Local public authorities’ access to funding, the topic of discussion at the Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă’s meeting with USR representatives

PRESS RELEASE

Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă had today a meeting with the President of USR (The Save Romania Union) Dacian Cioloș on the issue of local public authorities' access to financing from national and European public funds. Attending the meeting were Minister for Development, Public Works and the Administration, Attila Cseke, and representatives of USR locally elected officials.

On this occasion, funding opportunities that can be accessed in a transparent, balanced and equal way, have been presented.

"We need to make sure that the Anghel Saligny National Investment Programme will be a financial instrumental complementary to PNRR so that the two local development resources can be optimally capitalized" stated Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă.

Regarding funds allocated through the Anghel Saligny National Investment Programme, the Government is committed to guaranteeing, based on the legal framework, the minimum allocation amounts for each territorial -administrative unit, to ensure balanced territorial development, regardless of the political colour of the locally elected officials.

In the case of PNRR, each commune, town, municipality across the country will have pre-allocated amounts, according to the type of investment, irrespective of political colour. Projects will be electronically submitted, each territorial-administrative unit opting for any of the eligible investment categories.

Participants have underlined the need for coherence in funding, objective criteria for earmarking, and guarantee mechanisms to make sure that money has been correctly spent on each project.

Furthermore, consultations with locally elected representatives regarding procedures and funding schemes with European money will take place with the inclusive assurance of their involvement in the working groups established at the Ministerial level, in charge of preparing the funds allocations.