Romania's EU Funds Minister complains of painful mission to absorb EU funds

Romania’s European Funds Minister Marius Nica said that the 2014-2020 financial exercise will be a painful one for the country, due to the large amount of European funds Romania needs to absorb, reports local Ziarul Financiar. About EUR 23 billion worth of European funds are available for Romania until 2020. The Minister’s comment was seen as a complaint on receiving too much money and has stirred negative comments, as most countries struggle to get more funds. Even the current Prime Minister Victor Ponta criticized the former Romanian president Traian Basescu for failing to attract more European funds. Between 2007 and 2013, Romania had the chance to attract EUR 19 billion worth of EU funds, but managed to absorb only 52% of the total funds. It ranks last in the EU for the capacity to absorb EU funds. Greece has attracted some 90% of the available funds. The EU Funds Minister said that the current absorption rate of EU funds from the 2007-2013 programming period amounts to 64%. However, he has taken into consideration the final amounts received by the beneficiaries, which included the national co-financing, namely money from the Romanian state. editor@romania-insider.com