What does it mean? Funding glossary
The words in programme pages, explained for everyone. The exact rules are always in the programme's official guide.
- Eligible
- Eligible means you meet the programme's conditions. An eligible expense is one the programme can actually pay for; an ineligible one you pay yourself, even if the project is approved.
- Applicant and beneficiary
- The applicant is the one who asks for the funding. They become a beneficiary only after the request is approved and they sign the funding contract or decision.
- Application session (call)
- The period when the institution takes requests. Once it closes you can no longer apply, and sometimes the funds run out before the last day. A programme may have several sessions a year or only one.
- Applicant's guide
- The official document with all the rules: who can apply, which expenses count, which papers you need and how scoring works. If anything differs from what FonduRO says, the guide is what counts.
- Non-refundable grant
- Money you do not have to pay back if you follow the programme's conditions. It usually covers only part of the costs, and you put in the rest.
- Co-financing and own contribution
- The part of the project cost that you pay yourself. If the programme funds 75%, your own contribution is 25%.
- Down payment
- The part of the price you pay yourself at the start; the rest is covered by the loan. With a 5% down payment you pay 5% of the price and the bank lends the difference.
- Guarantee (guaranteed loan)
- The state or an institution promises the bank to pay part of the loan if you cannot. The bank gives you the loan more easily, but you do not receive money from the state: the loan is paid back.
- Eco-voucher
- A sum reserved in your name that you deduct from the price of a product (for example a new car) at a partner validated by the programme.
- Prosumer
- A person or company that produces electricity (for example with solar panels) for its own use and can feed the surplus into the grid.
- Validated installer or manufacturer
- A company the institution has accepted to take part in the programme. You can use the funding only with the companies on the official list.
- Quality threshold (score)
- Each project gets points against criteria. Below the minimum threshold it is not funded, even if it meets the conditions.
- SME
- A small or medium enterprise: under 250 employees and under certain turnover or asset limits. Each programme's guide says which size it accepts.
- PNRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan)
- The National Recovery and Resilience Plan: the European money Romania uses for reforms and investments, with firm deadlines that end in 2026.
- PNDR and the CAP Strategic Plan
- PNDR was the rural development programme of 2014–2020. Since 2023, farmers and villages get money through the 2023–2027 CAP Strategic Plan, managed by AFIR and APIA.