



































THE EUROPEAN FUNDS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL EFFECTS IN ROMANIA


AGORA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECONOMICAL SCIENCES, 
AIJES, ISSN 2067-3310, E - ISSN 2067 – 7669, VOL 10 (2016) 

 

21 
 

THE EUROPEAN FUNDS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL EFFECTS IN 

ROMANIA 
 

Liliana Marcela DURGHEU
1
, Rica IVAN

2
 

 

Abstract: 

The absorption of the communitarian funds constitutes an objective on its own in the post-adherence strategy, taking 

into consideration the huge contribution that these funds will have in the recovery of the gap between our country 

and the other European Union member states. Using the European policy of cohesion, the access to these financial 

resources represents one of the main economical benefits.  

 

Key words: European Funds, European Union, PND, operational programs 

 
Introduction:  

Nowadays, the European Union is going through a period of identity redefinition and of its internal 

cohesion, in the context of the necessity of acknowledging itself as a competitive and dynamic actor in a 

continuously globalizing world, having as a background the “digestion” of the fifth wave of extension, 

started in 2004 with ten states and ended with Romania’s and Bulgaria’s adherence on the 1
st
 of January 

2007.  

The Union goes through a process of reconnection with its own citizens and of regaining their sustaining 

for the European political project based on their preoccupations, at the beginning of the 21
st
 century, 

perceived differently in comparison with the ones in the previous century.  

The Union has to face the challenge of permanently adapting to the changes generated by a series of 

factors, internal ones (the integration’s deepening parallel with the extension, the aging and the decrease 

of the population number, the necessity of adapting to the European Unions’ institutions, the efficiency, 

the transparency and the decision’s legitimacy at a communitarian level, the communication with its own 

citizens) as well as external ones (the world crises of the natural resources and of the raw materials, the 

competition coming from the other poles of power, but not only, the terrorist threat, threats regarding the 

environment, such as: climate changes, natural disasters, diseases, etc ). 

                                                           
1 Chamber of Accounts, Bihor  

Address: Chamber of Accounts, Str. Roman Ciorogariu, no.65, Oradea, Romania, 

E-mail: ldurgheu@yahoo.com 
 
2 Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Head of Control Systems Engineering 

and Management Department University of Oradea 

University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania 

Correspondence: Rica IVAN, University of Oradea, postal address (1, University Street, Oradea, 

Romania) 

E-mail: rika_ivan 2005@yahoo.com 

 
 



 
22 

 

In conclusion, the European Union is a continuously moving construction in an internationa context 

characterized by a profound dynamics. Thus, Romania’s profile takes into consideration the existent 

opportunities, having as a goal the decrease of the typical vulnerability of a new member state of the 

European Union a coherent policy’s accession of a coherent policy resulting in the development of the 

Romanian citizens’ wealth.  

After a decade of structural, legal and institutional reforms, as well as economical and social ones, for 

preparing the moment of adherence to the European Union, Romania must face a significantly changed 

context, having an increased level of interdependent member states, that need a rational and efficient 

strategic behavior.  

First of all, the adherence to the European Union represents the opportunity and the means of increasing 

the standard of living of the Romanian citizens along with the European ones. The fact that, Romania, at 

the moment of adhering to the European Union, was a member state having a GNP a lot smaller than the 

European average, underlines the necessity of efficient use of the national resources and of the 

communitarian funds, as well as the active encouragement of the domestic and foreign investments.  

Thus, Romania needs to maintain the rapid, balanced and durable economical increase, on a long term, 

and it also needs strong and efficient institutions, a coherent legislative system and a predictable fiscal 

system.  

From the convergence point of view, the macro-economical frame has the role to sustain the durability of 

the economical growth, including the financing of physical infrastructure development and of the human 

capital.  

The assurance of a permanent macro-economical frame for the period between 2007-2013 has represented 

a fundamental objective, characterized by the enhancement of the correlation process of the existent 

policies with the new policies, the continuation of the fiscal consolidation, of the inflation lowering and of 

the budget deficit level, according to the European Union’s requirements.  

The monetary, budgetary and fiscal policies, as well as the preparation for the adherence to the Euro zone 

will be thus subject to the logics of the multi-annual budgetary programming, that allocates the necessary 

sums to the key sectors (including the public-private partnerships’ development) and to rationalize the 

expenses, taking into account the principle of tributaries. . .  

