Aura Raducu has resigned from the Ciolos government

Key move. Romania’s minister of EU funds, Aura Raducu, has resigned

Newsroom 25/04/2016 | 14:18

The minister of EU funds, Aura Raducu, said Monday she has resigned following a request from PM Dacian Ciolos.

Raducu said in a statement that Ciolos had been dissatisfied with her results regarding the short term objectives.

She added that during her mandate, the Ministry of EU funds has launched project calls accounting for over 40 percent of the programs allotted in the 2014-2020 – five programs with a total value of EUR 20 billion out of EU funds and national co-financing.

“There has been a good planning of actions in the next period, so it is forecasted that contracts worth over EUR 800 million will be inked by May. The launch of new projects will be continued, so as to reach 80 percent of launches and to use around EUR 1.4 billion out of funds received as down payment from the EU,” said Raducu.

She said that some of the priorities her mandate included the closure of EU-funded programs under the 2007-2013 programming period and the granting of support for the start of large infrastructure projects such as the metro line Gara de Nord – Otopeni Airport or the laser research project ELI-NP at Magurele.

Raducu has been coordinating EU funded projects in the public sector for close to two decades. Her resignation comes one week after Dragos Pislaru was named the new minister of labor.

The Ciolos government has been in power since November 2015.