New agreement aims to improve impact of investments, maximize use of EU funding in RO

A tripartite agreement between the Romanian Government, the World Bank, and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG Regio) of the European Commission will support Romania in improving the impact of investments in urban areas and maximizing its use of EU funding.

The partnership will focus on analytical and advisory work, during the next six months. It is designed to support Romania in adopting a stronger focus on cross-sectoral and inter-jurisdictional approaches, and to better respond to the needs of territories that may not be defined by one clear administrative boundary.

To ensure that the benefits of city development also contribute to the development of municipalities situated near Romania’s development poles, it is critical to devise and encourage inter-jurisdictional cooperation and development, the World Bank said in a press release.

Moreover, based on the lessons learnt on implementation from the previous and current programming period, it is necessary to prepare the outline of urban investment planning to be ready by 2020, and, in parallel, enable Romanian municipalities to prepare a mature pipeline of EU investments, to be ready for physical implementation starting in 2021, the institution said.