This year, Romania has requested the European Commission to reimburse approximately EUR 1.5 billion under the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy, and the amount will reach EUR 2.6 billion by June, according to a press release issued by the minister of investments and European projects. 

"In the first five months of the year, we managed to completely eliminate the risk of losing European funds for 2025. We are not losing a single euro," said minister Marcel Bolos, formerly serving as finance minister. 

Out of the total allocation of approximately EUR 31 billion for the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes, Romania has so far received EUR 3 billion from the European Commission, which represents 9.7% of the total EU allocation. This absorption rate is in line with the EU average, according to the ministry.

Romania will receive EUR 2.6 billion from the European Commission "in the coming period," and reimbursement requests this year will reach over EUR 4.4 billion, according to the press release.

The contracting and payments from the state budget for projects under the Cohesion Policy have overpaced the disbursement from the European Commission. Over the entire programming period, payments to beneficiaries totaled EUR 4.7 billion, of which EUR 4.3 billion are EU contributions, equivalent to 13.8% of the European allocation. Of these amounts, around half represent payments to beneficiaries in 2025.

The signing of financing contracts under the Cohesion Policy continues at a fast pace. 

During the first months of 2025, the total value of financing contracts signed with beneficiaries under the Cohesion Policy scheme reached EUR 9.4 billion, of which EUR 4.9 billion are EU funds. The total value of open project calls reached EUR 3.3 billion, of which some EUR 2.7 billion is EU funding.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Romolo Tavani/Dreamstime.com)