"A competent entity" will propose how many migrats Romania can receive

President Klaus Iohannis has stated, on Friday, in Brussels, that EU member states have committed to participate in the relocation of migrants, showing that Romania will propose through its Interior Ministry (MAI) the number of migrants it can receive, local Agerpres reads.

"The Presidency of the Council of the European Union will request proposals from member-states. Each will propose through the competent entity — for us, it is the MAI — how many migrants it can receive. There will be checks to see if these proposals summed up will cover the necessary number between 20,000 and 40,000. If so, the matter is settled and we move on. If not, there will probably be a new discussion to reach the targeted number — we have not yet decided in what format", said Klaus Iohannis after the reunion of the European Summer Council.

According to Mr. Iohannis, the compromise concluded consists of intra-European relocation, showing the fact that all member states have committed to participate in the relocation of the 40,000 migrants in Italy and Greece.

"The process is to take place based on volunteering in regards to the number of persons that each member-state can take over. Everybody participates, only the number can be volunteered", said Iohannis.

He indicated that this mechanism is temporary, its duration being of two years, and is exceptional in nature.

In what regards extra-European relocation, President Iohannis showed that it was agreed to relocate, on the basis of volunteering, a number of 20,000 persons who need international protection.

He mentioned that the topic of migration was approached broadly in the European Council, being an important challenge for the EU.

Read more on Agerpres.

Romania, the Lowest EU Funds Absorption Rate in the Region

Romania had one of the highest contracting rates for EU funds in the region but only managed to get a little over half of the money allotted to it by the European Commission in the 2007-2013 period, according to KPMG, writes romania-insider.com.

Romania had a 106% contracting rate of the EU funds allotted to it, at the end of 2014, the fourth highest of ten countries in the region. However, it only managed to get 52% of the money, its payment ratio being by far the lowest in the region.

Romania had EUR 19.2 billion allotted from the EU budget for the 2007-2013 period, from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Cohesion Fund (CF) and European Social Fund (ESF). The country came up with projects worth a total of EUR 20.3 billion, but managed to get less than EUR 10 billion by the end of 2014.

Romania can still receive payments from the 2007-2013 funds until the end of this year. By the end of May 2015, the EU fund absorption rate went up to 54% and the Government targeted at the beginning of this year an 80% absorption rate by end-2015. The projects that are not finished by then will lose their EU funding.

Hungary and the Baltic states had the highest EU funds absorption rates at the end of 2014, of over 85%.

Romania’s slow progress was due to the delay in implementing EU-funded programs, as well as the many irregularities and corruption suspicions in the procurement process for the projects implemented by public authorities, which determined the European Commission to suspend payments for some programs at times.

Read more on romania-insider.com.