After joining the European Union in 2007,
\nRomania started receiving European funds for development. In theory, the money
\nshould be used to bridge the economic gap between Romania and the more
\ndeveloped western countries. 19 billion euros were available to Romania between
\n2007 and 2014, of which it has only absorbed only 14 billion. Moreover, the
\nmoney was not used for investment in critical projects such as infrastructure,
\neducation and healthcare, as every new government has promised. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The country’s sluggish legislation and the
\nfrauds in the management of these European projects have delayed the absorption
\nof European funds, the minister for European funds Aura Raducu recently said. During a debate in
\nParliament, she announced that one of the payments included in the Sectoral
\nOperational Programme Human Resources Development was suspended due to
\nirregularities identified between 2012 and 2014. The Romanian minister said the
\nabsorption rate was below 60% when she took office in November 2015 as a member
\nof the new technocratic government headed by Dacian Ciolos. The absorption rate
\nis expected to rise in the future by also including some of the projects funded
\nby the state. Aura Raducu explains:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is a unique opportunity to raise the
\nabsorption rate to 100%. There are some problems, though, namely that most
\nprojects funded by the state unfortunately do not comply with the legal
\nrequirements under national law, in particular the regulations regarding public
\npurchases, environmental certificates and building certificates.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In response, the former minister for European
\nfunds, the Social Democrat senator Eugen Teodorovici, said the ministry for
\nEuropean funds should concern itself instead with urgent payments and with the
\nlaunch of new projects. He called on Aura Raducu
\nto consider her resignation if she was unable to ensure the management of
\nEuropean funds. Eugen Teodorovici: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
When you took office, the absorption rate of
\nEuropean funds stood at 59%. You are saying now that the absorption rate has
\nreached 75% and that you will receive more than 700 million euros from the
\nEuropean Commission. Translating this sum into percentages you will see that
\nyou will not reach the absorption rate you mentioned.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
If we look at the absorption rate of European
\nfunds in Romania’s neighbouring countries, things are a little better there. At
\nthe end of 2015, Hungary had spent 87% and Bulgaria 77% of the money allotted
\nto them. After falling behind in its absorption rates for seven years in a row,
\nRomania is now faced with a bigger challenge: by 2020 it has to come up with
\nviable projects to attract around 35 billion euros. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With 74% at the end 2015, Romania has the lowest absorption rate of EU funds in the European Union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":67671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[38376,31109],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-67670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-absoption","tag-european-funds"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n