Romanian Government To Hire Private Experts To Avoid Losing EUR6.5M In EU Funds

The Romanian government will hire private experts to analyze requests for European financing and will pay them EUR280 per day for a period of two years, ensuring the money from EU funds and the state budget, according to an official document.

According to the document, authorities have scarce human resources compared to the number of EU fund requests waiting to be analyzed and the number of yet unprocessed refund requests. Therefore, the country stands to lose EUR6.5 billion at the end of 2013 of the EU funds available for 2007-2013 unless prompt measures are applied, the document reads.

Experts will make over EUR6,000 per month and their contracts will be valid for 24 months. They will be selected based on agreements signed by the Ministry for European Funds with about 40 recruitment firms.

The total value of services will exceed EUR7.7 million, VAT excluded, and the ministry may increase the budget.

Experts are expected to verify EU fund reimbursement requests in no more than five working days and financing requests in at most 15 working days. The deadlines may be prolonged only in exceptional cases.

Romania and Slovakia might get another year to attract the funds available for 2007-2013, according to a European Commission proposition.

Romania attracted EUR712 million in European structural and cohesion fund in the first five months of the year and the country”s fund absorption rate reached only 15% at the end of May, from 11.4% at the end of last year.

Romania has been allotted EUR20 billion in structural funds for 2007-2013 and has attracted only EUR2.9 billion of the money so far.