plan, the European Commission plans to support and enable Member States to double their planned Cohesion Policy investments in affordable housing over the coming years. New flexible funding modes—including increased co-financing, prefinancing, and simplified permitting procedures—aim to accelerate delivery. A model financial instrument, developed with the EIB, will help leverage public and private funding for affordable and social housing, targeting vulnerable groups. The Commission will also encourage alignment with the New European Bauhaus initiative that aims at creating environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive built environments and has urged Member States to establish transparent, inclusive allocation frameworks.

The attractiveness of major cities has driven their spatial expansion. Around Cluj-Napoca, neighbouring localities in the metropolitan area such as Florești, Apahida and Baciu have experienced rapid population growth. Between 2000 and 2019, the built-up surface of the metropolitan area nearly doubled. A similar trend is evident around Oradea, where industrial and residential developments have extended into adjacent rural areas, particularly along major transport corridors. The rapid suburban expansion reflects diverse dynamics, driven both by families seeking larger living spaces and by students in search of affordable housing. Insufficient land use regulation has resulted in developers opting for greenfield sites, with lower upfront construction costs and profit opportunities from the rezoning of greenfield to urban land, rather than focusing on redeveloping urban cores. This has led to urban expansion in areas lacking adequate access public services, contributing to higher infrastructure and environmental costs. While local authorities have recently begun to enforce obligations on developers to contribute to public infrastructure, such as requiring the provision of public utilities as a condition for building permits, their use remains limited.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Facilitate increased development of housing in areas facing rising demand and with good public service and infrastructure access. County governments should ensure that PATJs provide guidelines for local authorities in the growing urban cores of metropolitan areas to allow higher density development, including through density bonuses awarded to developers in exchange for the commitment to provide housing at below‑market price and by promoting flexibility in zoning regulations within PUGs. Zoning restrictions such as building restrictions or greenbelts, could also be introduced or strengthened to prevent development in areas that lack adequate infrastructure or access to essential services. As identified in the mid-term review of the European Commission, local governments in urban cores would also benefit from reviewing their permitting procedures for renovation to support simplification, for example by implementing fast‑‑track approval processes for affordable housing projects.

• Direct funding to social and affordable housing to better accommodate youth in high‑demand places. Local authorities in growing urban areas could update land use regulations to capture uplift in land-value from any regulatory changes (e.g., change in building hight limits or new public transport facilities), for example by requiring developers to provide affordable housing through developer obligations. Building on the European Commission’s mid-term review and the renewed prioritisation of affordable housing at the EU level, the North-West RDA could also facilitate local authorities in areas facing housing pressure to benefit from Cohesion Funds (e.g., ERDF)) and the new EIB financial instrument to support them with the renovation of high‑quality social housing in high demand places. Cohesion funds could also be used to finance urban regeneration, including public spaces that could support the provision of attractive affordable housing close to urban centers. In addition, the RDA could facilitate access to funding for areas in need through the pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable and Sustainable Housing.

• Facilitate the absorption of EU funds for the renovation of multi-owner residential buildings to expand the stock of quality housing. When projects are eligible for co-financing through EU funds, local authorities should ease procedural barriers, particularly by waiving the requirement for unanimous consent, when it is required, and applying the standard threshold of two-thirds of ownership shares in favour. The RDA and local authorities should also strengthen outreach efforts to inform homeowners about available EU funding opportunities for energy-efficiency renovations, the possibility of financial contribution exemptions for vulnerable households, and the potential benefits for owners, including increased property value.

• Promote the use of land value capture mechanisms to support public facilities provision in growing areas. The North-West RDA would benefit from promoting the wider adoption of land value capture mechanisms, such as developer obligations, in growing urban areas. For example, the RDA could require that large investment projects consider the potential for an infrastructure levy on nearby residents to help repay construction costs in their appraisal process. Local authorities in suburban areas of growing metropolitan areas, for instance, around Cluj-Napoca or Oradea, would also benefit from implementing a more systematic approach to enforcing developer obligations related to the provision of public facilities and public transport infrastructure.

Support efficient adaptation of land and buildings as the population shrinks

A significant share of residential buildings in Nord-Vest are vacant – a situation that is likely to worsen as the population shrinks. Inefficient land and property use is linked to the prevalence of secondary residences, inherited parental homes left unoccupied and the abandonment of properties due to outmigration. In Sălaj County, the vacancy rate increased from 15% in 2008 to 18% in 2018 and it is projected to exceed 20% by 2030. In some local areas in Cluj County, vacancy rates already surpass 50%. Many homes remain vacant due to unclear title deeds or unresolved inheritance procedures. The home ownership rate is also exceptionally high in Romania, at 95.6%.

Policy action to support more efficient land use are constrained by an unfinished cadastre and a complex expropriation framework. Although the establishment of the National Cadastre and Land Registration Agency (ANCPI) in 2015 has improved land registration, challenges persist, especially in remote areas. In August 2023, around 45% of properties remained unregistered. Expropriation remains a highly sensitive issue in Romania due to its legacy of arbitrary nationalisations under communism, which fostered lasting public distrust, and despite post-1989 legal reforms, perceptions of unfairness still fuel resistance when transparency is lacking. While regulated by law (Law No. 255/2010 and Law No. 33/1994), the procedure tends to be lengthy and costly, largely due to the extensive technical and economic documentation and stakeholder involvement requirements. Numerous expropriation cases have resulted in legal challenges by absentee property owners or disagreements overcompensation. Consequently, the expropriation process primarily facilitates larger-scale projects but not smaller initiatives such as the redevelopment of abandoned buildings.

To address these challenges key policy actions may include:

• Enhance building and property transaction data to get information on underused or abandoned buildings and better tailor policies to the demographic situation. The MDPWA could benefit from initiatives aiming to help a comprehensive and publicly accessible building real estate database. The database—or other linked databases—could include detailed information on transactions, secondary homes, vacant properties, quality of dwellings and historical property data. The North-West RDA could also support the development of a real estate database and ensure that the data is made publicly accessible.

