Progress in Implementing the European Union Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (Volume 1): Romania

Table of contents

• Set enabling conditions for AI development and uptake in the European Union
• Make the European Union the right place: Excellence from lab to the market
• Ensure AI technologies work for people
• Build strategic leadership in priority sectors

The European Union (EU) Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a strategic initiative by the European Commission and EU Member States to promote AI development, investment and co-operation. In 2024, the OECD conducted a survey and interviews to take stock of implementation progress made by the EU Member States in implementing the actions set in the EU Coordinated Plan on AI. Drawing on the information collected, the OECD prepared country notes for each EU Member State. This document presents the country note for Romania, which summarises key initiatives and implementation progress.

Key messages

• Romania’s national artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy, published in 2024, is the result of multistakeholder and international collaboration: Based on the National Strategic Framework in the Field of AI 2024-2027, it was developed with the support of academic experts and refined through consultations with the public and the Romanian AI ecosystem. The European Union (EU) Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence was considered throughout the strategy.

• Regarding AI enablers, Romania’s activities are closely based on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), with activities on data infrastructure, high-performance computing (HPC), cloud and edge computing as well as semiconductors.

• AI education and research are a priority in Romania, with several new research initiatives, centres of excellence and labs having been set up recently or currently under development, and AI initiatives in place at all levels of education.

• Several initiatives are in place to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), although these are part of broader digitalisation policies, primarily not AI-specific.

• The adoption and exploitation of AI technologies in priority socio-economic sectors is a priority in the national AI strategy, with use cases realised in healthcare and the public sector, and further initiatives in development in agriculture.

Set enabling conditions for AI development and uptake in the European Union

Acquire, pool and share policy insights

Romania’s national AI strategy, the National Strategy in the Field of AI 2024-2027 (Strategia națională în domeniul inteligenței artificiale 2024-2027, SN-IA) was adopted by the government in July 2024. The SN‑IA is articulated around six general objectives: i) supporting education, research and development (R&D) and training of AI-specific skills; ii) developing a resilient infrastructure and usable and reusable datasets; iii) consolidating the R&D system in the field of AI; iv) encouraging technological transfer from the research and innovation (R&I) environment to the production environment; v) supporting measures to encourage the adoption of AI in society; and vi) establishing a governance system and an adequate AI regulatory environment.

A proposal for a National Strategic Framework in the Field of AI 2024-2027 (Cadrul strategic național în domeniul inteligenței artificiale, CSN-IA) was developed by the Authority for Digitalization of Romania (ADR), in partnership with the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (ADR, 2023[1]), with funding from the European Union (ADR, 2023[2]). The CSN-IA and SN-IA underwent public consultations in 2023-24 to refine their content, under the co‑ordination of the ADR and the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization (MCID), and formed the basis for the National Strategy in the Field of AI 2024-2027, approved by the Romanian government.

The strategy is accompanied by an action plan detailing its implementation across ministries and relevant stakeholders, with a centralised governance framework to aid in co‑ordination, implementation and monitoring.

In this regard, Romania has established an Inter-ministerial Commission for the Coordination of the Implementation of the National Strategy for AI (formerly presided by the MCID), but leadership is to be taken over by the newly established Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEDAT), which includes representatives from institutions responsible for implementing specific elements of the strategy – as set out in the SN-IA’s annex – as well as other relevant representatives across Romania’s public administration. The commission is tasked with monitoring and facilitating the implementation of the SN-IA. As an authority currently under MEDAT (formerly under the MCID), the ADR supports the work of the commission on implementing Romania’s national AI strategy.

Additionally, the Romanian Committee for Artificial Intelligence, established in 2023, serves as a consultative body, including members from various sectors, to inform the national AI strategy’s development (Government of Romania, 2023[3]).

