Ascultă Radio România Actualitaţi Live

Commissioner Creţu:I no longer accept insults from the Romanian Government

Corina Creţu: I publicly announce that I no longer accept insults from the Romanian Government towards my work.

Commissioner Creţu:I no longer accept insults from the Romanian Government

08 Octombrie 2018, 22:31

“I no longer accept insults from the Romanian Government”, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, said on Monday in a press conference in Brussels. Statement comes in response to repeated admonishments for speaking the truth, after EU Commissioner warned authorities in Bucharest that Romania is losing EU money due to lack of projects.

"It is my duty, as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy, to alert all Member States, including Romania, on the risk of losing or disengaging funds, especially in the field of infrastructure, given that they are complex works that require years to be completed, and I have to do my job and say when a country risks losing its chances to develop for the generations to come. As you know, since I became European Commissioner for Regional Policy, I have tried to help with the absorption rate for the less developed regions. In Romania’s case, we have made extraordinary efforts, in the sense that we have phased out many projects worth three billion euros, we have practically relieved the national budget of three billion euros, money that would have been lost", said the European high-ranking official, in a press conference held in Brussels.

"We have approved retrospective projects, meaning projects that are being carried out but for which the Romanian state has paid loans to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). We have taken over payment of the salaries of all workers on European funds so that the absorption rate for the period 2007 - 2013 increased to 90. Two billion euros have been lost, unfortunately in the most vulnerable and most necessary area for Romania, Transport. For the period 2014-2020, we are making superhuman efforts to avoid fund disengagement. There is a risk of losses this year. At the beginning of the year it was 800 million, but we are working with the Romanian authorities to minimize these funds that are under the Regional Operational Program", Creţu continued.

EU Commissioner added that in the area of infrastructure there is not yet a risk of loss for this year, precisely because there are projects that have been started over the past years.

"I do not understand the tension that has been created between me and the Government because I said things by name. We have money in Brussels for infrastructure projects, but we have no projects". Târgu Mureş – Iaşi (highway, n.a.) is a priority of the European Commission, and I say it with all sincerity here, on the podium of the European Commission, we need to complete the infrastructure projects that connect Europe, especially with the Republic of Moldova, Moldavia, Central and Eastern Europe", Commissioner Creţu said.

We have money for feasibility studies, we have no demand for these feasibility studies”, Corina Creţu added.

"If we make the offer and we can do the feasibility study by 2020-2021 and start building the Târgu Mureş - Iaşi highway, I think we would take a step forward and it would be an important step. Unfortunately, we saw that in its sitting, the Government announced that it wants to build this highway in the public-private partnership system. Our specialists are not comfortable with this approach, because it means deprioritizing this investment. From our point of view, you know very well that in the European ATM Master Plan, Târgu Mureş - Iaşi highway is a priority. Therefore, we expect projects”, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, underlined.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei

Ciolacu: There are clear signs that the strategic partnership with the US is entering a new economic dimension
News in English 31 Ianuarie 2025, 18:47

Ciolacu: There are clear signs that the strategic partnership with the US is entering a new economic dimension

The government has completed all the preliminary procedures to be able to adopt this year's draft state budget on...

Ciolacu: There are clear signs that the strategic partnership with the US is entering a new economic dimension
Hidroelectrica fined for disclosing customers' personal data
News in English 31 Ianuarie 2025, 18:46

Hidroelectrica fined for disclosing customers' personal data

State-owned company Hidroelectrica, the largest electricity producer in Romania, has been fined 74.000 lei by the National...

Hidroelectrica fined for disclosing customers' personal data
Draft budget goes through final stages of debate
News in English 30 Ianuarie 2025, 22:48

Draft budget goes through final stages of debate

The draft budget is going through the final stages of debate before the government approves it at a meeting on Saturday. A...

Draft budget goes through final stages of debate
Alejandro Mayorkas, decorated by the President of Romania for the country's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program
News in English 30 Ianuarie 2025, 22:47

Alejandro Mayorkas, decorated by the President of Romania for the country's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has decided to decorate former US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro...

Alejandro Mayorkas, decorated by the President of Romania for the country's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program
Romania: Most wanted jobs in the first month of this year
News in English 29 Ianuarie 2025, 19:26

Romania: Most wanted jobs in the first month of this year

The jobs of drivers, engineers and nurses were the most sought after by Romanians in the first month of this year - data...

Romania: Most wanted jobs in the first month of this year
Memorandum cutting 240 posts at the Chamber of Deputies
News in English 29 Ianuarie 2025, 19:24

Memorandum cutting 240 posts at the Chamber of Deputies

In order to implement the indefinite staff reductions, the termination of service of staff whose dismissal has been approved,...

Memorandum cutting 240 posts at the Chamber of Deputies
Raluca Turcan: There was no need for a government decision to take the treasure out of the country
News in English 28 Ianuarie 2025, 14:23

Raluca Turcan: There was no need for a government decision to take the treasure out of the country

Former Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan, under whose mandate the exhibition of Dacian artifacts at the museum in the...

Raluca Turcan: There was no need for a government decision to take the treasure out of the country
Dutch theft: PM wants Romania to seek unprecedented damages
News in English 28 Ianuarie 2025, 14:21

Dutch theft: PM wants Romania to seek unprecedented damages

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he was outraged by the fact that Romanian treasures were stolen from a museum in the...

Dutch theft: PM wants Romania to seek unprecedented damages