The second Round Table (MR2) SMAFIN Expanded is organized in Bucharest on April 9, 2025, starting at 9:30 in the conference center of the Marshal Garden Hotel in Bucharest.

The roundtable will take place in physical format. The interventions will be mainly in Romanian. It is possible that some of the interventions on the agenda of the event will take place in online format. The event will also be available live on specialized media channels.

As this event is primarily a forum for debate, in addition to the relevant presentations, a generous part of the agenda is reserved for discussions.

The Round Table starts with a plenary session with all participants. After a short break, participants will be divided into 3 groups, according to the parallel session they registered for before the event.

Parallel sessions include relevant presentations to set the context of the current situation in Romania and stimulate effective discussions.

Each parallel session will have a moderator who will chair the session and a rapporteur who will prepare a summary of the discussions.

The moderators will prepare key questions relevant to the topic, which participants will be invited to answer, in order to make the discussions in the thematic sessions more effective.

After the parallel sessions and the second break, participants will return to the plenary session. After the presentations of general interest set out in the agenda, the rapporteurs of the sessions will present the main points arising from the discussions in the thematic parallel sessions and the recommendations arising from them.

This will be followed by a plenary discussion session and, at the end, the conclusions drawn from the whole event will be summarized. These will form the basis for further analysis by the SMAFIN Expanded working group, which will conclude on recommendations for further improvements of energy efficiency financing policies and mechanisms.

This session will address the topic of integrated energy renovation services through one-stop-shops for energy efficiency (GUEE) formalized at county level by GEO 92/2024.
Building on the topics discussed in the previous roundtables, which developed the public policy proposal on the development and implementation of the One-Stop-Shop concept and further taken up in the RePowerEU chapter of the PNRR, the session aims to discuss solutions for capacity and sustainable operating models for One-Stop-Shops for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (GUEE). The proposed directions concern the definition of actions to support the functioning of the GUEE and increase capacity for technical assistance, including by facilitating the development of partnerships between public administration and business, as well as the development of tools for scaling up energy renovation in multifamily and public buildings: renovation passport, awareness campaigns, financing models. A topic of interest for strengthening the services offered through GUEE is the provision of knowledge and skills for zero-emission buildings and the in-depth renovation of existing buildings.

This session will address the development of financial mechanisms to support the implementation of energy and climate change strategies and action plans, in the context of the need to leverage the impact of public funding. Representatives of managing authorities and implementing bodies of financing programs for energy efficiency in buildings and the tertiary sector, respectively for the provision of green energy as well as representatives of financial institutions involved in energy efficiency programs are invited to present examples of good practices and lessons learned from the experience of implementing financing programs and explore together possible improvements / promotion. One of the models brought up for discussion will be the Multiregional Investment Platform for Romania – financial instruments for the renovation of existing buildings (EIB – Regional Development Agencies agreement for the implementation of the Regional Programs funds). Also, topics expected to be addressed in this section include the development of mechanisms to stimulate the leverage effect of public financing by attracting private funds, stimulating cooperation between public administration and the banking sector, implementation of ESCO models and public-private partnerships, strengthening municipal capacity for energy renovation/energy efficiency.

This session will address the sustainability of financing energy efficiency and measures to support the transition to climate neutrality from the perspective of tackling energy poverty, proposing for discussion topics aimed at defining efficient financing mechanisms for measures and investments with long-term effects for vulnerable groups, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. In the context of the significant financial allocations announced by the Social Climate Fund, which will be conditioned by the Social Climate Plan (currently being drawn up in Romania) by clear and comprehensive actions to identify households vulnerable to rising energy bills, it is important to examine the possibilities for using and mobilizing funding available from other, complementary sources to ensure that the measures and investments designed will have the widest and most lasting impact. Thus, topics related to the operationalization of instruments for the implementation of the National Social Climate Plan, the creation of synergies with other existing or planned energy renovation/energy efficiency + RES financing instruments will be proposed for discussion, so as to facilitate the supplementing of the Social Climate Fund with funding from the business and banking sector, including from national and international financial institutions, national and international development banks, the private financial sector and companies, including energy service companies, and multiplied to enable the implementation of the programs on a large scale. Also, topics such as defining appropriate criteria to address energy poverty and support measures for the thorough renovation of the built stock of buildings or facilitating the development of energy communities and cooperatives as support mechanisms for EE-and RES as relevant in the context of tackling energy poverty.

The organization of the second SMAFIN Expanded Roundtable is expected to reinforce the status of these events as a recognized forum for cooperation between stakeholders interested in national policy priorities to support the implementation of financing programmes and instruments to achieve the objectives and targets set. In addition, the results of the consultation will provide policy makers with national recommendations for effective and enforceable public policy measures or proposals for financial instruments to be delivered to policy makers at all levels and/or financial institutions.