ABSORPTION CAPACITY OF EU FUNDS IN ROMANIA

Most Central and Eastern European countries have encountered problems in attracting EU structural funds in the post accession period. This paper analyzes the CEE absorption capacity of EU structural funds in 2007-2010, focusing on the case of Romania. Romania recorded at the end of 2010 the lowest rate of payment for contracted grants. Among reasons for poor absorption capacity we have identified a lack of government strategy, poor administrative capacity of central and local public institutions, public-private partnerships failure, deficient human resources.