Romania improves absorption rate of EU funds, achieving 52 pct in 2014

The EU structural and cohesion funds’ absorption rate rose to nearly 52 percent (51.81%) in 2014, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of European Funds which indicate an absorption rate 3.5 times higher than at the end of 2012.

As a result, the amount to be reimbursed by the EU Commission based on the related requests submitted by Romania came to about 10 billion euro. The amount is nearly the same with the funds that Romania has already received – 10.7 billion euro, which include both advances and reimbursements.

“2014 has confirmed that Romania can achieve performance. The current absorption rate of European funds reached approximately 52 percent, while the Government’s plan foresees a rate between 50 and 80 percent at the end of 2015”, commented Eugen Teodorovici, Minister of European Funds, as per a press release.

Teodorovici also pointed out that for the second year in a row, Romania has not lost a single euro of the EU funds corresponding to the seven operational programmes, whereas the amounts paid by the EU Commission in the period between 2013 and 2014 more than doubled compared to 2007-2012.

“In 2015, the absorption rate should be much faster for Romania to raise as much money as possible of the amount it was allocated. I remind you, 2015 is the last one in which we are allowed to draw EU funds for the framework 2007-2013, therefore, the funds which will not be spent this year will be lost”, concluded the Minister.

The total funds Romania was assigned as per the financial framework 2007-2013 amount to 19.2 billion euro.