In order to become a direct beneficiary of the communitarian funds, Romania has to assure a high level of 

absorption of these. The funds that Romania will get from the European Union are potential, while the 

contribution to the communitarian budget is certain and it represents an assumed absorption as a member 

state.  

Complementary to the communitarian funds, the budgetary resources of the state and the ones extracted 

from the private sector are engaged in priority directions of development.  

1. The European context of the structural funds’ entry and development  

 
The European Union is an economical and political union, developed in Europe, being composed of 28 

states. The origins of the European Union go back to the European Community of Coal and Steel (CECO) 

and to the European Economical Community (CEE), formed of six member states in 1958.During the 

following years, the European Union has been expanded by the adherence of new member states and has 

strengthened its powers by adding new economical, social and political domains in its abilities. The 

Treaty from Maastricht has put the basis of the European Union under the present name in 1993. The last 



 
23 

 

constitution amendments of the European Union have been represented by the Treaty from Lisbon that 

came into force on the 1st of December 1009. (Source Wickipedia).  

This union of states having different levels of development has imposed, in time, through the adherence 

of new state and the deepening of the economical and social disparities, a convergence policy whose goal 

has been to reduce the differences between the development levels of different regions.  

In this context, The Economical and Social Policy of Cohesion (PCES) finds its place. Thus, the PCES 

represents the fundamental policy of the European Union having as a goal the decrease of the economical 

and social development disparities between the member states or regions of the European Union; the 

improvement of the Unique Market’s functioning; the promotion of a permanent and durable 

development of the European Union. 1/3 from the European Union’s budget is allocated to this politics.  

The PCES’s intervention objectives are the following:  

 Convergence for the regions where the GNP/citizen is under 75% of the European Union’s 

average;  

 Regional competitiveness and labor force – for the regions which are not eligible for the 

Convergence objective;  

 The European territorial cooperation – for the regions, counties and cross border zones;  

(Regulation CE 1083/2006, art.3). 

The financial means by which the PCES is implemented are called Structural Instruments and contain: 

Structural Funds (the European Fund of Regional Development and the European Social Fund) and the 

Cohesion Fund. These three funds are known under the generic name of Structural Funds and Funds of 

Cohesion (FSC).  

Structural Funds and Funds of Cohesion contribute, each of them, to the fulfillment of the three 

objectives, thus:  

 The convergence objective is financed by the European Fund for Regional Development (FEDR), 

the European Social Fund (FSE) and the Cohesion Fund (FC);  

 The objective of  regional competitiveness and employment is financed out of the European Fund 

for regional Development (FEDR) and of the Cohesion Fund (FC);  

 The objective of the European territorial cooperation is financed out of the European Fund of 

Regional Development (FEDR). 

The European Fund for Regional Development (FEDR) sustains a durable economical development at a 

regional and local level by levying the local capacities and by varying the economical structures in fields 

such as technological development and research, innovation and entrepreneurship, informational society, 

Small and Medium Size Companies, environment protection, tourism, and energy.  

The European Social Fund (FSE) contributes to the increase of the adaptability of the labour force and 

enterprises, the increase of the access on the labor force market, unemployment prevention, the 

prolonging of the active life and of the women’s and immigrants’ attendance level on the labor market, 

the advocacy of social embedded ness of the disadvantaged persons and the fight against discrimination.  

The Cohesion Fund (FC) finances projects in the field of the environment protection and of transport 

across the European Union, projects in the field of durable development as well as projects on the 

improvement of air and road traffic, the updating of the urban transport, the development and updating of 

the multimodal transport.  

Because of the fact that the basic objectives, more exactly the objectives regarding the convergence, the 

competition and the European territorial cooperation cannot be sufficiently fulfilled, in better conditions, 

taking into consideration the disparities’ size and the limited financial tools that the member states have, 

in order to fulfill the convergence objective, they can be achieved in better conditions by means of a multi 

annual guarantee of the communitarian funding that permit the focus of the cohesion policy on the 

community’s priorities.  

This desideratum can be achieved by means of subventions. According to the CE Regulation no. 

1605/2002 these represent direct financial contributions, given as donations from the budget to finance:  



 
24 

 

- either an action destined to promote the fulfillment of an objective that is part of the European 

Union’s policy;  

- either the functioning of an organism that has as an objective a general European interest or an 

objective that is part of the European Union’s policy.  

The subventions form the object of a written agreement and are part of an annual program published at 

the beginning of the year. This is brought into force by an invitation to make suggestions, except for the 

cases of exceptional urgencies. All the subventions given during this financial exercise are published 

annually, following the confidentiality and safety demands.  