• Use fiscal instruments to encourage more efficient use of properties, in depopulating areas and in urban areas to boost housing supply. Local authorities would benefit from increasing the property tax rate on secondary residences and introduce taxes on vacant properties to encourage the integration of houses without productive use into the active housing market. The North-West RDA could potentially also support localities in accessing ERDF programmes to rehabilitate vacant and low-quality buildings, while ensuring long-term benefits of these programmes. Developing these fiscal incentives will require reliable data on vacant houses and secondary residences.

• Complete the national cadastre to enhance real estate market efficiency and reduce property vacancies. The ANCPI should continue to complete the national cadastral and land registry system. A fully functional cadastral and land registry system will significantly enhance market transparency, reduce transaction times and mitigate property disputes, thereby improving overall market efficiency. A complete cadastre and land registry is also relevant for expropriation of unclaimed and vacant properties.

• Simplify the expropriation process to encourage adaptation and demolition of buildings in depopulating areas. Transparent procedures and fair compensation are essential to rebuilding public trust and ensuring legitimacy in the expropriation process. The MDPWA could consider simplifying expropriation procedures by reducing documentation, especially for small-scale projects and when they have support from local governments. Additionally, the MDPWA could look to establish a clear legal framework for managing unclaimed properties to mitigate challenges associated with absentee or non-responsive property owners.

Adapting multi-level governance frameworks and subnational finances

Enhance long-term strategic planning to better align investments to future populations

Regional-level strategic planning in Nord-Vest has been progressively strengthened over time as the role of the RDAs has increased. A key milestone was with RDAs becoming the Managing Authorities for Cohesion Policy funded Regional Programmes in 2021, which strengthened and regionalised some investment planning. The North-West RDA adapted particularly quickly, quickly achieving the highest absorption rate of Regional Programmes (RPs) of all RDAs in the current programming period (2021-2027). As of late 2024, Nord-Vest had spent 3.0% of its allocated funds, well above 1.8% for EU and 1.7% for Romania. Alongside the RPs, several EU funded national programmes are implemented in Nord-Vest for essential public services (e.g., education and employment, social inclusion and dignity).

Strategic planning and funding for investment remains fragmented across levels of government and could be more forward-looking to help coordinate a long-term response to demographic change. Several EU funded national programmes for essential public services (e.g., education and employment, social inclusion and dignity) are implemented at the national level, with regions, counties and localities competing for funds. The national Territorial Development Strategy for Romania (SDTR) aims to provide a framework to guide development of the entire territory of Romania (e.g., through connective infrastructure and networks of localities) and support the development of specific territories (e.g., urban areas, mountain areas, coastal areas, cross-border areas, etc.). It also included specific tools to help prioritise investments. However, it was delayed in its adoption and is now outdated, limiting its use to guide both strategic and operational decisions. Although the North-West RDA has continued to evolve the Nord-Vest Regional Development Plan as the main regional strategic document, there remain opportunities to further strengthen its analysis, for example by including population projections. At the regional, county and local levels, development strategies place a strong focus on investment to enhance attractiveness, yet there is limited emphasis on adapting public services and infrastructure to changing demand. Strategic planning at county and local level also remains constrained by insufficient co-ordination, capacity and localised data.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Update and formally adopt the national territorial development strategy to strategically and coherently respond to long-term trends, especially demographic change and youth emigration to the capital city and abroad. In line with the Law on Regional Planning and Urbanism (Law No. 350/2001), the MDPWA is responsible for regularly preparing an SDTR to support balanced, coherent and sustainable development. The MDPWA is current prioritising the update to the SDTR, which could further account for population projections and identify measures to adapt to these trends at a national scale. A particular focus could be placed on rural areas. A sufficient level of detail should be provided in the SDTR to ensure support a place-based approach to development. Measures contained in the SDTR could be further harnessed for the development plans at the regional, county and local level across Nord-Vest. The European Commission could facilitate the adoption of the national strategy by linking a portion of funding to its adoption.

• Ensure that key development strategies and plans across all levels of government explicitly include long-term population projections. The MDPWA may consider instructing all relevant administrative bodies’ development strategies to include independently prepared long-term demographic projections. Even without an instruction, the North-West RDA could benefit from adopting a more forward-looking perspective in its Regional Development Plan by including population projections and articulating a development strategy that prioritises investments based on demographic trends. This may consider, for example, both directing investments to support the continued development of in‑demand cities, which act as a magnet to keep talent in the region (e.g., by improving the built environment, enhancing transport networks or targeting skills gaps), and also sustaining and improving the quality of life in depopulating areas (e.g., by facilitating establishment of enterprises and maintaining effective public services). The North-West RDA may also benefit from ensuring that the selection criteria for individual investments includes consideration of a project’s potential impact on managing demographic change and retaining talent in the region.

• Continue to enhance strategic planning by the North-West RDA, including for national investment programmes, to limit investment fragmentation and ensure investments are aligned with population changes and regional priorities. The North-West RDA can further the role of its Regional Development Plan as a mechanism to coordinate and prioritise investments within Nord-Vest, while ensuring the inclusion of local stakeholders so that investments respond to local needs. The RDA should continue to use the process of developing the plan to coordinate and prioritise investments within Nord-Vest to ensure that these are complementary and reach common goals, including with nationally administered programmes.

• Conduct a structured consultation process with youth and other stakeholders to support development of the next Regional Development Plan. The North-West RDA should conduct a structured consultation process with national, county and local stakeholders to give inputs into the development of the next Regional Development Plan. A particular focus should be placed on consulting youth in the region. The consultation process could focus on informing the identification and strategic prioritisation of investments, with a focus on adapting to demographic change and helping to retain youth.

• Strengthen local-level statistics to better inform regional, county and local strategies to help address demographic change. The central government—through the NIS—should continue to enhance the availability and quality of data available at a locality level, including for long-term population projections, public service quality, housing, health and education outcomes, public sector skills and local government finances. In particular, granular population projections at the locality level are needed to support investment and policy decision-making by the North-West RDA and local authorities. There is also potential for greater use of administrative data by strengthening privacy protections, streamlining internal data sharing and use across government, and continuing to consolidate fragmented data sources through unified digital platforms. The North-West RDA could also benefit from complimenting national data collection by digitalising, harmonising and publishing additional datasets relevant to Nord-Vest, such as on public transport use.

