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The minister of the European funds, Aura Raducu resigned on Monday, being the second minister in the Ciolos cabinet who steps aside, after the Labour minister Ana Costea.
In a press statement posted on the ministry’s website later on, minister Aura Raducu explained that she had resigned at PM Ciolos’ request due to his discontent regarding the minister’s achievements in the European funds field.
“I resign from the European funds minister position at Mr. Prime Minister’s request. I accepted to join this governmental team with the thought that I will manage to introduce a new approach and a new type of management in this important field of European funds,” the resigning minister stated.
She further revealed ten of her goals as minister, among whom there is the conclusion of the 2007-2013 programmes with reaching an as highest as possible absorption rate, cutting off the blockages on cohesion policies, compliance with the ex-ante conditionalities (public policies for the main sectors: education, health, transport, waste management, etc) encompassed within the Partnership agreement with the European Commission, raising transparency rate in implementing the European programmes, correct information of the citizens on using European funds, implementing the My SMIS 2014 IT integrated system (2 modules have been already concluded), the launch of the 2014-2020 projects (about 80% of the EU allotment) or support for the initiation of big impact projects such as the subway line Gara de Nord-Otopeni airport, ELI-NP, DANUBIUS.
The resigning minister says that these priorities are in an advanced stage of implementation, while the Ministry has launched the project requests totaling over 40% of the allotments for the 2014-2020 programmes, with five programmes mountaing to about EUR 20 billion EU funds and national co-financing.
Aura Raduca also explains that contracts of over EUR 800 M are estimated to be signed in May.
“However, considering Mr. prime minister’s discontents related to the short-term goals regarding my activity, I resign from office at his request. I regret that I haven’t had the chance to accomplish the proposed actions, but I remain a supporter of the cohesion policy, of the European principles and of an as much efficient and professional as possible usage of the European funds for the economic and social development of the country,” reads the minister’s notice.
Three weeks ago, minister Raducu was informing that Romania is eligible to engage European funds of EUR 4 billion in April, following the projects staged and launched last year.
The financing targets large infrastructure, roads, environmental and research-innovation projects and the competitiveness programme launched last year, according to Raducu.
A week ago, Raducu’s ministry informed that the current absorption rate of European funds has reached 66.06%, on April 11, up from 65.8%.
Who is rumored to take over the portfolio?
PM Dacian Ciolos explained that he wants a new approach at the European Funds Ministry and that he would come up with a new proposal quite soon, “probably tomorrow.”
“I had a discussion with Mrs. Raducu last week and we both agreed on this. I appreciate her activity so far, she used all her expertize on European funds to unblock certain things, she personally got involved to unblock them (…) but we both agreed that at present I would like to get on a new approach at the ministry and under these circumstances I accepted her resignation,” PM Ciolos stated.
Political sources revealed to local news agencies that Cristian Ghinea, state adviser on Europan affairs, would be proposed to take over the European funds portfolio. His nomination is to be forwarded to President Iohannis.
Ghinea is a Romanian publicist and political scientist, who served as manager and member of the managing board of the Romanian Center for European Policies think tank. At the end of November last year, he accepted to join the state advisers’ team within the Romanian Gov’t Chancellery in the Ciolos Cabinet.
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