Record absorbtion of European funds

The European funds attracted last year by Romania reached a record level, PM Nicolae Ciuca has said

Mihai Pelin, 05.01.2023, 14:00

Romania has managed last year to absorb European funds worth over 11 billion euros, PM Nicolae Ciuca has announced. He also said this is the highest absorption rate the country has reached so far and that in 2023 efforts will be made to preserve or exceed this level. In the opening of the first government meeting this year Ciuca said Romania had a good budget execution, within the budget deficit limits. In his opinion, the Government managed to ensure economic growth at a level it had not anticipated at the beginning of last year, especially after the beginning of the war in Ukraine,, which triggered increases in the energy and gas prices. The European money earmarked to Romania must go first of all to investment, PM Nicolae Ciuca said, so that economy can deal with challenges and imbalances felt at the level of the European and global economy.

Nicolae Ciucă: “The forecast for Romania is positive, and Romania, even if it does not have the same level of economic growth, will have economic growth and it must be supported in this respect with measures taken by the Government and also with measures in support of the business environment, given that we continue to have guarantee funds and state guarantees. The amount that we have this year is 22.7 billion euros, which should go to investment.

The PM said most funds last year were also allocated to investment and that, in order to reach the set goals, solidarity, empathy at national level, dialogue with social partners, coordination among ministries and, not in the least, political stability are needed. He also said that this year the projects already agreed on with the coalition partners will be developed, whether they refer to education, healthcare or the targets in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

Nicolae Ciucă (TRACK): “We have already discussed to finalise and further agree on the education laws, so that when the next parliament session begins, we have the law package to be debated by the MPs. In terms of healthcare, we have already set the projects and measures aimed to improve the medical system in the country, the projects for modernising hospitals through the NRRP and those running on European funds.

On the other hand, the PM said there are enough funds for the payments to be made to pensioners and other categories of citizens. (EE)