The Romanian Committee for Artificial Intelligence is also supported by various thematic and stakeholder groups. Namely, the AI Scientific and Ethics Council provides input and support on questions regarding AI ethics and responsible AI, and the AI Education Council advises on matters related to AI education and skills development. The Romanian AI Coalition is also envisioned to support the strategy’s implementation, acting as an advisory forum comprised of companies, start-ups, venture capital actors, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.

Regarding funding, it is envisioned that budget for the strategy would include funding from both EU funds and the national state budget. Types of funding include Regional Operational Programmes, such as the Smart Growth, Digitization and Financial Instruments Program (PoCIDIF), the NRRP and Horizon Europe. In addition, national funds, such as the Fourth Plan on National Research, Development and Innovation will provide funding to research in AI. These sources of funding will be further elaborated on in the action plan and draft strategy documents.

With regard to monitoring, the strategy includes impact indicators for its specific objectives, to be evaluated based on intermediate targets in 2025 and final targets in 2027. The strategy also foresees supporting the monitoring of the development and use of AI.

Efforts are being made to harmonise Romania’s national approach to AI based on EU activities and policy direction, as well as implementing EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) provisions according to the set deadlines.

Tap into the potential of data and foster critical computing capacity

Romania does not yet have a national data strategy, although relevant elements of such a strategy are included in the national AI strategy, and a National Open Data Strategy was adopted by the government in December 2024. Regarding datasets for AI training, Law no. 179/2022 regarding open data and the reuse of public sector information facilitates open access to public administration data needed for R&D purposes in the AI domain.

On cloud policy, the main initiatives are included in the NRRP under Component 7: Digital Transition, Reform 1 (Development of a unitary framework for defining the architecture of a government cloud system). The Government Cloud Project is a strategic infrastructure initiative aimed at transforming public service delivery.

Romania is preparing the establishment of an interinstitutional working group1 to identify the sources of funding and analyse the need to adopt a public policy or strategy on increasing edge nodes.

In the field of HPC, Romania encourages Romanian entities (universities, research institutions, companies, organisations and medical entities) to participate in EU HPC projects and facilitates this active participation through measures aimed at developing HPC expertise and competence levels, as well as raising awareness of the availability of such processing infrastructures for the R&D of products and advanced technologies. Romania also participates in the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). The Romanian Artificial Intelligence Hub (see Table 2) will support computing infrastructure, by acquiring and building AI compute capacity to support the hub’s activities.

Currently no semiconductor production capacities exist in Romania. Three Romanian companies are supported as part of the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI)2 on low-power processors and semiconductor chips, and a recently launched National Platform for Semiconductor Technologies is expected to bring together and consolidate R&D capacities in the area of semiconductors.

Table 1. Set enabling conditions for AI development and uptake in the European Union: Key initiatives

