“The adoption of the Partnership Agreements and programmes of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds constitutes a major step forward in the Union’s support to the strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (the Europe 2020 strategy). By making available more than EUR 450[1] billion, the new programmes will enable Member States and regions to fully exploit their potential to achieve this threefold objective, while ensuring sound contribution to the Fund-specific purposes of the ESI Funds; in particular the objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion, sustainable development of rural and maritime areas and sustainable management of natural resources.”

Source: EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL AND INVESTMENT FUNDS 2014-2020: OFFICIAL TEXTS AND COMMENTARIES, European Commission, November 2015

The calibration of economic policies with a view to maintain Romania’s economy on a growing trend must have as goal the acceleration of European funds absorption, developing large scope infrastructure projects, enhancing competitiveness in certain economic sectors and stimulating healthy consumption.

In this context, optimizing the process of raising European funds, meant to foster economic growth becomes more and more important.

The banking community of Romania has been concerned with accelerating the process of attracting European funds, being ready to contribute actively to improving the general framework for raising funds.

The banking sector is able to support the enhancement of the European funds absorption by being directly involved in pre-financing and in co-financing, which means to accelerate and enhance the completion of initiated projects, but particularly our capacity to turn to account the expertise we gained so far as regards the management of European funds projects.

Banks’ major role as regards the European funds absorption, namely:
- Confirming the bankability of potential beneficiaries by issuing letters of comfort;
- Supporting selected beneficiaries by:
- - Guaranteeing the advances from grants and by granting loans pre- and co-financing;
- - Providing additional financial instruments that support investments (VAT financing, working capital loans, financial risk management instruments etc.)
is acknowledged at national and international level.

The setting up in the Romanian Association of Banks of the Commission for European Funds represented a major step taken to render more efficient the information flow and generalize the acquired experience.

Via the collaboration of the best experts from the banking sector in the field of European funds, the Commission assures an efficient communication between the banking community and the authorities involved in the operational management of the programmes on European funds and an active involvement of the banking sector in making more efficient the process of fundraising, thus contributing to enhancing the European funds absorption.

For any further information related to raising European funds, please access the site of the Ministry for European Funds, www.fonduri-ue.ro.

[1] EUR 351.8 billion for the cohesion policy (ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund), EUR 99.6 billion for the rural development under the Common Agricultural Policy and EUR 5.7 billion for the Maritime and Fisheries Fund under the Common Fisheries Policy.