EU financing

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EU Financing

Please note: the programs related to agriculture, fisheries and rural development are described in the agri-food section. The structural and cohesion funds are explained here.

1. Structural and cohesion funds

Since its accession on 1 January 2007, Romania is eligible for EU structural and cohesion funds. In April 2006 the Romanian Government approved the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007 – 2013. It is a general document that outlines how Romania intends to implement EU Structural and Cohesion policies. The objectives of the NSRF are 1.) to reduce the social and economic development disparities between Romania and the EU Member States and 2.) to reduce the disparities with the EU by generating an additional 10% increase in Romania’s GDP by 2015. It budgets the use of € 19.6 billion of Structural and Cohesion funds in the period 2007 – 2013. The funds are allocated per sector of which environment and transport are the largest.

2. Operational Programmes

For each sector, an Operational Programme has been approved. The English-language versions are available on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.They give detailed information on the priority sectors for using the funds. The table below presents an overview.

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Transport Sectoral Operational Programme	1. Modernization and development of TEN-T priority axes	Modernization and development of road infrastructure along the TEN-T priority axis 7
		Modernization and development of railway infrastructure along the TEN-T priority axis 22
		Modernization and development of water transport infrastructure along the TEN-T priority axis 18
	2. Modernization and development of the national transport infrastructure outside the TEN-T priority axes	Modernization and development of national road infrastructure
		Modernization and development of national railway infrastructure and passenger service
		Modernization and development of river and maritime ports
		Modernization and development of air transport infrastructure
	3. Modernization of transport sector aiming at higher degree of environmental protection, human health and passenger safety	Promote inter-modal transport
		Improve traffic safety across all transport modes
		Minimize adverse effects of transport on the environment
	4. Technical Assistance	Provide support for effective SOPT managing, implementing, monitoring and controlling Provide support for information and publicity regarding SOPT

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Environment Sectoral Operational Programme	1. Extension and modernization of water and wastewater infrastructure /	Extension/modernization of water and wastewater systems
	2. Development of integrated waste management systems and rehabilitation of historically contaminated sites	Development of integrated waste management systems and extension of waste management infrastructure
		Rehabilitation of old ecological burdens
	3. Reduction of pollution and mitigation of climate change by restructuring and renovating urban heating systems towards energy efficiency targets in the identified local environmental hotspots	Rehabilitation of urban heating systems in selected priority areas

	4. Implementation of adequate management systems for nature protection	Development of infrastructure and management plans to protect biodiversity and Natura 2000
	5. Implementation of adequate infrastructure of natural risk prevention in most vulnerable areas	Protection against floods
		Reduction of coastal erosion

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Increase of Economic Competitiveness Sectoral Operational Programme	1. An innovative and eco-efficient productive system	Productive and environmentally friendly investments and preparation for market competition, especially of SMEs
		Access to credit and financing instruments for SMEs
		Sustainable entrepreneurship development
	2. Research, Technological Development and Innovation for Competitiveness	R&D partnerships between universities/research institutes, and enterprises for generating results directly applicable in economy
		Investments in RDI infrastructure
		RDI support for enterprises
	3. Information and Communications Technologies for private and public sectors	Supporting the Information Technology use
		Developing and increasing the efficiency of electronic public services
		Sustaining the E-Economy
	4. Increased energy efficiency and security of supply, in the context of combating climate change	Efficient and sustainable energy (improving energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the energy system)
		Valorisation of renewable energy resources for producing green energy
		Diversification of interconnection networks in view of strengthening security of energy supply
	5. Romania as an attractive destination for tourists and businesses	Promotion of Romanian tourism potential
		Development of a National Tourism Information and Promotion Centres network
	6. Technical Assistance

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Regional Operational Programme	1. Support to sustainable development of urban growth poles	Integrated urban development plans
	2.Improvement of regional and local transport infrastructure	Rehabilitation and modernization of the county roads and urban streets network- including construction/rehabilitation of ring roads
	3. Improvement of social infrastructure	Rehabilitation, modernisation and equipping of the health services’ infrastructure;
		Rehabilitation, modernization, development and equipping of social services infrastructure;
		Improving the equipments of the operational units for public safety interventions in emergency situations;
		Rehabilitation, modernization, development and equipping of pre–university, university education and continuous vocational training infrastructure.
	4. Strengthening the regional and local business environment	Development of business support structures
		Industrial sites rehabilitation
		Support to develop micro-enterprises
	5. Sustainable development and promotion of regional and local tourism	Restoration and sustainable valorization of cultural heritage and setting up/ modernization of related infrastructure
		Creation, development, modernization of the tourism infrastructure for sustainable valorization of natural resources and for increasing the quality of tourism services
		Promoting the tourism potential and setting-up the needed infrastructure in order to increase Romania’s attractivity as tourism destination
	6. Technical assistance	Support for the implementation, overall management and evaluation of the ROP
	6. Technical assistance	Support for the publicity and information activities of the ROP

