Government Supplements Education Budget for Completion of "Măgurele Laser”

The Executive has approved, through the Emergency Ordinance on Budget Rectification, the allocation of additional funds for the Ministry of Education and Research, intended for the continuation of the strategic project "Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics” (ELI-NP), known to the public as the "Măgurele Laser”. The ELI-NP project, scheduled for completion in December 2026, currently includes a 2 x 10 petawatt laser system, considered the most powerful in the world. Through the new budget allocation, the authorities will ensure the implementation of the gamma beam system, a component with important applications in medicine and industrial imaging. "We are pleased that, despite the fiscal-budgetary crisis, we managed to obtain the Government's support for the unblocking and completion of the country's strategic project,” said the Minister of Education and Research, Daniel David, and the President of the National Research Authority (ANC), Alexandru Andrei.

• Swiss support for research

The budget amendment also includes measures to strengthen international cooperation in the field of research. Thus, Romania will benefit from over 20 million Swiss francs through the Swiss Research-Development-Innovation Financing Mechanism (RDF).

The international research cooperation program has a budget of 13 million CHF, of which 85% is a Swiss contribution. It aims at sustainable partnerships between Romanian, Swiss and European institutions, as well as the integration of the ELI-NP infrastructure into international networks. The infrastructure program for research and monitoring of emissions, financed with 7.4 million CHF, includes projects such as ACTRIS (Aerosol, Cloud and Minor Gases Research Infrastructure) and EEMS (Methane Emissions Study in Eastern Europe). The objective is to strengthen the capacities for measuring and modeling emissions, with a direct impact on climate policies.

• Strategic research for Romania

The authorities emphasize that these investments ensure the continuity and efficiency of Romanian research, contributing to the development of national infrastructure and the integration of the country into European and international scientific networks. The "Laser from Măgurele” thus remains one of the most important research projects in Europe, with the potential to bring Romania a central role in global innovation.