Romania has received over EUR 100 billion of European funds since its accession, the Minister of European Investment and Projects Marcel Bolos wrote on Wednesday in a social media post.

„At a time when extremist voices are trying to minimise the benefits of our European Union membership, let us not forget that development is not a matter of naive pride, but of pragmatism. Romania did not grow from nothing, it did not transform overnight and, certainly, it did not develop by denying opportunities. Since accession, Romania has received over EUR 100 billion worth of European funds, gross value. It is the engine that has fundamentally changed the structure of our economy,” the minister said.

According to him, Romania is no longer an economic periphery, but a country that is rapidly catching up and has surpassed Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Greece in per capita GDP , an essential indicator of living standards.

„Figures speak volumes, as the value of the investments made is approximately equal to the value of the GDP at the time of accession. If we are unconscious, we blame the European bloc, but the fact that we are in the best moment of our country’s development is something that is due to our membership in the European community and NATO.”

Bolos said that the European funds received by Romania are found in infrastructure, where almost 900 km of motorways and expressways were built in the last two decades.

„Over two million Romanians have been connected to the sewerage network. Over 100,000 companies have received development grants. Thousands of schools and hospitals have been renovated, equipped, or expanded. Stable jobs were created and new investments were attracted. These are all facts, not opinions. Investments have driven the economy, and the annual pace of private business investment tripled in 2024 as against the moment of accession, from about RON 100 billion to over RON 350 billion.”

He added that without European money, Romania would have been stuck in an endless cycle of underdevelopment, remaining dependent only on an insufficient national budget for strategic investment.

„Let’s look at the neighbours who did not have access to these funds – and significantly lag behind. The reality is only one: the EU was and remains our partner in development. By belonging to the European bloc, Romania has chosen progress,” Bolos concluded.

AGERPRES