The subvention’s grant is subject to the principles of transparency and equal treatment. The subventions 

cannot be cumulative, they cannot be given retroactively and they suppose co-financing. Moreover, these 

cannot have as a target or result the idea of producing profit on the beneficiary’s behalf. One action can 

get only one subvention allocated from the budget in favor of the same beneficiary.  

A subvention cannot be given for an action that has already been started unless the applicant can prove 

the necessity of starting a business before the signing of the agreement. In such cases, the eligible 

expenses for financing cannot date back before subvention request’s handing in. Retroactive subventions 

cannot be given for actions that have already been finished.  

Eligible requests of subventions are the ones presented in writing by the juridical persons who, on behalf 

of the beneficiary, when being in the situation of attribution, certify the fact that they are not in one of the 

situations presented in art.93 (debts at budgets, bankruptcy, convicted for fraud, corruption) and art.94 

(conflict of interests, false declarations).  

The criteria of selection must permit the evaluation of the applicant’s capacity to fulfill the action or the 

proposed working program. The attribution’s criteria previously announced in the invitation must permit 

the evaluation of the applications’ quality, from point of view of fixed objectives and priorities.  

The applications are evaluated, on the previously announced criteria of selection and graduation, by an 

evaluation committee, in order to establish the applications that can be financed.  

Afterwards, being based on the evaluation, the main competent credit release authority shortlists the 

approved beneficiaries and the amounts. He is the one who informs the applicants in writing upon the 

decision regarding their request. In case of the application’s rejection, the institution presents the reasons 

of rejection, especially regarding the previously announced selection criteria.  

  

2. The European Funds and Their Economical Effects 

 

In order to evaluate in detail the economical effects of the structural financings we begin from the 

objectives and the priorities declared between 2007 and 2013. The main objectives have been connected 

to convergence as well as competitiveness through effects on the labor market. For instance, among the 

priorities we mention:  

- equal easing to labor access, 

- more productive and innovative methods of work,  

- the increase of employees’ level of qualification and engagement,  

- institutions’ modernization on the work market,  

- active measures of work market’s support,  

- integration of under-privileged categories on the work market,  

- educational reform,  

- etc.   

It is well known that the European financings taking place between 2007 and 203 had a series of 

objectives connected to the increase of the European Union’s convergence and competitiveness at an 

international level. That’s why, the majority of these refer to the work market, by increasing the equality 

of the chances and qualification of the work force.  

In the analysis of the convergence level, the used indicators are the GNP/citizen and the human 

development indicator.  



 
25 

 

The National Strategic Frame of reference 2007-2013 (CSNR, 2006) represents the ”world strategy for 

application” (the Govern of Romania, 2012) the European funds in Romania. There have been seven 

operational programs established by means of this:  

1. The Regional Operational Program (POR),  

2. The Sector Operational Program for Increasing the Economical Competitiveness (POSCCE),  

3. The Medium Sector Operational Program (POS Medium),  

4. The Transport Sector Operational Program (POS Transport),  

5. The Sector Operational Program on Human Resources Development (POSDRU),  

6. The Operational Program on Management Capacity Development (PODCA),  

7. The Operational Program on Technical Assistance.  

Thus, CSNR is implemented by means of the operational programs which are part of the convergence and 

European territorial cooperation objectives.  An Operational Program represents a document presented 

by a member state and adopted by the Committee, defining a development strategy according to a 

coherent and complete set of priorities, for whose fulfillment there is a need of a certain Fund.  

Each of these programs has been divided into priority lines and major directions of intervention (DMI). 

The most important information for each type of operational program that has been developed in our 

country in the”Convergence” objective, mostly its structure and objectives, are presented in the following 

lines. 

The details regarding the implementation strategy of the programs financed out of European funds are 

found, as it has already been said, in the National Reference Strategic Frame 2007-2013. Being elaborated 

in 2006 when Romania was in its economical ascension, the declared goal was ”the decrease of the 

disparities in the economical and social development between Romania and the European Union’s 

member states by generating an auxiliary increase of 15-20% of the GNP until 2015 ”. (CSNR, 2006).  

The forecasts have been exaggerated and rootless, as it has been proved afterwards. They have been built 

on a background of a continuous economical development.  

