Central bank governor: Net EU funds inflows, some 1.8% of the GDP per year

Romania has benefited from EU funds worth EUR 45.7 billion, representing an annual average of 2.8% of its gross domestic product, between 2007 and 2017, according to Romania’s National Bank (BNR) governor Mugur Isarescu. Of the total sum, EUR 37.1 billion came from the 2007-2013 financial exercise and the remaining EUR 8.6 billion from the ongoing 2014-2020 exercise. “As a net value, also considering Romania’s contribution to the EU budget, the net EU fund inflows were EUR 30.4 billion, namely 1.8% of the GDP per year,” Isarescu said. “We could say that these figures should make us relatively happy. For Romania, EU funds are more than these figures, they are the chance to modernize the economy and the country and to create the infrastructure so badly needed for durable development," Isarescu said at a conference dedicated to EU funds. The BNR governor thinks that the European funds should systematically be directed into big development projects prioritized so that they support durable growth. editor@romania-insider.com