A 2021-2027 partnership agreement between the European Commission and Romania was signed in Alba Iulia by European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the Minister of European Investment and Projects Marcel Bolos, according to ActMedia.eu.
The European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, present in Alba Iulia on the occasion of the signing of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreement between the European Commission and Romania, said that the allocated funds will enable the construction of a more modern Romania.
Addressing the differences between Bucharest-Ilfov and other regions in Romania, as well as between large cities and neighboring areas, will contribute to increasing the country’s competitiveness, because in this way an important part of the population and the territory will not be left behind. So this will increase, as a whole, the country’s performance and its competitiveness, exploiting its full potential. This is our ambition and the goal of our joint effort. (…) Together, we will build a more modern Romania. The plans are good, and now is the time for action, said Elisa Ferreira.
Elisa Ferreira expressed her thanks in Romanian, on behalf of the European Commission, for the response of the Romanians to the refugees from Ukraine, adding that the effort of the Romanians is also supported by European funds, and declared herself honored to be in a historic city like Alba Iulia.
European funds are a stimulus, said Ferreira, and the Romanians must know where they want to go, they must have the right administration and correct decision-making processes.
Based on the partnership agreement, the EU will grant money for the digital transition, supporting innovative companies that introduce new products or new methods of producing traditional goods to the market, for the digitization of public services, but also more than 7 billion euros for improving job access and skills, especially for young people.
The programs will also contribute to solving one of Romania’s most pressing problems in the field of education, a problem that is not only found in Romania: early dropout. Romanian children have a lot of potential, so the cohesion policy will invest in each child, discovering their potential and making them like school. It will train teachers, she said.
Elisa Ferreira welcomed the Government’s decision to decentralize the implementation of investments. She mentioned that Romania is a very diverse country, and European investments must respond to local and regional needs.
According to her, 2 billion euros will be invested in the Just Transition Fund, so that communities that are dependent on coal or industries that use fossil fuels discover new opportunities.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, present at the signing ceremony of the agreement, said that it is about a program of approximately 45 billion euros, of which approximately 31 billion are European funds, and 14 billion are national funds. The money will be allocated to develop transport infrastructure, in the field of health, sustainable development, smart development and digitalization, education programs, inclusion and social dignity.
“Romania’s partnership agreement with the European Union for 2021-2027, which we have just signed, is an important step forward for the development of projects that fit both the objectives of European policies and the objectives of national policies for the development of Romania. And surely the solution to the current challenges we face on the economic, geopolitical and social levels are also taken into account,” said Ciuca.
He added that “cohesion policy is the main tool by which the development differences between our regions are bridged and it must remain a priority until the development gaps are corrected.”
He mentioned the way of co-operation with the European Commission at the level of local and national administrations, noting that Alba Iulia was modernised on 300 million euros from the European Union, invested to “enhance everything that represents the history of the place, the national history”.
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