EU Commissioner Cretu: Romania will benefit in 2021-2027 from a 7 billion growth in financing under Cohesion Policy

Romania will benefit from an increase of more than 7 billion euros in financing under the Cohesion Policy in 2021-2027, 300 euro per capita, according to European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu, who participated in the high level conference regarding the future of the Cohesion Policy. 

"We have negotiated, as you all know, in the multi-annual financial framework. We struggled to maintain the same method for earmarking the European funds, a method which we call "the Berlin method," that has been used ever since 1999, which was based on the GDP per capita. According to this method, Romania will benefit in the period 2021-2027 from an increase of over 7 billion euros in funding under the Cohesion Policy in the future multi-annual financial framework. What I want to say is that this means 300 euro per head of inhabitant in Romania. This is the logic of the Cohesion Policy: the richer you are, the less money you will get. Thus, the Netherlands will receive 13 euro pe capita, while countries like Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece will receive more," said Corina Cretu. 

The European Commissioner underscored that the power and unity of the European Union resides in the cohesion between member states, as it is the expression of solidarity and an aid to the new members to reduce their economic and social gaps. 

"In the past months, we negotiated this framework, this budget, and I believe that regional policy has come out victorious from this battle, but, of course, our proposal is now in the hands of the European Parliament and the European Council, which are co-legislators, and for the first time in the history of the European Union, we managed to have the biggest envelope for the Cohesion Policy, of 373 billion euro for 27 member states," said Cretu.