Romania’s economical development lasted until the year 2008. From a real rate of an increasing 7,3% 

GNP in 2008, there has been registered a dramatic decrease in the following year, the value being of -

6,6%, thus having an almost double decrease in value. During the entire period of the financial program, 

between 2007 and 2013, Romania’s economy had fluctuant evolutions. Along with the first signs of 

crisis, the strategy of using the structural funds in our country has been changed. The goal has been the 

increase in the degree of the absorption and usage of the European funds for countervailing the effects of 

the international financial crisis. Moreover, the last one has had different effects in using the financings 

out of European funds in the member states (Healy&Bristow, 2013). But, in the majority of the cases, 

these have represented the help given in economy, despite the technical and institutional problems that 

have been met along the process of accessing the respective sums.  

The decisions taken by the Romanian authorities have been to improve the absorption process. However, 

in the middle of 2012, the total rate of the European funds’ absorption was of 9,17% for Romania (The 

Govern of Romania, 2012), the lowest in the European Union. Unfortunately, this position has been kept 

during the years, but the number of the absorbed funds has significantly increased, becoming more than 



 
26 

 

20%in 2013. Out of the seven operational programs, the most performing ones have been POR, POS 

Medium, POSDRU and PODCA. POSCE, POS Transport and POAT have registered lower contracting 

levels. The interesting thing is that exactly the last ones have “benefited” out of the international financial 

crises. Thus, the strategy’s restructuring for adapting to the new economical conditions have ended in the 

reallocation of the money, as follows: 60% for infrastructure, 20% invested in the human capital and 15% 

for increasing the competitiveness on a long term. Regarding the economical impact of the decision of 

relocating the funds, the opinions are divided and an evaluation of its fairness is requested. As previous 

analyses done on a older reveal the structural funds cannot fulfill their initial goal just because of the fact 

that the investments in the infrastructure do not have a significant impact on the long run (Rodriguez-Pose 

& Fratesi, 2004; Dall’erba & Le Gallo, 2003). The annual implementation rapports present succinctly the 

development of the implementation process on every type of program, out of the 7 existent ones in 

Romania. But, as the existent specialty literature shows ((Litan et al, 2013), the information given to the 

general public are incomplete.  

The European Union has an institutional frame that regards the promotion of its values, the fulfillment of 

its objectives, the support of its interests, of its citizens and of the member states, as well as, assuring its 

coherence, effectiveness and continuity of its policy and actions.  

The European Union’s institutions are the following:  

- The European Parliament;  

- The European Council;  

- The Council;  

- The European Committee;  

- The European Union’s Court of Justice;  

- The European Central Bank;  

- The Court of Accounts.  

According to the European Union’s Cohesion Policy, Romania’s social-economical development’s 

orientation is made of a strategic plan document and multi-annual financial programming, authorized by 

the Govern and elaborated in a large partnership. It is about the National Development Plan (PND), which 

is a characteristic concept of the European policy of economical and social cohesion (Cohesion Policy), 

designed to offer a coherent and permanent conception regarding the development of the European 

Union’s member states, transposed in development priorities, development, programs, projects, according 

to the principle of structural funds’ programming principle. In the context of Romania’s adherence to the 

European Union in 2007, PND has a major role of aligning the national development policy to the 

communitarian development priorities, by promoting the measures considered to be incentives of durable 

social-economical development at a European level.  

Regarding the coherence policy, PND represents a tool of establishing the priority of the public 

investments for development, mainly oriented on the priorities and objectives compatible with the 

intervention domains of the Structural and Cohesion Funds. In this context, the underlining of the PND’s 

2007-2013 specific character is necessary, which does not substitute the National Strategy of the 

economical Development, but it represents one of its major components. Among other things, PND 2007-



 
27 

 

2013 fundaments the priorities and the objectives of the development’s strategy that will be negotiated 

with the European Committee for financing out of Structural and Cohesion funds between 2007 and 2013.  

The elaboration of the PND 2007-2013 has been fulfilled according to H.G.no.1115/2004 regarding the 

elaboration, in partnerships, of the National Development Plan, which establishes the methodological 

principles, the institutional frame of work and the consulting mechanisms of partnership.  

Thus, the National development Plan between 2007 and 2013 has as a target “the fast decrease of the 

social-economical disparities between Romania and the European Union’s member states”. At the 

elaboration of PND, it has been estimated that, between 2007 and 2013, Romania gained 10%points out 

of the existent development gap, the PND strategy being financed out of multiple sources: internal ones 

(state budget, local budgets, etc) and external ones (structural tools of the European Union, the European 

Union’s funds of structural type for rural development and fishing, external credits, etc).  