Name	Start year (period covered)	Short description (main goals)	Funding (including EU funding use)
Deployment of the government cloud infrastructure	2022(-25)	The main objective of this investment is to deploy government cloud infrastructure, using secure and energy efficient technologies to ensure a safe, interoperable and standardised public date, in order to provide higher quality public services. By centralising and modernising information technology (IT) systems, the project seeks to improve data protection, enable seamless communication between government agencies and reduce operational expenses. The goal is to create a more responsive and efficient digital ecosystem that benefits both citizens and businesses, ultimately streamlining access to public services. The implementation of this investment is set to include construction of Tier 4 and Tier 3 data centres (ADR, 2022[4]; Council of the European Union, 2021[5]).	Total project budget: approximately EUR 375 million (RON 1.87 billion).
Cloud development and migration	2022(-26)	The main objective of this investment is to upgrade the technologies used in public institutions so that they become cloud ready, while also developing new cloud native applications for cloud migration (Council of the European Union, 2021[5]).	Total project budget: approximately EUR 176 million (RON 876 million)
Romanian National HPC Competence Center (RoNCC)	Not reported	The RoNCC creates a network of skills in HPC and functions as an interface to facilitate access to resources and capabilities in this field, both in Romania and in the European Union, through the EuroCC network, as the national contact point for providing support in training activities, technical expertise, access to HPC resources, consulting services and co‑ordination of HPC activities at the national level (EuroCC Romania, 2024[6]).	Net EU contribution for Romania under the EuroCC and EuroCC 2 projects: EUR 2 million, doubled by an equivalent, internally committed budget
European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU)	Not reported	Romania participates in the EuroHPC JU and the Romanian partner is the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest. Such capacity is primarily used for scientific and research purposes, the demand for AI-specific uses has grown particularly in recent years and this infrastructure could be further leveraged to support AI start-ups and SMEs (ICI, 2024[7]).	Not reported
National Action Plan on the Digital Decade	2024-2030	Romania’s National Action Plan on the Digital Decade (adopted by the government in October 2024) expects the number of edge nodes in Romania to increase from 2 units (in 2022) to 113 units by 2030 (MCID, 2022[8]).	Not reported
National Platform for Semiconductor Technologies	Not reported	The platform was launched in December 2024 as a priority project aiming to bring together and consolidate R&D capacities in the area of semiconductors (MCID, 2022[8]; IMT Bucharest, 2024[9]).	Approximately EUR 130 million (under the 2021-2027 Smart Growth, Digitalization and Financial Instruments Program, PoCIDIF)
Cross-border and multi‑country projects – low-power processors, including support for Romanian companies involved in Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT)	2023	The objective of this investment in the context of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Component 9: Business Support, Research, Development and Innovation is to support the development of the microelectronics field in Romania. The investment consists in actions to: i) structure and develop skills for the design, manufacture and application of microelectronic components and systems in a coherent national ecosystem; ii) secure intellectual property and accelerating the application of advanced technologies in key areas of the national economy such as the car industry, health or precision farming, space, defence, aero-nautical; iii) co‑ordinate with capabilities and needs at the EU level including through the participation or association of at least ten members of the national ecosystem in a multi-country project, planned to be implemented mainly as an IPCEI. In this context, at least three Romanian entities in consortia are expected to respond to calls for projects by the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (KDT JU).	Budget: EUR 400 million of funding under the RRF (loan)

Make the European Union the right place: Excellence from lab to the market

Build and mobilise research capacities, and fund and scale innovative ideas and solutions for AI (support to start-ups and SMEs)

The Romanian national AI strategy focuses on enhancing the national research, development and innovation (RDI) in AI through three specific objectives: i) developing fundamental and applied scientific research specific to the field of AI, as well as at an interdisciplinary level; ii) reducing the fragmentation of RDI resources and efforts in AI by combining and synchronising them within national specialised innovation hubs and clusters, connected to international AI hubs and resources; and iii) supporting and promoting AI innovation. The National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PNCDI) is funding the improvement of research capacity in AI, both as a main focus or as part of broader programmes in research for digital technologies.

AI research has taken place in some Romanian research institutes and universities for decades. Notable institutions include the Mihai Drăgănescu Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (ICIA), established in 1994 and focusing on areas such as natural language processing and machine learning, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (UTCN) and the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest.

Several Romanian universities also have centres of excellence in AI, such as the International Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. Finally, the UTCN is currently building an Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (AIRi), which will focus on developing AI solutions for areas such as health, transportation and cybersecurity.

In terms of civil society initiatives supporting AI R&D, the Romanian Association for Artificial Intelligence: (ARIA) founded in 2011, is a non-profit scientific association dedicated to supporting AI research and education in Romania. Initiatives such as Romanian AI Days also support learning and networking across civil society, academia and industry.

Romania provides a number of financial and non-financial incentives and support measures for R&D expenditures by firms, including on AI. Under the NRRP, funding is foreseen to support SME digitalisation, including uptake of advanced digital technologies.

