Romanian government to pay off debt to clear construction of EU-funded projects

Debts on the projects financed by EU funds will be settled by 1 September, the Ministry for Investments and European Projects has announced.

According to the executive president of the Association of Municipalities in Romania (AMR), Constantin Toma, payment delays have surpassed €800 million.

“There are very big delays, over €800 million, which put us in danger”, Toma said, adding that the construction companies are “threatening to terminate” the contracts if they are not paid.

To address this issue, the leaders of the Association of Municipalities in Romania discussed on Tuesday with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and several ministers.

As a result, the Ministry for Investments and European Projects has pledged to settle its debts by 1 September.

The President of the Association of Municipalities in Romania, Emil Boc, also stated that the country’s EU Minister Adrian Caciu promised them “a much faster mechanism for paying these invoices” in the future. He explained that there are risks due to these delays.

The delays have led the construction companies to contemplate termination of contracts or seek penalties, forcing “local administrations to take legal action against the government to recover funds”, Boc said.

Following the meeting, Ciolacu expressed his support for decentralising EU funds to the local administration.

In the coming weeks, the government is expected to develop “concrete decisions that will produce visible effects in this regard”, he added.

(Cătălina Mihai | EURACTIV.ro)