Reimbursement of EU funds, "simpler"

The Government intends to simplify the procedures for processing requests for reimbursement the funds.

Many have criticized the bureaucracy of the system, including Minister for European Affairs, Leonard Orban, pointing out that it is one of the reasons of the low rate of funds absorption from the European Union.

With the drastic reduction of foreign investment and bank loans, the authorities claim that European funds should become the main source of economic development, and Leonard Orban spoke again about the importance of improving the absorption rate.

European Affairs Minister Leonard Orban said that currently the real rate of absorption of European funds has exceeded 9 per cent and the goal for this end of the year remains an absorption rate of 20 percent.

He said he would propose within the government meeting a series of measures to simplify the procedures for processing requests for reimbursement, but also reminded other things to do to improve the absorption.

"We will focus, in the first instance, on simplifying the processing of what means the reimbursement requests processing both from the point of view of structures that manage the funds and of beneficiaries.

"The institutional framework is extremely important. I support and strongly firm for coordination by a single ministry of all structures that manage funds. Lack of coordination led us to results that we have today," said Leonard Orban.

He added that he takes into consideration the possibility of outsourcing certain activities by banks, non-bank institutions or NGOs from organizing auctions, all to improve the efficiency of these activities.

European Affairs Minister drew attention once again that the structural funds will be more difficult to spend from the financial year 2014-2020 because of tighter compliance.

Executive Secretary of the Consultative Council for Business, Ionel Blănculescu, mentioned some conclusions of an analysis performed within the council.

"40 per cent of Romanian projects are ballast projects. The proposal to courageously eliminate these 40 per cent of projects that do nothing but block the other 60 percent, these ballast projects that actually represent 80 -90 per cent of the organisms activity working in this field, because they are those that require all kinds of analysis assessments, expert review, re-assessments and so on, "said Ionel Blănculescu.

Ionel Blănculescu also said that according to data from businesses environment, many of the auctions held in the absorption of European funds are manipulated, especially by introducing the specifications of unduly restrictive conditions.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University