Speaking at a conference on measures to support the economy, Boc said Minister for European Affairs Leonard Orban has been tasked with analyzing the situation regarding fund absorption, and added that a fund-redirection request will be sent to the EU.
The European Union will answer our request in three to six months, said Boc. He highlighted authorities want to use European funds for the thermal rehabilitation of homes.
Romanian Development Minister Elena Udrea said on September 21 she asked authorities to direct to the ministry at least EUR1 billion in EU funds other ministries failed to absorb.
Udrea said the ministry has contracted EU-funded projects worth EUR4.3 billion and the total number of project applications is worth EUR12 billion.
She pointed out that, if the Regional Operational Program had more money, funds would be immediately spent. Udrea said she will ask those ministries which failed to absorb the entire amount of EU funds they were allotted, such as the Labor Ministry, to direct funds to the institution she runs.
She said that, if the ministry she runs gets EUR1 billion in redirected EU funds, a part of the money will be used for the thermal rehabilitation of homes.
The minister for European affairs has two years to attract EUR16.6 billion in European funds, as the country has so far absorbed only EUR2.6 billion of the EUR19.2 billion allotted by the European Union for 2007-2013. The money can be attracted through several operational programs.
The most recent data from the Authority for the Coordination of Structural Instruments (ACIS) reveal the authority received 30,162 project applications by August 31, worth over 235 billion lei (about EUR55 billion), of which about RON150 billion contributed by the EU. Over 12,000 projects have been rejected and 5,385 are being evaluated. By August 31, 8,652 projects had been approved and their total value stood at RON83.2 billion, of which RON50 billion contributed by the EU.
Financing decisions were signed for 6,765 projects. Total payments for the operational programs financed with structural funds stood at about RON11.7 billion, of which RON6.7 billion represented pre-financing, RON4.3 billion was reimbursements from the EU and RON687.7 million reimbursements from the state budget.
(EUR1=RON4.3146)