The Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Bolos told a Friday’s press conference in Oradea that he hopes that by November all eight regional operational programs will be approved by the European Commission, which will represent a „turning point” because it will be the first time that local authorities will take their fate into their own hands in terms of the use of this European money, according to Agerpres.

He showed that half of the eight regional operational programs in the country related to the 2021-2027 financial year are approved, in total amounting to over 11 billion euros.

„It is for the first time when the local authorities take their fate in their hands and decide on their destiny. Therefore, if now there are four approved, I hope that somewhere by November we will have all eight regional operational programs approved, which is a turning point for Romania. Sure, now, very few are aware of the impact this has on Romania’s development, but if we live and reach the end of 2027, I hope we can see a Romania with much more developed regions, more prosperous, because we must not miss this huge opportunity that we have, of financing regional development from European funds”, Minister Marcel Bolos stressed.

At the same time, he pointed out that Romania has, for the first time in this European financial year, an Inclusion and Social Dignity Operational Program, dedicated exclusively to the elderly, children and people with disabilities, being approved at the level of the European Commission.

„It is an operational program that I really care about, with a value of over 4.2 billion euros, which is in the process of being finalized and approved at the level of the European Commission. We are for the first time that Romania, for the fight against poverty and the support of people in difficulty, he will have these levers at hand so that he can intervene”, Minister Marcel Bolos also affirmed.

The eight Regional Programs related to the period 2021-2027 were developed in such a way as to allow the transfer of administrative and financial powers from the level of the central public administration to the level of the public administration of the administrative-territorial units, together with the financial resources necessary for their exercise. The European money related to these regional programs can be used until 2030 inclusive.

In October, the European Commission informed that it had positively approved the West, South-Muntenia, North-West and Oltenia regional programs.

Agerpres