Romania did not learn anything from the previous period: 2% absorption in the first four years of 2007-2013 and 2.7% absorption in the first four years of the 2014-2020 period.
The Major Infrastructure (2014-2020) program, whose allocation is EUR9.4 billion, only used EUR418 million or 4.4% of the entire amount in four years. This explains why Romania did not inaugurate a single kilometer of highway in 2017.
“There are three main reasons for the poor absorption. First is the excessive red tape, second is the lack of information and third the lack of co-financing. Moreover, the merger of the European Funds Ministry with the Development Ministry made the European Commission require re-certification of the RDAs (regional development agencies i.e.), which delayed absorption by one year,” said Petru Luhan, EU fund consultant.
The delayed absorption of EU funds was the delay in the completion of programs and in launching calls for projects, says another EU fund consultant, Cosmin Dragoi.
“(…) The programs should have been done before the start of the funding period. We did not hurry; the European Commission did not hurry either. What should have been done before 2014 was done in 2015 – 2016 so the reimbursements started to arrive in late 2017. The merger of the European Fund Ministry and of the Development Ministry did not help, either,” Dragoi said.
The EU fund minister Marius Nica who has recently resigned last week said Romania could lose EUR1.5 billion in non-repayable funds in 2018 because of the delay in fund absorption.
“2018 is the most important year, Romania could lose EUR1.5 billion of the current funding period for good. Every day wasted is a crime against Romania’s economic development.”
Nica could not be reached for further explanation but Luhan says the danger of losing money is real because the funds unused in a specific period of time revert to Brussels and are returned to those contributing to the EU budget.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)