Romania attracted 90% of EU funds by end 2016

Romania attracted approximately EUR 17 billion out of the EUR 18.8 billion allotted to it for the 2007 – 2013 time frame, according to a report by Romania’s National Bank (BNR) quoted by daily Adevarul. This translates in a 90.4% absorption rate, which is about 5 percentage points below that of states such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. Approximately two thirds of the funds, or EUR 4 billion per case, went to projects in three major areas: the development of transport infrastructure, environment protection, and the development of the educational and continuous professional training infrastructure and micro-enterprises development. The remaining third went to labor force training and the development of social inclusion. Still, the BNR report shows the results of the trainings for the unemployed were modest as the rate of structural unemployment remains at over 6% and the occupancy rate of the 20 to 64 year-olds is at lower levels than the EU average and below the 70% target established in the Europe 2020 strategy. The same report highlights the fact that although in Romania public investment as a percentage of the GDP is higher than those in the other 10 new EU member states, they do not translate in similar quality road infrastructure. Romania places last among the 10 states in this respect. Romania attracted EU funding as part of two Multiannual Financial Frameworks since 2007. During the first framework, the absorption speed was the lowest in the EU, according to BNR, probably because of the slow development of the needed administrative infrastructure. Deputy PM: Romania should get EUR 5.2 bln EU funds this year editor@romania-insider.com