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Human Resources Development Operational Programme	1. Education and training in support of growth and development of knowledge based society	Access to quality education and initial VET;
		Quality in higher education;
		Human resources development in education and training;
		Quality in CVT;
		Doctoral and post-doctoral programmes in support of research.
	2. Linking life long learning and labour market	Transition from school to active life;
		Preventing and correcting early school leaving;
		Access and participation in CVT.
	3. Increasing adaptability of labour force and companies	Promoting entrepreneurial culture;
		Training and support for enterprises and employees to promote adaptability;
		Development of partnerships and encouraging initiatives for social partners and civil society.
	4. Modernising the Public Employment Service	Strengthening the Public Employment Service capacity to provide employment services;
		Training of PES staff.
	5. Promoting active employment measures	Developing and implementing active employment measures;
		Promoting long term sustainability of rural areas in terms of human resources development and employment.
	6. Promoting social inclusion	Developing social economy;
		Improving the access and participation of vulnerable groups on the labour market;
		Promoting equal opportunities on the labour market;
		Trans-national initiatives on inclusive labour market.
	7. Technical assistance

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Administrative Capacity Development Operational Programme	1. Structural and process improvements of the public policy management cycle	Improve political-administrative decision making
		Strengthen the accountability framework
		Improve organisational effectiveness
	2. Improved quality and efficiency of the delivery of public services on a decentralised basis	Support the sectoral service decentralisation process
		Improve the quality and efficiency of service delivery
	3. Technical assistance

Operational Programme	Priority Axis	Key areas of intervention
Technical Assistance Operational Programme	1. Support to the implementation of structural instruments and coordination of programmes
	2. Further development and support for the functioning of the Single Management Information System
	3. Dissemination of Information and Promotion of Structural Instruments

3. Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies

For each programme, a Managing Authority has been assigned. The Managing Authority carries the responsibility for the implementation of the Operational Programme. In some cases, the Managing Autorities have delegated the implementation of (parts of) their programme to other organisations, called Intermediate Bodies.

Operational Programme	Managing Authority	Intermediate Body
Increase of Economic Competitiveness OP	Ministry of Economy	- Ministry of SME’s, Trade and Tourism - Ministry of Education and Research (National Authority for Scientific Research ) - Ministry of Communication and Information Technology - Ministry of Economy and Finance (Energy Policy General Directorate)
Transport OP	Ministry of Transport
Environment OP	Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development	Regional Environment Protection Agencies
Regional OP	Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing	-Regional Development Agencies www.nord-vest.ro/ www.adrse.ro/ www.adrbi.ro/content.php www.adrmuntenia.ro/ www.adrcentru.ro/ www.adrnordest.ro/ www.adroltenia.ro/newro/indexu.php www.adr5vest.ro/ - Ministry of SME’s, Trade and Business Environment
Human Resources Development OP	Ministry of Labour	- National Agency for Employment - Ministry of Education and Research (Education Department) - 8 Regional Development Agencies - National Center for the development of Professional Education
Administrative Capacity Development OP	Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform
Technical Assistance OP	Ministry of Finance

The Managing Authorities and/or the Intermediate Bodies are the proper contacts for further information on the programmes.

4. Programming documents

The next layer of information consist of the Programming Documents (or Cadru de Implementare) developed for each Operational Programme, These documents specify details such as maximum allocation per project, types of beneficiaries and other criteria. They are generally available in the Romanian language only, and may be found on the websites of the Managing Authorities.

The Managing Authorities will publish calls for proposals on the basis of Applicant’s Guides. These guides will further detail selection criteria and the documentation that needs to be submitted with each project proposal; this will generally include a feasibility study. The application needs to be made in the Romanian language. The calls for proposals will be published on the websites of the Managing Authorities.

The rules for procurement will be the Romanian National Procurement Rules.

The selection / approval process will probably last 2-3 months since the moment of receiving the applications. The contracts/ financial agreements with the applicants will be concluded in Romanian currency.

A summary of the opportunities for the funding of business investments has been made by the company Becker Consult and can be found here.

Useful information is also available on www.fonduri-structurale.ro

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

EVD

Netherlands Romanian Chamber of Commerce

De Nederlandse Vereniging (nederland.ro)

Administrative Capacity Development Operational Programme