Adapt territorial structures as the population changes

The territorial structure in Nord-Vest is relatively fragmented. Even as historical trends significantly changed the population of localities, the territorial structure has remained relatively stable, albeit with a few cases of de-amalgamation. At the county level, the population ranges from 210 000 inhabitants in Sălaj to 694 000 in Cluj. At the local level, around 80% of local governments in Nord-Vest have fewer than 5 000 inhabitants – a share that is significantly above the OECD average of 50% – and only 3% have more than 20 000 inhabitants – well below the OECD average of 36%. Romania has a unique and legislated system for classifying localities into cities, towns and villages based on certain criteria—a classification that can impact eligibility for funding and staffing. However, more than half of the cities and towns in the region—and around a quarter of the communes—no longer meet the population criteria specified in the Law on Local Public Administration (Administrative Code No. 57/2019). Furthermore, there are 69 communes with fewer than 1 500 inhabitants, which is below the legal threshold to create a new commune, but no mergers have taken place in recent decades. Use of intermunicipal co-operation (e.g., Intercommunity Development Associations, IDAs; administrative consortia) remains somewhat limited and largely focused on specific sectors, such as water and waste management. IDAs can face challenges linked to the unanimous decision-making process and their funding, with limited ability to directly collect taxes. Although the recent legislative changes (e.g., Law 246/2022 on Metropolitan Areas) have sought to strengthen metropolitan areas’ role by clarifying their legal status, governance and funding, they remain constrained by fragmented planning with a sectoral focus, limited financial incentives, capacity challenges and that not all localities in functional areas voluntarily join a metropolitan area.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Update the administrative territorial structure to align the categorisation of local authorities with changes in the population. If a categorisation system is maintained, the MDPWA should update the classification of local authorities (cities, towns and communes) to align with existing (or updated) criteria, such as minimum population thresholds in the Law on Local Public Administration (Administrative Code No. 57/2019), alongside other criteria such as local authorities’ territorial context and functions (or example, as “rural poles” to help ensure access to essential services in rural areas). The RDA should continue to ensure that the categorisation of local authorities is not used as the basis for allocating funding.

• Streamline the legal framework and promote benefits of mergers to support small local authorities to voluntarily merge where their viability is reduced due to demographic change. The MDPWA, and other relevant central government ministries, would benefit from reviewing the legislative process and streamlining administrative and legislative processes for mergers, for example by limiting the number of approvals and referendum thresholds. A review could also consider limiting the ability for local governments to undertake a de‑amalgamation process. MDPWA could also consider providing financial support to cover the cost of a merger to local authorities.

• Develop guidelines and good practices to facilitate inter-municipal cooperation, potentially focused on localities facing larger impacts from demographic change. The North-West RDA, in collaboration with MDPWA and relevant local government associations, could consider developing blueprint models and practical handbooks, offering legal and procedural guidance on key governance mechanisms, such as inter‑municipal cooperation and municipal mergers. This could include details of the potential benefits of these mechanisms and how to ensure they are effective. The North-West RDA could also consider providing technical support and training to guide local authorities throughout the process and raise awareness of their benefits. The RDA might also consider implementing funding conditionalities to incentivise inter-municipal co-operation, such as through a dedicated fund for administrative consortia.

• Earmark EU funding to for investments that are undertaken through inter-municipal co‑operation to promote the use of these mechanisms and support investment at the right scale as populations change. The North-West RDA could consider introducing eligibility criteria that require local authorities to meet a population criterion or to establish inter-municipal co-operation mechanisms across a functional area to be eligible for accessing certain programmes.

• Strengthen the national legal framework for inter-municipal co-operation to facilitate more efficient service provision, especially in depopulating areas. The MDPWA, with support of the relevant associations of local authorities, could further develop targeted funding, incentives and training to encourage IDAs and administrative consortia, especially in depopulating areas. This could be supported by exploring further updates to the legal framework to help concentrate the key legal provisions for municipal co-operation, such as those found in the Law on Local Public Administration (Administrative Code No. 57/2019), into a single, dedicated legal framework, clarifying roles, types and funding mechanisms and including complementary details in specific regulations within sectoral laws. The MDPWA might also consider introducing a legal mandate in national legislation that requires municipalities with populations under a specific threshold (e.g., 5 000 inhabitants) to engage in cooperative arrangements for the provision of key services (e.g., public transportation, education). This could be supported by further analysis on the relevant scale for the sector in question, considering local factors, geography and population.

• Reinforce metropolitan governance by further strengthening the Law on Metropolitan Areas and clarifying funding arrangements to facilitate more effective development in growing urban areas. To support the metropolitan areas in Nord-Vest, the MDPWA may wish to consider further strengthen the legal framework for metropolitan areas to more clearly clarify responsibilities and distinguishing them clearly from those of local authorities. This could, for example, give a defined role to metropolitan areas for issues such as strategic planning, transport and investment. The MDPWA may also consider arrangements to ensure that metropolitan areas have dedicated funding in the future programming framework and requiring participation of relevant localities. Alternatively, the RDA could consider setting side a pool of funds for metropolitan areas.

• Use the inter-governmental transfer system to strengthen the role of metropolitan areas and foster inter‑municipal co-operation for efficient public service provision as populations change. The Ministry of Finance, in co-operation with the MDPWA, may wish to continue building on recent changes to funding for inter‑municipal co‑operation bodies (e.g., IDAs, administrative consortia) by further facilitating co-operation. As part of this review, the Ministry of Finance may wish to consider opportunities to increase incentives for cooperation, for example by providing PIT allocations directly to inter‑municipal co‑operation bodies, by linking funding amounts to the degree of cooperation or by raising user charges and fees for services provided by these bodies.

