Romania to receive EUR 306 mln in EEA and Norway grants by 2014

Newsroom 15/04/2013 | 06:59

The funding allotted to Romania in the second phase of the EEA and Norway grants program, which aims to bring the domestic economy in line with the standards of more mature EU members, has tripled to EUR 305.6 million.

Romania received the second biggest allocation after Poland out of the 15 states that qualify for the grants system supported by Iceland and Liechtenstein, along with Norway, which provides 97 percent of the financing. Public authorities, private companies and NGOs are eligible for grants.

In the first phase, Romania was allotted EUR 98.5 million and achieved an absorption rate of 85 percent, which was used to finance 65 individual projects. The developed projects addressed a wide array of matters, from the restoration of landmark buildings to the extensions of the sewerage network and the setting up of prevention programs in the healthcare field.

For instance, the ASTRA museum in Sibiu used a EUR 2.4 million grant to build a new conservation and storage centre for cultural heritage objects.

Øystein Hovdkinn, the Norwegian ambassador to Romania, said, “We want Romania, the largest country in South Eastern Europe, to become as wealthy, prosperous and developed as (countries) in Western Europe.” He added that the grants aim to enhance the country’s social and economic development and strengthen bilateral ties between Norway and Romania.

The ambassador stated that a fund worth EUR 30 million will be launched this week for NGOs seeking to develop projects, as part of the fresh allocation program. The donors have decided to expand the allocations for Romanian projects to EUR 305.6 million and have set up 23 programs to help the absorption.

The Romanian authorities will mainly act as program operators and the Ministry of European Funds will play a central role in managing the granting system, along with the public bodies from donor states.

The focus of the Norway grants will be on improving the situation of the Roma, supporting judicial reform and combating organized crime. Protecting biodiversity and cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector are other priorities in the new program.

“So far, two projects have been launched and we hope that most of the 23 will be launched this year,” said Hilde Berit Eide, counselor for EEA & Norway Grants at the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

She expects more projects to be implemented under the new program, hoping the absorption rate will ultimately increase. The open call for projects and the selection will take place this year. The projects are expected to be completed by 2016, but the deadline could be extended by one year.

Ovidiu Posirca

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