Werner Hoyer said that they were proud to be here, to be involved in the development of new ideas, especially those that can translate into a more effective use of European funds. He said that obviously, the bank, thanks to its experience, was willing to help the Romanian Government when it came to ensuring a better absorption of European funds, and that was one of the main topics approached during his visit.

One of the conclusions drawn following the talks with Prime Minister Victor Ponta was that attracting money from the European Investment Bank depends, just like with the structural funds, on Romania’s co-funding capacity. According to the PM, the Government wants to unblock the building of a new, 6km-long sector of the Bucharest underground, which measures 69 kms. Other projects that the Bank might get involved in were analysed during the talks with president Traian Basescu. The officials agreed that, with those loans, Romania must not exceed the budget deficit agreed upon with the IMF and the European Commission.

Traian Basescu: “I would like to raise a question mark. How come we are able to absorb money from the European Investment Bank, and we cannot do the same with the European money. This is a contradiction, because the crediting terms are more or less the same as the absorption standards.”

The Romanian head of state proposed three projects seen as essential for Romania. The Siret – Baragan Canal, in the east, the Bucharest – Danube canal in the south, and the Tarnita hydro-power plant, in the center. The European Investment Bank is a non-profit institution of the 27 EU Member States. Its task is to borrow money from the capital markets and to give loans at low interest rates, mainly for infrastructure projects. The Bank supports the projects that are implemented in the EU member countries and invests in the future members and in the partner countries. In the past few years, the bank has run projects in infrastructure, transportation, communications, energy and environment in Romania.