• Harness the European Commissions’ Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) instrument to foster a culture of collaboration, especially for metropolitan areas. The North-West RDA, with the support of the European Commission, could consider supporting and guiding stakeholders wishing to use ITI in metropolitan areas, as well as making sure that these are built on lessons learnt and success of existing ITIs, advise the creation of strategies and verify their conformity with EU regulations and principles, as well as make sure there is an embedded component for capacity building within these structures, in time for the adoption of the next EU multi-annual financial framework. Metropolitan areas could start to identify potential projects to make better use of ITIs in future programming periods. The North-West RDA could also undertake capacity‑building on ITIs through workshops and support knowledge sharing, including by creating practical technical, financial and legal guidance. Local authorities in Nord-Vest could also benefit from further supporting Local Action Groups and the Community-Led Local Development instrument. Further use of the ITI instrument in metropolitan areas could help further reinforce and strengthen metropolitan governance and cooperation.

• Examine longer-term opportunities to facilitate strategic and cross-sectorial responses at a regional level to respond to demographic change and other economic development needs. The MDPWA may wish to explore opportunities for the continued evolution of the regional level to ensure an effective and efficient response to strategic challenges. This could consider options to reinforce the role of RDAs within the broader multi-level governance framework or alternative governance models, while also considering ensuring a pathway to continue empowering local authorities.

Gradually and asymmetrically increase subnational government autonomy to facilitate more tailored local responses to demographic change and attractiveness

Local governments in Nord-Vest are well placed to understand local demographic challenges and identify opportunities to respond, but their ability to act is limited. In Romania, county and local governments account for 21% of total public expenditure, which is below the OECD average of 27%. Around half of that expenditure goes towards investment, which is very high compared to the OECD average (11.3%). A large proportion of revenue received by county and local government are transfers from the central government and the EU, a large part of which is earmarked. The main areas of subnational government expenditure are for investment and maintenance of local infrastructure, as well as spatial planning and some specialised programmes (e.g., local public health, elderly care). Although Romania has undergone a gradual decentralisation process, recent progress has been limited. The 2017 General Strategy for Decentralisation, which sought to accelerate the transfer of competencies to county and local governments, has not progressed recently. Local administrative capacity is one reason for limited progress, with large differences in capacity between larger cities and other local authorities.

To address these challenges, key policy avenues may include:

• Create a pilot programme for decentralisation to experiment with granting additional competencies and fiscal autonomy to high-capacity local authorities to enable them to promote local development that is responsive to local needs, including for demographic change and youth outmigration. In line with Romania’s 2017 General Strategy for Decentralisation, the MDPWA could consider identifying a selection of local authorities in Nord-Vest who have sufficient capacity (e.g., cities, or cities above 40 000 population) and implement a pilot programme to grant selected additional competencies. In line with the strategy, the MDPWA could then evaluate and refine the programme. An updated classification of local governments could potentially be used as the basis for granting additional competencies. The EC, potentially through the North-West RDA, could provide dedicated funds for capacity building and monitoring systems to support a pilot.

• Support county and local government strategic planning by developing a publicly available dashboard that provide indicators on each government to encourage effective and accountable local development. The North-West RDA could create a database and user-friendly dashboard showing quantitative indicators on all local authorities in the region. This could include information on past, current and planned projects (e.g., budgets, progress and timelines). It could also include key indicators on local public services, health and education outcomes, environment and local attractiveness, among other areas. The North-West RDA should publicly share data in the dashboard and highlight good practices of local authorities that manage to improve indicators. In addition, the central government, through the Ministry of Finance and NIS, should publish a detailed and standardised database of county and local government finance.

• Develop local public sector skills to ensure that counties and local governments have the capacity to effectively deliver services and investments in the face of the ageing workforce and youth outmigration, including providing pathways for youth employment. The MDPWA, together with associations of cities, towns and communes, could undertake an assessment of skills gaps (e.g., through a survey) and implement centralised training programmes and support systems to address these gaps. The North-West RDA could develop investment guidelines and provide targeted technical support in areas of capacity constraints, such as strategic planning and public procurement. The North-West RDA may then explore options to further support the remediation of local capacity gaps, such as establishing a regional expert pool, directly hiring technical specialists who can support local authorities on a rotating or project basis.

Strengthen county and local government finances to support an equitable and locally designed response to demographic change

The complex inter-governmental fiscal framework in Romania gives county and local governments limited autonomy to respond to local needs and creates a risk that transfers are not efficiently allocated as populations change. Subnational governments in Romania are highly reliant on grants and transfers, which make up 83.7% of county and local government revenue, well above the OECD and EU averages of 42.7% and 38.9%, respectively. Grants and transfers include those based on PIT and VAT receipts and EU funds. They, respectively, represent 28%, 23% and 26% of local government revenue. The VAT and PIT sharing systems are complex, opaque and earmarked, with funding linked to fiscal capacity rather than expenditure needs. Recent reforms to the Law on Local Public Finances have sought to improve the distribution of PIT for metropolitan areas and inter-municipal co-operation bodies by earmarking a proportion of revenue, but planned funding is not always received. Conversely, tax collection at the country and local levels is still incipient, accounting for 0.8% of GDP and 4.5% of public tax revenue. These are among the lowest percentages in EU countries. The main local taxes are the property tax on buildings and the land tax, which local governments charge on both legal entities and individuals, but local property taxes remain underutilised—only representing 0.5% of GDP in Romania, well below the EU average of 0.9%. Improving property taxes can potentially also help manage negative externalities of demographic change, such as vacant housing.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Update the property tax system and increase tax administration capacity to generate additional own‑source revenues for locally designed programmes for families, youth and the elderly. The Ministry of Finance’s planned simplification of the property tax system could provide an opportunity to help ensure local governments further leverage property taxes to respond to local needs and manage the impacts of demographic change. This might be supported by considering areas such as the band of property and capital gains taxes, property valuations and incentives for improved compliance, including by focusing on secondary properties. The North-West RDA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, may also consider opportunities to strengthen the capacity of local officials to support the ongoing shift to the recently upgraded property taxation system. County and local governments could undertake campaigns to more actively communicate with local taxpayers about the local programmes supported by property taxes to increase public support.

