Romania has no project approved yet under Juncker’s investment plan

Romania is among three EU member states that didn’t get any financing to date under the major investment initiative that was rolled out by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, in 2015.

The minister of finance, Anca Dragu, said there are over 220 operations that were already approved under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

“Romania is not among the states (with approved operations – e.n.), but it is good to know that over EUR 11 billion worth of resources have already been deployed. These are loans, and the value of projects and investments they have mobilized exceed EUR 80 billion, which already represents a share of 26 percent of the target assumed within the plan,” according to a message that was delivered by an official of the Ministry of Finance, in the name of Dragu.

The investment plan unveiled by EC head, Jean-Claude Juncker, aims to mobilize at least EUR 315 billion between 2015 and 2017.

According to a study commissioned by the European Institute in Romania (IER), Juncker’s plan could help Romania’s GDP grow by 0.95 percent in a pessimistic scenario and by 4.75 percent in the optimistic scenario.

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The study further states that Romania needs investments based on EFSI to recover the gap in development compared to the rest of the EU.

Romania has submitted a list of infrastructure projects worth billions of euros, hoping they could be financed through the EFSI.

This included the planned Iasi-Bors highway worth EUR 7.5 billion and a new subway line in Bucharest, which needs EUR 3.1 billion.

Ovidiu Posirca