Romania may be required to return up to EUR 1.5 billion, representing pre-accession funds that were already paid, if the projects will not be completed by the end of this year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief, Jeffrey Franks.

“Regarding the pre-accession funds, Romania may be required to return EUR 1.5 billion funds, amount already paid, if the projects are not going to be completed by the end of the year”, said the IMF mission chief.

He added that Romania must focus more on areas with a higher priority, which will lead to a higher absorption of EU funds. “The government has made progress in the absorption of EU funds, but it's still insufficient and the efforts must be doubled in this regard”, said Jeffrey Franks.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com