THE "EUROPEAN FUNDS" CONFERENCE - 6TH EDITION / FLORIN IORDACHE, CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES: "The rate of absorption is low, we must do more to attract European funds"

Attracting European funds is a solution for Romania's sustainable development, and for increasing the number of jobs, respectively, says Mr. Florin Iordache, the president of the Commission for Labor and Social Security of the Chamber of Deputies, who added that according to the statistical data of the National Agency for Workforce Employment (ANOFM), in March 2014, the national rate of unemployment was 5.56%, 0.27 percentage points lower than in the previous year. According to Mr. Iordache, the same data shows that the employment rate among the population aged 20 to 64 has been 63.9% in 2013, up 0.1% over the previous year.

Mr. Iordache mentioned that the degree of absorption of the EU funds through the European Social Fund, through POSDRU 2007-2013, was 28.75%, "while we have a financial correction of 25% applied". "The rate of absorption is low, we need to do more to attract these European funds".

He said: "POSDRU (the Sectoral Operational Program for the Development of Resources) is aimed at developing the human capital and increasing competitiveness, by correlating education and learning throughout life with the labor market and with ensuring enhanced opportunities for a future participation on a modern and flexible labor market that will be inclusive for 1.65 million people". Florin Iordache added that the goal of this program is not to create a certain number of jobs, but instead it is designed to create an adequate preparation of the workforce in order to meet the requirements of the market.

The European Social Fund is the main tool by which the European Union finances programs dedicated to increasing the employment rate in the EU member states. The ESF finances the following priorities: increasing the adaptability of workers and companies; increasing access and participation on the labor market; promoting social inclusion by working against discrimination and facilitating market access for disadvantaged people.

The member states of the European Union have access to financing from the ESF under a programming period of seven years.