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Romanian PM: Faulty Auctions Can Impair EU Fund Absorption

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc on Saturday warned that faulty auctions and conflicts of interest among local authorities can impair the absorption of European funds and called for transparency and responsibility.
Romanian PM: Faulty Auctions Can Impair EU Fund Absorption
Mediafaxfoto - MediafaxRadu Bostan
09 iul. 2011, 15:26, English

The prime minister referred to a series of problematic auctions held by the Teleorman county council.

Between March 28 and April 1, the European Commission carried out an audit of several auctions for road rehabilitation in the counties of Teleorman and Buzau, funded through Axis 2 of the Regional Operations Program. According to the Development Ministry, the Commission found a number of problems: the use of discriminatory supplier selection criteria, the unjustified use of the accelerated auction procedure and additional work contracted as similar work.

Consequently, the Commission has informed the Development Ministry that it will cease disbursing funds for Axis 2 until these problems are resolved.

Boc also said that the national authority in charge of the ROP is currently running an investigation and will later send its conclusions to the Commission’s Directorate General for Regional Policy. The prime minister added that he is confident payments through the ROP will resume later this summer.