Corina Cretu has been the green light from the committee on regional development (REGI) to become the new commissioner for regional policy, stating during hearings that her main priority will be to help member states spend EU money, reports radio station Rfi.
Cretu said that the states in which the absorption of EU funds did not exceed 50 percent had to face “many difficulties” in the 2007-2012 period, but that the situation had improved in recent years.
Romania’s absorption of EU funds reached 37.96 percent at the end of September, according to data by the Ministry of EU funds. The country has to absorb EUR 3.5 billion worth of EU funds this year, so that the country does not lose these money.
The commissioner stated that the suspension of EU funds is an “exceptional measure” should be enforced following a long process in which a member state is warned to take proper steps to implement structural reforms.
Ovidiu Posirca