The remarks were made by Walter Deffaa, general manager of the European Commission’s Directorate General (DG) for Regional Policy, and Angela Martinez-Sarasola, the head of the DG office for Romania, in a discussion with Romanian Ambassador to EU Mihnea Motoc on July 3, according to a document obtained by Mediafax.
According to the document, the two EC officials noted that, although there is political will, Romania does not acknowledge the problems that affect the EU fund management system and refuses the assistance of international financial institutions. Authorities accept the recommendations made by the Commission, usually without also implementing them.
Deffaa said that the Commission is very concerned about the way Romania manages EU-funded operational programs, considering its extremely poor administrative capacity and the deficiencies noted in the functioning of the fund management and control system.
A report by the Commission’s audit authority, which was recently sent to the Directorate, revealed serious problems concerning two of the four programs investigated, namely the regional operational program and the operational program for competitiveness, Deffaa added. The conclusion was that Romania’s EU fund management system needs to be significantly improved, reads the document.
According to the document, Deffaa said that the conclusions of the audit authority will be considered by the Commission when taking a decision. The EC official added that only if auditors make a positive evaluation of the functioning of the fund management system and regarding the use of funds, will the DG for Regional Policy be able to continue payments through the programs it manages, shows the document.
Deffaa pointed out that the responsibility to solve the problem belongs to Romanian authorities and warned that lobbies in Brussels will not be able to replace local efforts.
Martinez-Sarasola showed disappointment regarding the results of discussions held with Romanian authorities concerning public procurement, reads the document. She said that, after the first two meetings in Brussels targeting this aspect, Romania made no progress. Martinez-Sarasola also highlighted that public procurement represent the biggest problem of Romania’s fund management system.
The DG for Regional Policy plans to reach a final conclusion regarding the functioning of Romania’s European fund management system by the end of July.
Romania stopped sending the European Commission refund requests for four operational programs, from July 1 until a date that will be decided later, during which time the Commission will determine whether the authorities have observed the commitments made last year. The four programs are related to the regional sector, the environment, transport and competitiveness.
In December 2011, the European Commission resumed payments to Romania for these four programs, under the condition that the Bucharest authorities meet certain requirements concerning the internal organization of the public procurement and EU fund management authorities, by June 2012.