• Review the equalisation system to ensure equitable, efficient and transparent resource allocation in line with local expenditure needs and based on verifiable demographic, socio‑economic and geographic indicators. The Ministry of Finance could consider opportunities to review the PIT and VAT sharing systems, as well as the National Equalisation Fund, to help determine whether the current mechanism remain fit‑for‑purpose in the context of demographic change. The review might consider options to better link transfers to local expenditure needs through increased use of formula‑based allocations based on verifiable and transparent indicators, including on demography. The review could also consider simplifying, clarifying and standardising the transfer system, for example by limiting indirect transfers (e.g., share of PIT provided to county councils for redistribution). It may also benefit from considering opportunities to reduce the use of earmarking to give local authorities more ability to target funds to local needs.

• Update or otherwise avoid using the classification of local governments (cities, towns, communes) for funding and staffing decisions to better align funding to demographic indicators. The central government and the North-West RDA should avoid using the classification of local authorities (cities, towns and communes) for funding allocation and staffing limits. Funding and staffing decisions and rules would benefit from being linked to a range of transparent indicators, such as demography, geography, socio-economic outcomes and competencies.

Adapting service provision

Improve public transport to better reflect and shape demographic trends

Limited and fragmented public transport in Nord-Vest impacts the regions attractiveness and limits access to jobs and public services, especially for youth, minorities and the elderly. In coordination with the national government, county and local governments manage local transport policy and operations in the region. Ongoing major investments, including those supported though the Nord-Vest Regional Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility are already improving road, public transport and digital networks in the region. However, the public transport planning system remains disconnected, with land use planning and transport operations are fragmented across administrative borders, lowering effectiveness. This is especially the case in urban areas, such as Cluj-Napoca, where the under‑provision of public transport in the metropolitan area—combined with insufficient land use planning—has led to increased congestion in recent years. It is also the case in rural areas, where public transport is needed to ensure positive spillovers from urban development and ensure access to essential public services. Maintaining accessibility in shrinking and ageing rural areas will require ensuring that the transport system is adapted to remain efficient and meet the changing needs of users.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Create inter-municipal co-ordination structures that integrate public transport in metropolitan areas to improve attractiveness and encourage effective economic development and improve attractiveness for youth. All metropolitan areas in Nord-Vest could explore the potential benefits from establishing integrated bodies to provide public transport at a functional urban level, as exists in the case of the Cluj-Napoca Public Transport Company. These services should be integrated into other modes and broader mobility planning, in line with the European Commission’s New Urban Mobility Framework.

• Facilitate urban-rural connections at a service basin level to help distribute the benefits of development to surrounding towns and communes. County governments in Nord-Vest would benefit from exploring minimum standards for inter-locality travel between settlements above a certain size and their nearest regional service centre (e.g., supporting the creation of ‘rural poles’). While not all such routes will be financially viable, county governments might look for opportunities to improve connectivity, such as by providing subsidies to operators where there is a broader social benefit. It could also consider if vulnerable groups, such as people with low incomes, could be given further discounts to help them access public services, and indeed other work and leisure opportunities.

• Explore on-demand transport solutions to improve public transport access in sparsely populated communities. The North-West RDA could monitor the progress of a variety of on‑demand transport solutions and consider if this technology has the potential be used to efficiently support mobility access in sparsely populated areas in a way that improves access for rural places. Promising investment opportunities could seek to mobilise funding allocated in the Nord-Vest Regional Programme or the Social Climate Fund.

Enhance education access and quality to improve social and economic outcomes and offset the negative economic impact of demographic change

To continue raising living standards and maintain economic growth in the face of demographic headwinds, labour productivity in Nord-Vest will need to increase. This requires a skilled workforce. While the North-West RDA has been investing significantly in upgrading all levels of education facilities, Nord-Vest’s education system still faces a triple challenge from insufficient education quality, low participation rates (in childcare and upper-secondary education) and rising costs, which demographic change risks exacerbating. By the end of lower-secondary education, students in Romania are one and a half times as likely as their EU peers to not achieve basic competence in mathematics, reading and science. The urban-rural gap is high, with eight in ten rural students in Romania having inadequate mathematics skills, double that of urban students. Enrolment in upper secondary education has declined, contributing to a shortage of skilled workers. Indeed, one in seven young people (aged 18 to 24) in Nord-Vest are considered early leavers from education or training – a rate one and a half times that of the EU average – and this is likely to be concentrated in rural areas. Participation in childcare is also limited, partly due to limited infrastructure; less than 7% of eligible children in Nord‑Vest attend nurseries, well below the 19% goal by end-2025 despite the ongoing expansion of mandatory attendance. At the same time, the per-student cost of education is set to increase in most Nord-Vest localities, in large part due to declining youth population and a loss of economies of scale. By 2035, three in five localities in Nord‑Vest could have per student costs above the median Romanian locality for primary education, which will create fiscal challenges for central and local governments. While education is primarily a central government responsibility in Romania, there is room to further involve subnational governments in decision-making given diverse local demographic trends and the role of subnational governments for investing in and maintaining school infrastructure.

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Develop and test inter-municipal co-operation for primary education in areas facing population decline. The Ministry of Education might explore developing a pilot project to encourage sharing of education facilities between local authorities in areas impacted by a declining school age population where alternate schools are located nearby and where students have access to appropriate reliable transport. This could allow pooling of funding to improve the quality of school facilities. While school closures and mergers should be a last resort option, this pilot could then be used by the central government to develop a fit-for-purpose governance framework for supporting intermunicipal cooperation on schools. To encourage collaboration, the North-West RDA could consider additional investment to in schools where collaboration takes place, including student transport.

• Develop national guidelines for school network re-organisation to provide local communities in shrinking places with a clear understanding of the criteria and process for any school closure (if applicable). The Ministry of Education may wish to work with associations of local authorities to develop guidelines for school network re-organisation, including harnessing indicators to inform decisions, stakeholder consultation requirements and options under different student projection scenarios.

• Develop a digital correspondence education system to provide an alternate education option for shrinking communities. The Ministry of Education could review the potential for a digital correspondence education system, in line with the “Online School” of digital textbooks and resources created under the Educated Romania project.

