From European funding to posted workers

Absorption of EU funds and EU directive on posted workers dominate talks between EU Commissioner Corina Cretu and the President of the European Committee of the Regions Karl-Heinz Lambertz.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 08.09.2017, 12:46

The absorption of
European funds was the main topic of discussion between the Romanian
representative in the European Commission Corina Cretu, who is holding the
Regional Policy portfolio, and the
President of the European Committee of the Regions Karl-Heinz Lambertz. After
meeting with the Prime Minister Mihai Tudose, the Senate Speaker Calin Popescu
Tariceanu and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, the
European official stated that Romania stands big chances of having absorbed, by
the end of the year, one billion Euros from the development and cohesion funds.

Against this background, the European Commissioner
held talks with Bucharest officials on the steps that should be taken in order
to ensure a better absorption of European funds, given that Romania has not
been able to do much in this respect after its 2007 EU accession. At the same
time, Corina Cretu warned about the slow pace of project preparation and
implementation, in particular in fields such as transportation, waste
management, public procurement and research infrastructure. European
Commissioner Corina Cretu:

All national management and control authorities in
charge of the 23 billion Euro budget allocated to Romania in the 2014-2020
programming period have been accredited. This summer, the Commission has
already reimbursed 95 million for initiatives, for SMEs and for technical
assistance, and is currently analysing invoices of 350 million Euros, which are
to be paid soon.

Also, Corina Cretu
held talks with citizens, accompanied by the President of the European
Committee of the Regions Karl-Heinz Lambertz. Mr. Lambertz referred to worker
mobility in the EU and said that a solution must be found to the issue of
unemployment, which is currently facing many countries in Europe. Karl-Heinz
Lambertz openly stood in favour of amending the Directive concerning posting,
which allows workers to work in a different EU country, sometimes in conditions
that are improper. Mr. Lambertz has also stated that, in his opinion, a massive
transfer of workers from one country to another is not necessarily the best
solution for cohesion.

As regards posting, during the recent visit paid to
Bucharest by the President of France Emmanuel Macron, Romania’s President Klaus
Iohannis also stood for a change in the directive. The head of state said there
should be a tighter and more integrated cooperation between all the social
systems of all the EU countries.