Nearly 40% of EUR786 million consists of funds subject to financial corrections made either locally or by the European Commission, Bolos said Tuesday at a new conference unveiling the annual report for the implementation of ROP.
According to Bolos, the authority managing ROP administers 3,290 projects and the program has a contracting rate of 98%. He said Romania’s average structural fund absorption rate stands at nearly 9%.
The regional operational program was launched in July 2007. Its budget stands at EUR4.4 billion, of which EUR3.7 billion are covered from European Union funds and the remainder from national resources.
Romania’s European Affairs Minister Leonard Orban on Monday said he hopes payments under the Regional Operational program will be resumed by the end of this year. The minister said authorities are working to adopt several legislative amendments concerning EU funds as soon as possible.
The European Commission recently informed Romanian authorities about its decision to pre-suspend payment for three Romanian EU-funded programs, for transport, regional development and economic competitiveness, due to irregularities in the fund management system.