European officials, concerned with the issue of co-financing for European projects

Anastassios Bougas, head of the Unit for Romania in the General Regional Politics Department of the European Commission yesterday expressed his concern on the ability of regional authorities to come up with their share of funding for projects financed using European funds. According to a press release sent to the editorial office, the European official expressed his concern with the fact that the deadlock of the banking market prevents potential beneficiaries from accessing loans that could help co-financed projects.

Elena Udrea, the Minister of Development and Tourism, reaffirmed her commitment, as part of yesterday"s meeting with Anastassios Bougas, for a constructive approach to the issues arising when implementing projects: "We need to be creative in order to come up with solutions for the issues which arise, in particular when it comes to the difficulties that local authorities are faced with when co-financing projects, but within the limits imposed by the International Monetary Fund. My main goal is to use the available European funding. As for regional development, I feel that it needs to start with the resources which tourism provides".

Anastassios Bougas expressed his appreciation for the team working on the implementation of the Regional Operational Program (POR), which he said was the most important program currently implemented in Romania. The agenda also included a discussion between the two officials in charge of the implementation of the Axis 1 of the Regional Operational Program - Supporting durable urban development - on the progress of the project. Minister Elena Udrea stressed that this segment would receive special attention this year, as she has already had talks with those responsible for the project.