Table 2. Make the European Union the right place: Excellence from lab to the market: Key initiatives

Name	Start year (period covered)	Short description (main goals)	Funding (including EU funding use)
Mihai Drăgănescu Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (ICIA)	2022	The ICIA focuses on fundamental and applied research in the fields of AI, knowledge society and computer network architecture, machine learning, natural language processing, intelligent systems and robotics.	Not reported
Romanian Hub for Artificial Intelligence (HRIA)	2025(-29)	The HRIA is a strategic and priority project for Romania at the national level, and aims to ensure a widespread and spill-over effect of the AI domain in industry, across different sectors of the economy and in society. The HRIA is a consortium formed of seven universities and eight SMEs. The general objective of the HRIA is to create an attractive and competitive research ecosystem that brings together the efforts of the academic and economic environments, with a view to stimulate original scientific creation, transfer research results to industry and society, develop new products and services, generate a nucleus of knowledge and AI integrated into the European Research Area. The project is being implemented from 1 March 2025 to 31 December 2029. The main RDI directions of the HRIA are: trustworthy AI, intelligent and autonomous systems, smart human-computer interfaces, hardware technologies for AI, AI in medicine and healthcare, AI in security and space, AI for Smart Cities, AI for the environment and the development and testing of AI prototypes and systems (Government of Romania, 2025[10]).	EUR 65.25 million funded by EU and national budgets through the PoCIDIF
Research in Areas of Strategic Interest	2022(-27)	The Research in Areas of Strategic Interest programme, one of the ten programmes of the PNCDI IV (2022-27), aims to support the participation of Romanian research organisations in international scientific programmes. This programme has ten subprogrammes, including the 9.8‑Artificial Intelligence subprogramme that supports cutting-edge RDI in the field of AI in order to develop innovative and cross-applicable solutions in various social sectors leading to the widespread use of new technologies for the generation of added value in economic, social, cultural and administrative areas. The following types of projects are eligible to be funded through this subprogramme: RDI projects; advanced research centres in the field of AI; application development; industrial activities management applications on AI foundation, testing and validation platforms; participation projects in global initiatives and projects in the field; public-private RDI partnerships; data set management and processing platforms; support projects for AI promotion in society; applications and pilot projects in the field developed through partnership between Romanian experts from the diaspora and experts from institutions in Romania; projects for the strategic development of the national AI ecosystem (Government of Romania, 2023[11]). The MCID has committed to fund specific AI calls in the framework of a dedicated RDI programme for AI development within the National Research, Development and Innovation Plan 2022-2027, with co‑ordination of research activities to be taken on by the new National Authority for Research (Government of Romania, 2023[12]).	Not reported
National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest (ICI) – “Innovation laboratories for the purpose of increasing institutional performance and developing skills in the field of emerging and disruptive technologies” (INNOLAB)	2022(-24)	For the ICI, the INNOLAB project allowed the establishment and operationalisation of eight innovation labs in the field of emerging and disruptive technologies: AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), HPC, quantum computing, fifth/sixth generation cellular network technology (5G-6G) and metaverse. The primary goal of this project was to enhance the institutional capacity and foster innovation in this field by providing advanced facilities and resources with the aim to nurture talent, drive advanced research and develop practical solutions that address real-world challenges.	Approximately EUR 400 000 (EUR 2 million)