• Develop an education disadvantage index to inform funding for disadvantaged communities and target support to increase engagement and improve outcomes. The Ministry of Education could consider developing a comprehensive index based on costs and social disadvantages to inform funding to better provide social support (e.g. school counsellors and psychologists) and tailored education experiences (e.g. collaboration with local employers, greater extra-curricular opportunities). This could build on existing indices such as the Composite Vulnerability Index for Early School Leaving, which could serve as a basis to adjust school funding. The North-West RDA could use the index to identify potential gaps in education services and inform investment across other sectors. Funding for other national and EU programmes, such as the Social Inclusion and Dignity Programme of Romania, could also be informed by such as index.

• Develop an investment pipeline for childcare facilities to lower barriers to child-raising. The North-West RDA could work with local authorities to identity shortages and develop a pipeline of childcare facilities to seek further funding for investment in childcare capacity. Investments in childcare facilities should be based on careful modelling of future local childcare demand to avoid over-supply. The North-West RDA could also encourage local authorities to develop initiatives for multi-use facilities and multi-service centres (where relevant) to increase flexibility where there are uncertainties in demand.

• Review the unit cost of education that can inform the ongoing update of the school funding formula to ensure costs are accurately reflected. County directorates for education in Nord‑Vest, or the Ministry of Education, could review the unit cost of education across schools in Nord-Vest and identify funding deficits. In particular, they should consider differences in teacher and infrastructure requirements, as well as student transport costs. The results of the unit cost review could inform the current review of school funding as part of the Educated Romania project and help secure sufficient funding for disadvantaged communities.

• Expand funding to develop the education workforce, especially in disadvantaged communities, and provide a pathway to employment for young people in the region. The North-West RDA could fund professional development and training for teachers as part of its investment in human capital. This could be funded through priority six or the technical assistance component of the Regional Programme. The North-West RDA should collaborate with the re-organised County Education Directorates to identity strategic opportunities to tackle disparities and trial new approaches, such as a stronger mentorship system for teachers in rural areas or management training for leaders of school clusters.

• Provide pilot grants for employers to support the roll-out of dual education and enhance workforce participation. The North-West RDA could provide one-off conditional grants to support employers that are considering providing training opportunities within the dual education system. This could be funded through priorities one or six of the Regional Programme. Such grants could require employers to train a certain number of students in a community over some time. This would help offset risks and set-up costs employers might face when first engaging with the dual education system and help foster a larger ecosystem of community-business partnerships across schools. A similar approach could also apply to tertiary students, where the national government could draw upon ESF+ funds to provide pilot funding for internships or graduate programs to retain youth in the region after their education, especially in rural areas.

Improve the quality of the regional healthcare system to better meet the needs of an ageing population

While the region has seen significant investment in healthcare in recent years, the health system in Nord‑Vest is still not fully prepared for an ageing population. This is partly due to its high reliance on in‑patient care and insufficient public health programmes. Health outcomes in the region remain relatively low, with Nord-Vest residents experiencing a mortality rate one and a half times that of the EU average, with especially high levels of treatable and preventable mortality. By 2050, the elderly population (age 65+) in Nord-Vest is projected to grow by almost a third, which will place increased pressure on the health system. Per capita spending on health in Romania is the lowest of all EU countries, with especially low spending on preventative and out-patient care. Access to preventative interventions via local primary and community care is limited, even though they can support healthy ageing and reduce the future burden on the health system. Workforce shortages remain a threat in Nord-Vest, especially in rural areas and for primary care – current staffing levels are well below EU averages and have remained stagnant over the past decade despite growing health needs and there are major geographic gaps. Incentives for healthcare workers to move to rural areas have proved insufficient. Although health is primarily a central government responsibility in Romania, the North-West RDA plays a major role in health investment as an intermediate body for health under the ERDF and ESF+ funded EUR 5.88 billion national Health Programme (Programul Sănătate).

To address these challenges, key policy actions may include:

• Collect granular health data and implement the workforce planning strategy to more proactively identify and act to improve health outcomes. The Ministry of Health could continue to expand data available in the Multi-annual Strategy for Human Resources Development in Health to support more informed investments and health policy decisions. This could include the geographic location and operating hours of primary care facilities, which would provide a more granular and accurate measure of health access and could be integrated in the planned Health Atlas.

• Invest to improve the quality and accessibility of the health care network throughout the Nord-Vest to improve health outcomes and ensure accessibility in shrinking places. The Ministry of Health could undertake a further review of the primary care system, identify drivers behind under-use of primary care and propose reforms needed to transform the healthcare system. The North-West RDA could continue to invest the upgrade the hospital network and explore opportunities to increase investment in the primary and secondary healthcare network by mobilising EU funds and in its role as an intermediate health body under the national Health Programme, in collaboration with the county directorates for health. Changes to the rural health network could foster the creation of ‘rural poles’ that provide multiple public services for across defined rural area.

• Further develop local public health and preventative health programmes to reduce the fiscal impact of an ageing population. The North-West RDA could prioritise funding for public and preventative health measures and encourage local authorities to develop concrete and evidence-based proposals for investment in this area. The Ministry of Health could increase capacity building and technical assistance for localities and support the development of digital solutions to increase awareness of public health and simplify access to primary care providers.

• Address barriers to medical training in county and rural health centres to help fill service gaps in small communities. The county directorates for health in Nord-Vest could benefit from closer collaboration with local medical universities to understand and tackle barriers to training in regional hospitals and explore extending rural service obligations to other forms of practical training (such as internships) and other healthcare workers (such as nurses). The central government could support this reinforcing the integrity of the service obligations requirement to make them more effective at attracting specialised skills in towns and smaller cities.

• Scale up investment in community health centres and long-term care facilities outside urban centres to help improve quality of life and attractiveness for youth. The North-West RDA could invest more in community health and long-term care centres to relieve the burden on hospitals and facilitate healthy ageing through greater access to health services. However, delivering such infrastructure investments at scale will need to be accompanied by long-term staffing and operational resources, for which funding will likely depend on the central government.

