Brussels, 26/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - From September on, Romania is to have a minister responsible for coordinating the use of European funds, President Traian Basescu announced on Monday evening 25 July in an interview granted to the public television channel, TVR. The Institute for Public Policy (IPP), a Romanian NGO, had sounded the alarm bell recently in a report criticising the authorities for their “lack of transparency and vision” in the use of funds paid to the country by the EU.
The agencies responsible for controlling how funds are used will be coordinated by a minister after the parliament's summer break, when the structure of the government will be modified, the head of state explained, cited by AFP. This control must be independent and have the authority to impose its presence on the government, he went on. Bucharest receives around €20 billion between 2007 and 2013 from European funding (structural funds and others).
Bulgaria has already managed to improve the use of European funding by creating a special ministry for European funds. (L.C./transl.jl)