Cluj-Napoca Technical University (UTCN) Mihai Drăgănescu Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (ICIA)	2022 (approval) 2023(-24) (construction)	In October 2024, the inaugural symposium was held at the ICIA. This institute is an integral part of the HRIA. Built between 2023 and 2024, with additional building progress still ongoing (see timeline), the research laboratories will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment (HPC systems, specialised servers for deep learning and big data storage, modelling, simulation, optimisation, design applications, etc.) that will generate innovative solutions in fields, such as: IoT, cyber-physical systems, intelligent systems, autonomous and connected mobility and Smart City solutions; sensors and integrated circuits for intelligent systems; integrated architectures for advanced multimedia data processing (text, voice, video); social robotics through the use of AI applied in the area of non-industrial robotics; cybersecurity and space applications for civilian use; e-agriculture: the application of digital and robotic technologies in agriculture - smart agriculture; e‑administration/e‑governance; e-health: early diagnosis and monitoring, remote diagnosis, telemedicine and software modelling; human-machine verbal communication technologies using AI and natural language processing technologies (Copaciu, 2024[13]).	Approximately. EUR 21 million (RON 105 million)
AI Innovative Lab	Not reported	The mission of the AI Innovative Lab envisages: reaching a critical mass of skills for high-performance R&D applications in various subfields (bioinformatics, artificial vision, text and natural language processing); addressing recent revolutionary technologies based on deep learning; research in various key sub-fields of AI such as inductive logic programming, data mining, knowledge representation, constraint logic programming including constraint handling rules, automatic reasoning, semantic web, intelligent information integration, expert and knowledge based systems.	Not reported
European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs)	2021-2027	There are seven EDIHs in Romania funded under the Digital Europe programme, five of which with an explicit AI focus (eDIH-DIZ, TDIH, DIH4Society, FIT EDIH, CiTyInnoHub) (EC, 2024[14]). The digitisation of SMEs through EDIHs in Romania project is financed under the PoCIDIF funded by the European Commission and Romanian government (Ministry of European Investments and Projects).	EUR 25.7 million (50% supported from the Digital Europe programme and 50% from the PoCIDIF)
Aid scheme for the digitalisation of SMEs	2021	The objective of this sub-investment (as part of NRRP Component 9 Investment 3. Private sector aid schemes) is to support the digitalisation of SMEs. It consists of two instruments: i) a grant scheme to support entrepreneurs in development of advanced digital technologies (such as AI, data and cloud computing, blockchain, HPC and quantum, IoT, cybersecurity); and ii) a grant scheme of up to EUR 100 000 per enterprise to support SMEs adopting digital technologies (such as purchases of information and communication technology (ICT) hardware, development and/or adaptation of software applications/licences, including robotic process automation software automation solutions, acquisition of blockchain technologies, procurement of AI systems, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, purchase of a presentation website, purchase of cloud and IoT services, training of staff using IT equipment, advice/analysis to identify technical solutions that SMEs need).	EUR 52 million through the RRF

