On Wednesday, EBRD and Romanian European Affairs Minister Leonard Orban signed an agreement to this end.
The project is financed with EU structural and cohesion funds and Romania will contribute 10% to 25% of overall costs.
Orban said earlier Wednesday there are two ways of determining the country’s fund absorption rate: by considering only the sums reimbursed by the European Commission, which means the absorption rate is about 10%, or by considering the entire sum approved by the Commission, including the pre-financing received by Romania, which sets the absorption rate at 20.7%.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Tuesday Romania has so far drawn EUR4 billion of a total EUR19 billion it was allotted for the 2007-2013 period, which translates into an absorption rate of 20%.
According to data on the website of the European Affairs Ministry, European Commission’s reimbursements to Romania stood at about 10% at the end of October.
On Tuesday, the Romanian Government approved a memorandum whereby the country may use its right of veto if European Council President Herman Van Rompuy remains firm regarding the reduction of EU fund allocations for 2014-2020 at the European Council special summit on budget.
If during negotiations a link is made between the country’s current structural fund absorption rate and allocations for 2014-2020, and this reference leads to significant fund reductions for Romania, the country will take any steps to reject this proposition, including blocking the adoption of the future financial framework, according to a Government standpoint.