For the programming period between 2007 and 2013, PND has been elaborated in accordance with the 

orderliness of the specific programs’ principles established in the Council’s Regulation 

(CE)no.1260/1999 21
st
 of June 1999 regarding the general dispositions for structural funds (art.8 – the 

complimentary and the partnership, art.11 – the appurtenance, art.15,16 – development plans, art.41 – 

evaluation, art.46 – informing and publicity), as well as other demands resulted out of the European 

Committee’s recommendation regarding the programming and the management of the Structural Tools.  

For the programming period between 2007 and 2013, the National development Plan fundaments 

Romania’s access to the Structural Instruments, representing the basic document on which the Fostering 

Communitarian Frame has been negotiated with the European Committee.  

In this context, the priorities and the objectives of the PND 2007 -2013 are concentrated on the fields 

which are eligible for structural interventions (Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund).  

PND 2007-2013 fundaments the financial aid given by the European Union to approximately 4% of the 

GNP, yearly, at a commitment level, to which the national co financing is added.  

The PND development priorities are the following:  

- the increase of the economical competitiveness and of the economical development based on 

knowledge,  

- the development and updating of the shipping infrastructure,  

- the protection and the improvement in the environment’s quality,  

- human resources development, the occupation promotion and the social inclusion and the 

strengthening of the managerial capacity,  

- the development of the rural economy and the productivity’s improvement in the agricultural 

sector,  



 
28 

 

- the decrease of the development disparities between different regions of the country. The 

financial programming of the PND aimed at fulfilling a realistic general frame of the finance 

resources’ development that should be used between 2007 and 2013 in order to increase the 

growth of convergence with the European Union, concluding with a global estimated sum of 

approximately 58,7 billion Euro, allocated on six PND national priorities of development.  

 

Financial world programming PND 2007-2013  

- mil. Euro –  

 PND priorities 2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  Total  

P1. 

Competitiveness  

651,4

8  620,72  793,14  882,76  842,95  761,25  682,12  5.234,43  

P2. Transport 

Infrastructure  

2.094,

99  

2.517,4

8  

2.465,2

5  

2.071,2

9  

1.819,8

4  

1.832,2

0  

1.853,7

5  

14.654,7

9  

P3. 

Environment  

753,1

8  898,70  

1.099,1

1  

1.160,4

5  

1.069,5

4  810,78  806,23  6.597,98  

P4. Human 

Resources 

711,6

5  912,51  

1.297,0

8  

1.317,5

9  

1.313,2

2  

1.115,8

5  940,72  7.608,60  

P5. Rural 

Development 

1.585,

56  

1.757,7

2  

2.200,9

6  

2.335,4

9  

2.395,0

8  

2.445,1

5  

2.517,3

7  

15.237,3

2  

P6. Regional 

Development 

1.294,

79  

1.280,9

9  

1.397,9

6  

1.336,3

7  

1.342,3

5  

1.344,5

5  

1.342,9

7  9.339,98  

Total  

7.091,

65  

7.988,1

2  

9.253,5

0  

9.103,9

5  

8.782,9

8  

8.309,7

8  

8.143,1

6  

58.673,1

0  

             

And, the PND structure of the financing resources between 2007 and 2013 are presented as follows:  

- Communitarian funds -43% 

- National public sources (central and local, including IFI credits) – 48% 

- Private sources (private co financing associated with the communitarian funds) -9% 

The implementation of the 2007-2013 PND provisions, according to the established strategy and under 

the conditions of efficiency, accuracy, transparency and financial correctness, implies significant efforts 

coming from the public institutions and of the beneficiaries. The PND represents the document on whose 

basis the National Reference Strategic Frame 2007-2013 as well as the Operational Programs out of 

which these funds will be implemented, have been created. In this respect, the PND’s elaboration has 

developed in parallel with the one of the Operational Programs for Implementing the Structural Funds and 

the Cohesion Funds, thus assuring the coherence between these documents.  

 

3.Conclusions 

The European funds have been created in order to help the member states to reduce the disparities 

between them. An evaluation of the structural funds’ effects and their economical implications is 

extremely important as the structural funds must be taken into consideration together with the declared 

objectives of these programs. It is important to see if these objectives have been fulfilled and the degree 

of their fulfillment.   



 
29 

 

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http://ideas.repec.org/a/wun/journl/tjev04y2011i3%2815%29a05.html