• Strengthen and innovate local public health and related programmes to support healthy ageing. County and locality governments could trial programs that promote public health and healthy ageing. While public health is primarily a central government responsibility, county and locality government could support these efforts through locally tailored programmes on active recreation and mobility. Stronger public health components could also be embedded in locality-run services, such as education, social services and elderly care. Digital training programmes and targeted investments could also support elderly people’s access to telemedicine. The North-West RDA could provide support to localities, counties or local community groups seeking to pilot innovative public health and healthy ageing measures.

Action plan

This action plan outlines a series of targeted actions linked to the policy recommendations developed for each policy sector in the report. These reflect the levers available to national, regional, county and local authorities to help adapt to demographic change. Each recommendation is broken down into concrete actions, specifying the relevant actor and an indicative timeline. A proposed lead actor, typically the institution with legal authority or technical competence, is listed first, followed by key partners involved in the delivery of the action. Timelines are classified as short-term (1-2 years), medium-term (3-5 years), or long-term (beyond 5 years), which has been determined based on a judgement of the regulatory, financial, and institutional requirements of the action. Where possible and relevant a mix short-term and long‑term actions have been identified across different levels of government, allowing smaller actions to be taken in the absence of larger reforms. Recommendations that have a strong link to the priority topic of youth have also been explicitly identified (Table 1.1).

Given the breadth and complexity of the proposed actions, it is recommended that the North-West RDA, in collaboration with the cooperation of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, organises a forum with relevant stakeholders to priorities the actions and develops an implementation roadmap. This roadmap could include a prioritisation matrix for each action’s expected impact (low, medium, high) and feasibility (including political will), administrative capacity and availability of finance. It should also identify funding sources, designate a clear lead institution and provide a realistic timeline for implementation. It could also be supported by a monitoring and evaluation framework with indicators, milestones and evaluation timeframes for each action. Establishing such a roadmap would support effective sequencing, foster alignment across government levels, and enhance transparency and accountability in implementation.

