Romanian state poorly manages buildings used by diplomatic staff

The Romanian state is not cost effective in managing the buildings owned abroad which are used by the Romanian diplomatic personnel, according to a report by the Court of Accounts. The state rents buildings that are too big given the size of the diplomatic staff and their family members. A large part of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s budget is used for financing the foreign service, according to the audit. Moreover, the foreign service has a poor management performance and a vulnerable internal control system. The buildings owned abroad are overvalued, and are not used efficiently. Between 2012 and 2014, seven Romanian diplomatic missions used over EUR 835,000 from the state budget to rent property for housing, although the Romanian state owned property that could be used for housing in those countries. The Foreign Affairs Ministry annually manages about 650 rental contracts. editor@romania-insider.com