Ponta said the Government approved in its Tuesday’s meeting the financial corrections required by the European Commission for the HR development program. He added Romania will start sending refund requests to the EU following the Commission’s audit process due in November.
Early October, Zoltan Kazatsay, Deputy Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said the Commission may resume payments to Romania for refund requests through the HR development program in December. Kazatsay also said that payments might be resumed in December if the audit due in November reveals Romania has fixed all flaws in managing the program.
On February 20, Romania’s Ministry of European Affairs received an official notice from the Commission, announcing the interruption of payments for the HR development program. The Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) stated problems found by the Romanian Audit Authority are associated with project selection and first-level verification procedures. As a result, the Commission decided to stop sending refunds to Romania for up to six months.