The Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Bolos, stated on Thursday that the absorption rate of European funds for the period 2021-2027 is 9.4% at this time, noting that it is "a period in which absorption is beginning to return to normal."
Asked, after the government meeting, what the current absorption rate is for the funds for the period 2021-2027, Marcel Bolos said it is 9.4%.
"It is, if you will, a period in which absorption is starting to return to normal. I said that we have prepared payment applications, some we have sent, others are in the process of sending. The objective is to close at the end of May with 1.8 billion euros sent to the Commission and, probably, somewhere in late June - early July to collect them. We also have a new set of payment applications scheduled for July, somewhere around 1.5 billion euros, so that we receive a new tranche from the Cohesion Policy, where there is more money than in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan," explained Bolos.
He mentioned that, also in July, it is planned, if the Government becomes functional, to send payment request number 4, with a value of 5.7 billion euros.
"Romania's money is at stake and, from our point of view, we must mobilize so that we can have the largest possible amount absorbed," added Bolos.
Bolos was also asked about four new areas that could be introduced into the Cohesion Policy and where unused money could be redirected - decarbonization, water, social housing and armaments - and how much money our country could offer for these new areas.
"We had discussions with the European Commission on these four new investment components, namely for what the decarbonization part means in particular. I confess that, further, I believe that supporting activities for what Romania's manufacturing industry means, activities that are specific to industrial production are a priority for Romania and in the Cohesion Policy. We must make room for these types of investments that the business environment can implement and, of course, we have a consistent package, which is part of the specific amendments that we promoted in the Cohesion Policy. I also hope that by the end of July, September at the latest, we will have, somehow, at least agreed in principle, the amendments related to the Cohesion Policy and I would be most happy if the allocations of European funds for the manufacturing industry would take shape. Then, indeed, through these multiannual programs and through these "multiannual fund allocations to enter an area of predictability for industrial production activities, which are Romania's chance for economic recovery," Marcel Bolos also explained.