Since the beginning of the year, the Government brought to discussion, more and more intensely, the importance of implementing Romania’s regionalisation and decentralisation process.
This measure has led to many “pros” and “cons”, certain representatives of the political class encouraging the application of the project which will determine the increase of funds absorption, the balanced development, the efficient implementation of regional large projects and the improvement of the dialogue between the government and the local authorities. On the other side, other affirmations support the idea of giving up this project which will deepen the bureaucratic activity and could determine the permanent imbalance between the authentic and real decentralisation and the state unit.
In April, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, with the Romanian Academy, organised the public debate related to the regionalisation and decentralisation process, within which the Minister of Regional Development, Liviu Dragnea declared that “this year we have to make the regionalisation. It is true that neither the European Commission nor the EU force us as regards these regions, but, it will be almost impossible for us, after the start of the new programming period 2014-2020, to change the current administrative structure based on which we negotiate this year the Partnership Agreement and, let’s say, at the middle of the next programming period, the administrative system must be changed, because then we have to begin a serious reaccreditation process of all institutions and structures in the EU funds absorption mechanisms”.
Within the new European budgetary year, Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, insisted on mentioning that the regions can be much more efficient in funds absorption than the government, especially since the local authorities managed to attract more European funds. “The most efficient Romanian institutions in the elaboration of projects, in their execution, in receiving EU funds, have been the local authorities up to this point. The Regional Operational Programme is the only one in which projects supersede the framework made available, is the only one in which the funds have been used. I believe that the regions with the improved structures around the current regional development agencies can be much more efficient than a central government in the EU funds absorption, (…) the organisation into regions ensuring a higher financial power”, stated Ponta.
According to the project, Romania would have 8 regions, each of them including 4-5 counties: North-East, North-West, Centre, South, South-East, South-West, West and Bucharest-Ilfov.
As regards the transport sector, the regionalisation process will have positive effects on the implementation of infrastructure projects, which can be more easily coordinated, can have a high degree of EU funds absorption and can implicitly be executed mush faster. On the railway section, the reorganisation will facilitate the launch of infrastructure projects, whereas the main lines will remain under the CFR management, and the railway connections between main lines and the rest of the network will be transferred to the regions. “In terms of administrative reorganisation, at the level of CFR we want to keep the main lines and the project of the high-speed line and everything as regards all railway links between main lines will be transferred to the regions. The execution of the territorial reorganisation project in Romania will determine the development of the railway transport system, especially under the circumstances under which, if the reform involves the creation of 8 regions, it is beneficial for the railway system because the 8 Regionals of CFR are maintained”, declared Sorin Bota, Head of Transport Department of the Social Democrat Party, within a conference organised by Club Feroviar, whose topic was the infrastructure development (February 2013).
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