Pundits in Bucharest are commenting on the latest episode
\nfrom the so called ‘War of the Roses’ saga, hinting at the roses that are part
\nof the logo of the Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling
\ncoalition in Romania. Commissioner Corina Cretu, herself a member of the Social
\nDemocratic Party, supported by the former leader of the party Victor Ponta to
\nget the office in Brussels, has become virulent in criticizing the Romanian
\nGovernment, now headed by Viorica Dancila. She has perceived as an insult the
\nlack of infrastructure projects, for which Romania could easily get European
\nfunds. The Commissioner has stated that as regards transports, the most
\nvulnerable and at the same time one of the most important sectors, Romania has
\nlost two billion Euros, and efforts are being made to avoid decommitment for
\nthe 2014-2020 period. Here is the European Commissioner Corina Cretu:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We have money for feasibility studies
\nbut we have received no applications for that. We could program the building of
\nthe Targu-Mures motorway for 2021. Unfortunately, the Government has announced
\nthat it wants to build the motorway based on the public-private partnership
\nsystem. Our specialists are not comfortable with this approach, because it
\nmeans de-prioritizing investment. We are completely open, but as long as we do
\nnot have projects, there is nothing to analyze, and therefore nothing to fund. I would like to publicly announce that I will
\nno longer tolerate any insult from the Romanian Government in relation to the
\nwork I do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Calin Popescu Tariceanu, the leader of the Alliance
\nof Liberals and Democrats, the junior partner in the ruling coalition in
\nBucharest, has stated that he fully supports the statements made by the
\nEuropean Commissioner, of whose good faith and good intentions he is convinced.
\nThe Social Democratic Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has in turn admitted
\nthat the delay in attracting European money is affecting the budget. However,
\nas regards the projects mentioned by Commissioner Cretu, he also said:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
They are being verified and analyzed by JASPERS,
\na body made up of experts with the European Investment Bank, and other
\nstructures, which, unfortunately are not moving as fast as they should, in the
\nsense that they should submit to Brussels the funding applications faster. Our
\nmain problem, budget-wise, is that if these reimbursement applications are
\ndelayed too much, the disbursement is delayed too, therefore the state budget
\ndeficit grows. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The media speculates that the chilly relationship between
\nCorina Cretu and her colleagues in Bucharest could be motivated politically.
\nHer term ends next year, and the parent party hasn’t even proposed her to run
\nagain in the elections for the European Parliament due next year. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n(Translated by M. Ignatescu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, harshly criticizes the Romanian Government for lack of projects that can attract EU funding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":79071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29522,35719,38301,38834,39336],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-79070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-corina-cretu","tag-eu-funding","tag-european-commissioner-for-regional-policy","tag-infrastructure-projects","tag-motorways"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n