Ensure AI technologies work for people

Nurture talent and improve the supply of skills necessary to enable a thriving AI ecosystem

The NRRP also supports the digitalisation of education, for example through investments in digital education infrastructure and school equipment, as well as digitalisation of universities and activities supporting advanced digital skills. The competitive call for projects for digitalisation of higher education under the NRRP includes support for the development of advanced digital skills of IT specialists for emerging technologies, for example in AI, blockchain and IoT.

Several educational programmes dedicated to AI have been developed and authorised to be conducted at the university level and in high schools. For instance, three bachelor’s study programmes in AI have been introduced and authorised by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS), and several master’s programmes focus on AI advanced skills, expending AI application and research to fields outside computer science. School programmes focused on digital skills and ICT are also adapted. Romania has set up several competitions, including its National Robotics Team and the Digital Innovation and Creation Olympiad.

Table 3. Ensure AI technologies work for people: Key initiatives

Name	Start year (period covered)	Short description (main goals)	Funding (including EU funding use)
Introduction to machine learning	2022	Order of the Minister of Education no. 4.049/2022 established the optional subject “Introduction to machine learning” to introduce AI concepts in the secondary education school curriculum. This programme aims to develop a set of digital skills that upper secondary education graduates can leverage in their future careers. Starting from the 2022/23 school year, AI was included in the curriculum for secondary education. The development of this curriculum has taken into account the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence - A European Approach for Excellence and Trust, published on 19 February 2020 by the European Commission and the national AI strategic framework (Government of Romania, 2022[15]).	Not reported
Competencies in Advanced Technologies for SMEs	2022	The ADR initiated the Competencies in Advanced Technologies for SMEs project in 2022, funded through the NRRP, Component 7, Investment 19. The project will support the digital transformation of a minimum of 2 000 SMEs by enhancing the digital skills of their employees and specialising the workforce in advanced technological fields. Employees of SMEs will be able to improve their knowledge and competencies by participating in training programmes in advanced technologies, including AI (ADR, 2025[16]).	EU-allocated budget: EUR 36 million
AI Education Council	2023	The newly formed Romanian Committee for Artificial Intelligence includes the establishment of the AI Education Council, facilitating input and guidance on issues related to Romanian AI skills development, education and training.	Not reported
Robotics and Life	Not reported	At International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) Level 2, the integrated optional subject “Robotics and life” aims to develop skills in the transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary use of concepts acquired in physics, mathematics, informatics and ICT, to develop research and technical creative skills. This includes designing and assembling models of robots and developing driving algorithms and programmes in simulated working environments (Government of Romania, n.d.[17]).	Not reported
Smart labs	Not reported	All high schools in Romania are being equipped with intelligent laboratories (smart labs), with the Ministry of Education ensuring the funding of 1 120 projects through the NRRP. Smart labs offer students the opportunity to personalise learning based on topics of interest and reflect on their own learning process through the use of AI.	Not reported
Competitive call for projects for the digitalisation of higher education	2022	The competitive call for projects for the digitalisation of higher education (projects selected in implementation since October 2022) foresees: Investments for teaching and research purposes, in the digital infrastructure of universities (modernisation of laboratories, computing centres, nodes/innovation hubs and centres for launch/hosting of start‑ups, digital libraries, designing and adapting resources for online learning and assessment). Investments in the development of digital skills of members of the academic community (students, teaching and research staff) and of learning modules/study programmes for emerging professions; The development of advanced digital skills of IT specialists for emerging technologies – AI, blockchain, IoT, etc. – in view of increasing the added value of the services and products developed by Romanian ITC companies and increasing competitiveness. Training programmes for upskilling and reskilling, through digital innovation hubs.	EUR 234 million
Education and Employment Programme	2021(-27)	The Education and Employment Program addresses the development of digital skills which includes, among other things, the development of professional training standards and curricula for new professional qualifications in vocational training and/or the revision of existing ones, in response to technological developments that support sustainable development and the green economy, with a focus on developing green skills necessary in the labour market (e.g. ITC, AI, robotics, three-dimensional printing, etc.), as well as training teachers to update their professional competencies in relation to the technological developments.	Approximately EUR 1.5 million

Build strategic leadership in priority sectors

The national AI strategy includes the objective “Adoption and exploitation of AI technologies in priority socio-economic sectors”. Romania is using AI in several sectors, including healthcare and the public sector, and has notably adopted strategic approaches to AI in agriculture.3 Using AI for the environment (combating risks due to climate change, preventing and managing the dangers produced by natural disasters and climate change) is a priority in Romania’s AI strategy, and climate plays a role in several of the agriculture-related initiatives. Romania did not report any initiatives on AI use in mobility.

State of AI in healthcare

Romania currently lacks a national policy for health information management and faces significant fragmentation in its health data organisation, with interoperability challenges persisting across the health system (Government of Romania, 2023[18]). Health data governance is shared between the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for running the health system and protecting health data, and the National Health Insurance House (Casa Națională de Asigurări de Sănătate, CNAS) which administers and stores health data, including electronic health records (Dosarul Electronic de Sănătate, DES) (2024[19]). Furthermore, the National Authority for Quality Management in Healthcare is responsible for standardising and increasing the efficiency of the method of data collection and electronic transmission of information used in the healthcare system, through standard reporting forms. In the National Health Strategy 2023‑2030, Romania has set targets to move towards an integrated digital health ecosystem with a national policy on health information management, including a National Digital Health Strategy, a national e-health agency and an integrated health information system, along with functional data registers for secondary use (Government of Romania, 2023[18]). Romania’s national AI strategy includes measures on the development of AI applications that will utilise data from EHR systems and national public health programmes; however, foundational digitalisation work is needed to enable broader use of AI (ADR, 2024[20]).

