Starting July 1, Romania stopped sending the European Commission refund requests for the four operational programs. In the meantime, the EC checked whether the Romanian authorities observed the commitments made last year.
In December 2011, the EC 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.
“The European Commission found a series of irregularities in the Romanian public procurement system and will make financial corrections,” the sources said.
Financial corrections will be negotiated with the Romanian authorities for each program, the sources added.
According to an official document obtained by Mediafax in July, Walter Deffaa, general manager of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional Policy (DG REGIO), and Angela Martinez-Sarasola, the head of the DG REGIO office for Romania, told Romanian Ambassador to the European Union Mihnea Motoc that the country’s plan targeting to increase the EU fund absorption rate has failed and authorities refuse assistance from financial institutions, while the administration is paralyzed by the current national context. Authorities accept the recommendations made by the Commission, usually without also implementing them, they added.
The Romanian Government said in a statement at that time that the remarks by the European Commission regarding Romania’s EU fund absorption plan represent only a “general approach” to the matter.