Romania loses EUR 1 billion in the transportation field, money that could have been spent in the 2007-2013 financial period, says the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu. With this amount, between 100 and 200 kilometres of highway could be built, depending on the relief, says the European commissioner.
The distance between Pitesti and Sibiu is 155 km.
„Transportation sector is the weakness that we had in the last 10 years. It is the country that has the lowest percentage in the transportation sector. We received only 77% of the invoices for the amount allocated to the transportation sector. For the period 2007-2013, unfortunately, we shall have losses of EUR 1 billion only in the transportation sector,” said the European Commissioner Corina Cretu at a press conference organized by Bucharest, quoted by News.ro.
Commissioner Corina Cretu announced on Monday that she talked with the Minister of Transportation Razvan Cuc about the current financial interval 2014-2020, when the most advanced European-funded project, the „leading project” Sibiu-Pitesti, is still in the feasibility study phase.
The European Commissioner also said that the priority projects should include the Bucharest ring road, the metro to Otopeni or Ploiesti – Bacau road.
„We should have several projects symbolically started, because once they are in progress, even if we would inaugurate only a few lots during this period, each government that will come to power will be forced to continue them in the next financial years,” Corina Cretu explained.
„Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, made 300 kilometres of highway in three years, just as we made in 10 years,” said Commissioner Corina Cretu.
The European Commissioner also said that Romania had a total of EUR 19 billion from the European funds for the period 2007-2014, of which it loses EUR 2 billion but only because Brussels accepted that the projects that have not been completed in the 2007-2014 financial period to also be financed in the next financial period.
„Our estimations are that the absorption would be somewhere between 90% -91%, maybe if there are not very big corrections. It means that EUR 17 billion have come to the real economy of Romania. This absorption from the latest interval has been made because we have run many projects, which means that we had to give no money back,” Corina Cretu said.
Romania is the only EU country that sends thousand-page signed projects instead of sending them electronically
The Commissioner also mentioned the stifling bureaucracy in Romania for accessing the European funds, as the country is the only member state that sends thousands of signed pages to Brussels when the Commission encourages the use of the electronic version.
„We (the Commission – editor’s note) usually do not change the rules during the process.
Usually, the national state adds a lot of bureaucracy. Prime Minister also said at our first meeting that during his mandate as President of the Timis County Council, he spent the first four days signing and stamping thousands of pages, as he was told that this is the requirement from Brussels.
This is not a requirement from Brussels, on the contrary. Romania is the only member state that still sends thousand-page signed projects. There are 6,000-page projects and the requirement of the national authorities is to sign and stamp them. On the contrary, we try to simplify the procedures. From our point of view, we encourage what we call e-Cohesion, namely sending the projects electronically, we encourage the simplified cost.
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