In July, structural funds attracted from the EU amounted to EUR96 million and to almost EUR800 million in the first seven months. The funds are currently frozen.
The EUR3 billion target previously set is now completely missed considering that in the first seven months only EUR791 million entered the economy and refunds did not exceed EUR300 million in any month.
“Nothing fundamental can change in the absorption process at present. In order to increase the degree of absorption, a large number of projects have to be submitted, in order for some of them to be subsequently approved and for implementation to start. It takes around three months from approval to the start of implementation, so this year is compromised,” says Cosmin Dragoi, managing partner of EU fund consultancy M27 CED Invest.
At the moment the date for resuming the sending of bills to Brussels for refunds has not yet been made public, but the decision is dependent on the conclusions of the auditing report.
Starting in August, in the absence of money paid by the EU, Romania will have to spend money from the state budget to keep EU-funded projects going.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)