with Romanian local authorities
Danuta Hübner, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, on Tuesday welcomed an opportunity to build closer links with local representatives from Romania. "It is important that local elected representatives come to Brussels and build direct links with the European institutions," she told a group of 35 Romanian Mayors from Dolj county in the south-east of Romania. The meeting was hosted by a Member of European Parliament, Marian Jean Marinescu. "Constructive negotiations with the Romanian authorities have resulted in a policy which corresponds to EU Cohesion policy objectives. The five Programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund have been adopted, and now it is up to all stakeholders, at all levels (central, regional local) to work together to turn the 19.67 billion Euro available under Cohesion Policy into investments on the ground," she said.
Romanian authorities have made strategic choices for the development of their economy in physical infrastructure; investing in human capital and developing regional growth poles.
The Commissioner stressed the preconditions for achieving these goals:
– projects that comply with the national strategy ;
– high quality administration to implement programmes;
– transparency, respect of EU law, sound financial management.
Regarding project selection, the Commissioner stressed the importance of clear and transparent selection criteria. "Each project applicant whose project has not be chosen for funding should know the reasons why," she said. "People will feel disappointed, and they have a legitimate right to know what they can do better next time."
The Commissioner welcomed the commitment that Romania’s programmes show to the Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs. "There is no time to waste," she warned the Mayors. "Investing in innovation cannot wait for tomorrow – it needs to happen while you also build the infrastructure your country needs to connect it with TEN-T networks and while you work on achieving compliance with the acquis in the environment sector."
"Every Mayor needs to work with all actors (business, NGOs) within their town – but Mayors should also reach beyond their town’s borders and cooperate with colleagues within the county, the region, the central government, their counterparts in other European regions," she added. "They can learn from others’ experiences, successes and mistakes." Experience in successfully implementing their own projects would equip Mayors to contribute to the development of their towns, regions, country and indeed the whole of the EU, she said.
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