The European Commission has reimbursed Romania over €202 million in payments for projects financed by the EAFRD
At the beginning of June, the European Commission officially reimbursed Romania €202.7 million (€202,746,466.89), with the European funds being transferred to the Romanian state's accounts on 6 June 2023.
According to a press release from the Rural Investment Financing Agency, the amount represents the counter-value of payments made through AFIR in the first quarter of this year to farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and public authorities who have made investments in agriculture and rural development.
According to the information received from the National Bank of Romania (NBR), the European funds were transferred to the Romanian state's accounts on 6 June 2023 and represent reimbursements from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) in the amount of €192.6 million (€192,569,490.8) and from the European Union Recovery Instrument (ERI) in the amount of €10.2 million (€10,176,976.09), AFIR says.
"The reimbursement of the expenditure made by us reflects their compliance and, above all, the fact that AFIR manages the implementation and payment of EU-funded projects in full compliance with the requirements of European regulations. To date, the European Commission has reimbursed our country with EU funds worth €7.85 billion for investments in agriculture and sustainable rural development financed by AFIR," said George Chiri??, AFIR's Director General.
The amounts claimed in the statement of expenditure for the first quarter of this year between 1 January and 31 March 2023 and reimbursed by the European Commission are related to payments made by AFIR for investment projects financed by the National Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, as well as compensation payments for environmental and climate measures delegated to the Agency for Payments for Intervention in Agriculture (APIA).