Santa Claus Comes to Town

In a speech prior to the European Convention on the Future of Europe in 2002, the former Romanian Minister of Public Information commented that most Romanians viewed the European Union in four distinct ways: Santa Claus with his bag full of goodies; a museum with free movement; a big supermarket; or a rolling stone threatening to crash them.

As a result of European Union (EU) accession, Romania will receive a financial boost of approximately 19.667 billion Euros. This sum will be spent under the 2007-2013 program. The goal of this program is to pursue one of the Union’s enshrined missions, namely, to reduce disparities between levels of development in various EU regions.

Seven operational programs were set up last year including in economic competitiveness, regional development, transportation, environment, human resource performance, administrative capacity and technical assistance.

The leading role in the implementation process of these programs belongs to the Regional Operational Program (ROP), managed by the recently created Ministry for Development, Public Works and Housing. With a motivated team, the Managing Authority of the ROP has the task to make financing from the European Regional Development Fund available to all those who submit viable proposals.

The major challenge is to conceive an efficient system that would encourage both public authorities and private companies to develop useful projects to qualify for this funding. The toughest applicants to satisfy are private companies. They tend to be concerned with the complicated administrative procedures for applying for funding and hope for simplified and accessible procedures, particularly as it relates to procurement.

According to Doing Business 2008, Romania has undergone reform making it easier for entrepreneurs to do business. However, there is still potential for improvement.  The main challenges in the government’s agenda are now to continue the fight against corruption and to reform the judicial system. If most Romanians expected to see Santa after the 1st of January 2007, it’s only now that the bag of goodies is being fully displayed.