Brussels, 10/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - Romania's large-scale infrastructure operational programme (LIOP) for the period 2014-2020 was adopted by the European Commission on Friday 10 July. Almost €9.5 billion, close to half the €23 billion allocated to Romania under cohesion policy, will be invested in large-scale environmental, energy and transport projects.
The programme will, first and foremost, help implement the national transport master plan for the coming years as part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) which seeks to develop north-south and east-west transport infrastructure in Europe. Of the nine planned corridors (see EUROPE 11346), two pass through Romania: the Rhine-Danube corridor and the Orient-East Mediterranean corridor.
The other main points of the programme relate to improving energy efficiency and, more generally, environmental protection (notably in the water sector - see EUROPE 11352) and the prevention of risks related to climate change, in conjunction with the EUROPE 2020 strategy.
With national co-funding, the LIOP will have a budget of over €11.8 billion. (Pascal Hansens)