Romania has partnered with the European Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe to move forward its agenda to digitalise the health system (WHO, 2022[21]). With the EU4Health programme 2021-2027, Romania is developing a National Observatory for Health Data (Observatorul Național de Date de Sănătate, ONDS) (EC, 2021[22]; Romanian Health Observatory, 2024[23]). The ONDS will invest in the infrastructure of the national health information system with the aim of improving access and collection of health data for primary and secondary uses, interoperability and integration. Romania is also focused on boosting e-health and digital literacy of health professionals, providing professional training on e-health with the aim of improving data quality. In the international space, Romania is part of the VELES Smart Health Excellence Hub in South-East Europe to develop a regional health data space as a first step towards the European Health Data Space (VELES, 2024[24]). Genomics is another focus for Romania, with work underway to develop a centralised data infrastructure for biomedical and genomics data and research through projects like Development of Genomic Research in Romania (ROGEN) and the creation of a national Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI) node (Front Line Genomics, 2023[25]; GDI, 2022[26]). Romania is making progress towards a more streamlined health system and in turn, a more functional, integrated health information system and associated policy to reform the digital health ecosystem in the country. These steps are essential to Romania’s ability to harness the power of AI and integrate it into its delivery of health services.

Table 4. Build strategic leadership in priority sectors: Key initiatives

Name	Start year (period covered)	Short description (main goals)	Funding (including EU funding use)
Health
National Strategy in the Field of AI 2024-2027 (Strategia națională în domeniul inteligenței artificiale 2024-2027)	2024	Romania’s national AI strategy includes measures on the development of AI applications that will utilise data from EHR systems and national public health programmes; however, foundational digitalisation work is needed to enable broader use of AI.	To be determined for each action
EU4Health programme 2021‑2027	2021	This includes the National Observatory for Health Data and the integrated e-health solution as well as a number of other initiatives. One component of this is an initiative boosting medical personnel-s e‑health and digital literacy, with an allocated budget of EUR 63.32 million (EC, 2021[22]).	EUR 143.42 million
National Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI) Node and 1+ Million Genomes (1+MG)	2022	Romania is working towards a national genome data infrastructure to contribute to the 1+MG project and share its available genome data (GDI, 2022[26]).	EUR 90.3 million
Development of Genomic Research in Romania (ROGEN)	2024	To create an integrated approach to genomic medical research, Romania aims to develop the National Genomic Research Network, 1+MG mirror groups and the national sequencing infrastructure, as well as determine the national reference genome in connection with the Genome of Europe project and study personalised treatments for certain conditions (Front Line Genomics, 2023[25]).	Not reported
Lunit INSIGHT MMG	Not reported	Lunit INSIGHT MMG is an AI solution for mammography that has been implemented in conjunction with the private health sector to improve the detection of breast cancer (Lunit, 2024[27]; Regina Maria, 2023[28]).	Not reported
Public sector
ION	2023	An initiative to support citizen engagement in the public sector, ION, an AI counsellor designed to serve as a link between Romanian citizens and the executive branch of government leverages natural language processing and computer vision techniques with the aim of capturing the sentiments of Romanian citizens in real time. This tool was developed with Bucharest-based company Humans.ai in collaboration with Romanian AI researchers and computer science professors.	Not reported
Measures for training civil servants in ICT and emerging technologies, including AI		Training civil servants in ICT and emerging technologies, including AI, is foreseen in Order of the National Agency of Public Officers no. 234/2022 (Government of Romania, 2022[29]).
Advanced digital skills training programme for civil servants	2021(-26)	The objective of this investment (under the RRF) is to increase the advanced digital skills of civil servants, aiming to support the digitalisation of the public services by improving the availability of qualified workforce for internal ITC operations. The investment consists in advanced digital skills (database management, system management, business analysis, data analysis, programming) training for 32 500 civil servants (of which 2 500 seniors) (Council of the European Union, 2021[5]).	EUR 20 million through the RRF
