EIB: Romania Registers Delays In All Stages Of EU Fund Absorption Process

05.26.2011 By Tudor Ioana Raluca

Romania registers delays in all phases of the EU fund absorption process, also because financing must be ensured before projects are approved, Thursday said Milena Messori, head of the European Investment Bank's office in Bucharest.

Messori said delays appear in the public procurement process, which is frequently contested, as well as in the implementation phase.

She pointed out the European Investment Bank did not impose a cap on the sums it may grant to Romania.

The EIB official stressed that the Government changed its EU fund absorption strategy from proposing new projects to using the sums already approved by EIB, the European Union and other financial institutions.

Messori said the fact projects are not approved unless financing is ensured first causes delays in the fund absorption process.

She highlighted that in Poland the fund absorption process is successful, as applications to obtain funds for investments are filed after projects are approved.

A study compiled by consultancy firm KPMG reveals that Romania's European fund absorption continues to be the lowest in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with especially low payment ratios recorded for transport and environmental programs.

The study says Romania paid grants of only EUR1.5 billion by the end of 2010, or 7% of the EUR23.3 billion budget available for 2007-2013 through seven operational programs, from the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund.