Brussels, 04/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 3 September, the European Commission lifted the block on the Romanian operational programme Human Resources Development (HRD) for the period from 2007 to 2013, after forming the view that the Romanian authorities had put in place the necessary corrective measures.
This is a decision that will release over €480 million frozen for several months while awaiting improved financial management and monitoring of the programme, the objective of which is to improve human capital by putting in place training schemes that reflect the needs of the national labour market. The ultimate goal is to create the conditions for sustainable development and a successful knowledge-based economy.
On 30 December 2014, Romania submitted an interim payment request (no 39) for nearly €460 million as part of the mono-fund HRD operational programme financed by the European social fund (ESF). On 25 February, on the basis of a report by the Romanian audit authority, which had put the management of the programme into category 3, that is to say, major weakness had been detected, the Commission decided to halt the payment procedure for six months, to allow time for corrective measures to be taken. After this period, if the measures taken were deemed to be insufficient, the Commission could have opened a suspension procedure, possibly resulting in financial penalties for Romania.
A fresh audit was carried out by the national audit authority in June and July and clear improvements were found to have been brought to management of the programme and monitoring arrangements. This allowed the programme to be moved up into category 2, meaning that it was viable even though further improvements were possible. Thereafter a second audit was conducted, this time by the Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, between 10 and 20 August. The results bore out those of the national audit, allowing the payment procedure to be resumed.
On 24 August, the Romanian authorities submitted a fresh interim payment request (no 40) for more than €22 million building in the corrective measures requested by the Commission and also payment request no 39. (Pascal Hansens)