Table 1.1. Action plan for Nord-Vest

Recommendation	Action	Actors	Timeline	Priority
Land use and spatial planning
Streamline the spatial and urban planning framework to support a coordinated response to demographic change	The county councils, in cooperation with the RDA and MDPWA, could develop an updated regional spatial plan that incorporates recent demographic changes. This updated regional spatial plan should then serve as a coordination framework for aligning the county spatial plans to support a coordinated response to demographic change and youth outmigration.	North-West RDA County governments MDPWA	Medium-term	Talent - attractiveness
	County and local authorities could better ensure spatial and urban plans are regularly updated through a structured consultation and approval process involving all relevant county councils and the RDA	County governments Local authorities North-West RDA	Short-term
	The RDA could further ensure that investments they fund are first included in county spatial plans and urban plans	North-West RDA	Short-term
	Local authorities within the same metropolitan area, especially in growing metropolitan areas such as Cluj-Napoca or Oradea, could more actively collaborate and prioritise development of an integrated metropolitan urban plan. The metropolitan urban plan should be developed based on, and in alignment with, the SIDU of the metropolitan area to ensure strategic and spatial coherence.	Local authorities	Medium-term
	The MDPWA and the National Statistics Institute (NIS) could facilitate better spatial planning at all levels digitalising maps and establishing a comprehensive GIS database, which could also incorporate demographic projections at the local level	MDPWA NIS	Medium-term
	The RDA could support county-level projects to enhance urban planning capacity at the local level	North-West RDA	Short-term
	The RDA could promote the establishment of a dynamic data collection system to support evidence-based planning and the development of strategic documents.	North-West RDA	Medium-term
	The RDA could directly assist selected local authorities by providing targeted funding to develop digital tools, update urban plans and integrate demographic projection data into planning processes	North-West RDA	Short-term
Enhance access to housing in urban areas to provide attractive places for young people	County governments could ensure that future revisions of PATJs provide guidelines for local authorities in the growing urban cores of metropolitan areas to allow higher density development, through density bonuses and by promoting flexibility in zoning regulations within PUGs.	County governments	Medium-term	Talent - housing
	Local governments in urban cores would benefit from reviewing their permitting procedures for renovation to support simplification, for example by implementing fast-track approval processes for affordable housing projects.	Local governments	Medium-term
	Local authorities in growing urban areas could update land use regulations to capture uplift in land-value from any regulatory changes	Local governments	Medium-term
	The RDA could also facilitate local authorities in areas facing housing pressure to benefit from EU funds to support them with the renovation of high quality social housing in high demand places.	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent - housing
	The RDA could facilitate access to funding for areas in need through the pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable and Sustainable Housing	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent - housing
	When projects are eligible for co-financing through EU funds, local authorities should ease procedural barriers, particularly by waiving the requirement for unanimous consent, when it is required, and applying the standard threshold of two-thirds of ownership shares in favor.	Local governments	Short-term	Talent - housing
	The RDA and local authorities should also strengthen outreach efforts to inform homeowners about available EU funding opportunities for energy-efficiency renovations, the possibility of financial contribution exemptions for vulnerable households, and the potential benefits for owners, including increased property value.	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent - housing
	The RDA would benefit from promoting the wider adoption of land value capture mechanisms such as developer obligations, in growing urban areas.	North-West RDA	Medium-term
	Local authorities in suburban areas of growing metropolitan areas, for instance, around Cluj-Napoca or Oradea, would also benefit from implementing a more systematic approach to enforcing developer obligations related to the provision of public facilities and public transport infrastructure.	Local governments	Short-term
Support efficient adaptation of land and buildings as the population shrinks	The MDPWA could benefit from supporting initiatives aimed to help a comprehensive and publicly accessible building real estate database.	MDPWA	Short-term
	The North-West RDA could also support the development of a real estate database and ensure that the data is made publicly accessible.	North-West RDA	Short-term
	Local authorities would benefit from increasing property tax rate on secondary residences and introduce taxes on vacant properties to encourage the integration of houses without productive use into the active housing market.	Local authorities	Short-term
	The RDA could also support localities in accessing ERDF programmes to rehabilitate vacant buildings.	North-West RDA	Short-term
	The ANCPI should continue to complete the national cadastral and land registry system.	ANCPI	Medium-term
	The MDPWA could consider simplifying expropriation procedures by reducing documentation, especially for small-scale projects.	MDPWA	Long-term
	The MDPWA could look to establish a clear legal framework for managing unclaimed properties to mitigate challenges associated with absentee or non-responsive property owners.	MDPWA	Long-term
Multi-level governance and subnational finance
Enhance long-term strategic planning to better align investments to future populations	Formally adopt a national territorial development strategy to strategically and coherently respond to long term trends, especially demographic change and youth outmigration	MDPWA	Medium-term	Talent – attractiveness, employment
	Ensure that key development strategies and plans across all levels of government explicitly consider long-term population projections	MDPWA	Long-term	Talent – attractiveness, public services
	Continue to enhance the strategic planning role of the North-West RDA, including for non-EU funded investments, to limit investment fragmentation and ensure investments are aligned with population changes	North-West RDA	Medium-term
	Strengthen local-level statistics to better inform regional, county and local strategies to help address demographic change	NIS North-West RDA	Medium-term
Adapt territorial structures as the population changes	Update the administrative territorial structure to align the categorisation of local authorities with changes in the population	MDPWA	Long-term
	Streamline the legal framework and promote benefits of mergers to make it easier for support small local authorities to voluntarily merge where their viability is reduced due to demographic change	MDPWA Associations of Cities, Towns and Communes North-West RDA	Long-term
	Strengthen the national legal framework for inter‑municipal co-operation to facilitate more efficient service provision, especially in depopulating areas	MDPWA North-West RDA	Long-term
	Reinforce metropolitan governance by further updating the Law on Metropolitan Areas to better clarify responsibilities and facilitate more effective development in growing urban areas	MDPWA	Medium-term
	Use the inter-governmental transfer system to strengthen the role of metropolitan areas and to foster inter municipal co-operation for efficient public service provision as populations change	MDPWA	Medium-term
	Harness the European Commissions’ Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) and Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) instruments to foster a culture of collaboration, especially between local authorities with changing populations	North-West RDA Local authorities	Short-term
	Examine the potential for regionalisation to facilitate more strategic and cross-sectorial response to demographic change and other economic development needs	MDPWA	Long-term
Gradually and asymmetrically increase subnational local government autonomy to facilitate more tailored local responses to demographic change and attractiveness	Create a pilot programme for decentralisation that grants additional competencies and fiscal autonomy to high-capacity local authorities to enable them to promote local development that is responsive to local needs, including for demographic change and youth outmigration	MDPWA EC	Long-term	Talent – attractiveness
	Support county and local government strategic planning by developing a publicly available dashboards that provide indicators on each government by locality to encourage effective and accountable local development	North-West RDA Ministry of Finance and INS	Medium-term
	Develop local public sector skills to ensure that counties and local governments have the capacity to effectively deliver services and investments in the face of the ageing workforce and youth outmigration, including providing pathways for youth employment.	MDPWA North-West RDA	Medium-term	Talent – job creation
Strengthen county and local government finances to support an equitable and locally designed response to demographic change	Update the property tax system and increase tax administration capacity to generate additional own source revenues for locally designed programmes for families, youth and the elderly	Ministry of Finance County and local governments	Medium-term	Talent – skills programmes
	Review the equalisation system to ensure equitable, efficient and transparent resource allocation in line with local expenditure needs and based on verifiable demographic, socio economic and geographic indicators	Ministry of Finance	Long-term
	Update or otherwise avoid using the classification of local governments (cities, towns, communes) for funding and staffing decisions to better align funding to demographic indicators	Ministry of Finance	Medium-term
Service provision and accessibility
Improve public transport to better reflect and shape demographic trends	Create inter-municipal co-ordination structures that integrate public transport in urban areas to improve attractiveness and encourage effective economic development and improve attractiveness for youth	Metropolitan areas	Medium-term	Talent - attractiveness
	Facilitate urban-rural connections at a service basin level to help distribute the benefits of development to surrounding towns and communes	County governments	Medium-term
	Explore on-demand transport solutions to improve public transport access in sparsely populated communities	North-West RDA	Long-term
Enhance education workforce and facilities to improve social and economic outcomes and offset the negative economic impact of demographic change	Develop and test inter-municipal co-operation for primary education in areas facing population decline	Ministry of Education	Medium-term	Talent – skills
	Develop national guidelines for school network re-organisation to provide local communities in shrinking places with a clear understanding of the criteria and process for any school closure (if applicable)	Ministry of Education	Long-term	Talent – skills
	Develop a digital correspondence education system to provide an alternate education option for shrinking communities	Ministry of Education	Long-term	Talent – skills
	Develop an education disadvantage index to inform funding for disadvantaged communities and target support to increase engagement and improve outcomes	Ministry of Education North-West RDA	Long-term	Talent – skills
	Develop an investment pipeline for childcare facilities to lower barriers to child-raising	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent – workforce
	Review the unit cost of education that can inform the ongoing update of the school funding formula to ensure costs are accurately reflected	County directorates for education	Medium-term
	Expand funding to develop the education workforce, especially in disadvantaged communities, and provide a pathway to employment for young people in the region	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent – skills
	Provide pilot grants for employers to support the roll-out of dual education and enhance workforce participation	North-West RDA	Short-term	Talent – skills
Improve the quality of the regional healthcare system to better meet the needs of an ageing population	Collect granular health data and implement the workforce planning strategy to more proactively identify and act to improve health outcomes	Ministry of Health	Medium-term
	Invest to improve the quality and accessibility of the health care network throughout the Nord-Vest to improve health outcomes and ensure accessibility in shrinking places	Ministry of Health North-West RDA	Long-term
	Further develop local public health and preventative health programmes to reduce the fiscal impact of an ageing population	North-West RDA	Short-term
	Address barriers to medical training in county and rural hospitals to help fill service gaps in small communities	County directorates for health	Short-term
	Scale up investment in community health centres and long-term care facilities outside urban centres to help improve quality of life and attractiveness for youth	North-West RDA	Medium-term	Talent – attractiveness
	Strengthen and innovate local public health programmes and related programmes to support healthy ageing	County and locality governments; North-West RDA	Short-term