Virtual civil servants	Not reported	Two local communities have introduced virtual civil servants. The creation of this virtual civil servant, based on AI, is part of the digitisation process of procedures in the local public administration in Cluj. Galați City Hall has also launched a virtual civil servant based on AI. The tool is currently being trained and tested but will soon be able to provide information to citizens on town planning, taxes, fees and other local revenues.	Not reported
Agriculture/forestry/rural development
Adoption and Exploitation of AI in Agriculture	2023	The Adoption and Exploitation of AI in Agriculture programme encompasses measures such as stimulating the development and application of automation solutions in industry and agriculture based on robots using AI techniques and supporting R&D projects in agriculture through the Horizon Europe programme, including EU-fundable projects for digitisation in agriculture and food.	Not reported
Agriculture and Rural Development - ADER 2026	2023	In 2023, the Sectoral Plan for Research and Development in the Field of Agriculture and Rural Development for the years 2023-2026, entitled Agriculture and Rural Development - ADER 2026, was introduced. The plan aims to identify innovative solutions to promote a smart, resilient and diversified agricultural sector. The projects funded through ADER 2026 address research on adaptation to the effects of climate change in the agricultural and forestry sectors, efficient management of natural resources and production inputs, biodiversity conservation, the use of environmentally friendly practices, the implementation of innovative technologies and processes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural and forestry activities, ensuring the production of healthy agri-food products, the circular economy and digitalisation.	Approximately EUR 39 million (RON 195 million)
Smart Specialisation Technologies for Agro-ecology and Forestry (PNRR) in the context of the National Forest Strategy 2030	2022	The National Forest Strategy 2030 stipulates supporting the creation of innovation and technology centres in the smart specialisation subdomain Smart Specialisation Technologies for Agro-ecology and Forestry. The objective of this investment is to implement an integrated IT system to support sustainable development, improve infrastructure and environmental quality, protect nature and preserve biodiversity. The investment consists of two main actions, one of them being the development of the necessary infrastructure for the supervision, control and assurance of forest integrity and the transport of wood. This system shall be implemented in two phases (installation and configuration of the IT system and implementation of security solutions for confidentiality, training, operationalisation of a platform for investigations and alerts). The system shall be integrated with SUMAL 2.0 (the Romanian timber traceability system currently under development) and shall monitor legal obligations related to wood harvesting, timely forest regeneration, forest health, forest habitat conservation status, climate change impacts and adaptation to climate change of different forest ecosystems. The system’s data centres shall comply with the European Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency (Government of Romania, 2022[30]; Council of the European Union, 2021[31]).	RRF funding in Investment 5. Digitalization in the field of the environment

References

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The full book is available in English: OECD (2025), Progress in Implementing the European Union Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (Volume 1): Member States’ Actions, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/533c355d-en.

 

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Notes

← 1.  The group will be made up of representatives of the authorities with responsibilities in the field, including the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, the Authority for Digitalization of Romania, the National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), the Special Telecommunications Service, the Ministry for Development, Public Works and Administration, the General Secretariat of the Government and representatives of the Regional Development Agencies.

← 2.  The National Action Plan on the Digital Decade (ADR, 2023[1]) states that Romania’s involvement in the IPCEI aims to secure intellectual property and accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies in key sectors of the national economy, such as automotive, healthcare, precision agriculture, space and defence.

← 3.  The Romanian government supports R&I in the agricultural sector, including digital agriculture. Collaborations between research institutions, universities and private companies are encouraged to develop innovative solutions for farming challenges. This includes research on advanced data analytics, AI and IoT applications in agriculture.