Romania's former European commissioner Leonard Orban (in picture), also former minister in charge of European Funding recently teamed up with lawyer Gabriel Biris, partner with the law firm Biris Goran to create European affairs consultancy firm Orban Biris European Consultants.

In the European business area, the firm plans to support market players by promoting their interests in legislative projects under debate in Brussels, as well as in those currently being implemented in Romania. The new firm also targets national authorities and plans to offer them assistance. On the European fund segment, Orban Biris European Consultants is targeting the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 financing periods. For the current period, it will mainly assist beneficiaries in need of support to overcome obstacles in carrying on the projects funded with EU money.

Leonard Orban was Romania's first European Commissioner, in charge of multilingualism. He then went on to lead Romania's newly established European funds ministry, but was replaced by Eugen Teodorovici last year, when the new Government took power. Biris Goran is a Romanian law firm with a team of 30 lawyers and fiscal consultants.

Romania has had issues with accessing European funding, with a very low absorption rate, and the EU blocked some of its funding lines after irregularities were found. Earlier this year, payments re-started on the Sectoral Operational Program Human Resources Development (POSDRU) line, with a first tranche of EUR 141.5 million already sent to Romania's accounts. Three other funding lines are blocked for Romania, the Regional Operational Program, the Sectoral Transport Program and the Economic Competitiveness Increase Program.

The POSDRU was suspended in August 2012 as deficiencies were found in the use of funds between 2009 and 2011. The line was unblocked after Romania's Government implemented measures to improve the program.

The POSDRU line had over 2,400 financing contracts underway at end-January 2013. The EU allotted Romania EUR 3.4 billion on this line for the current financial period.

Romania received EUR 12 billion in pre- and post-accession funds. However, the absorption rate of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds, which account for some 60 percent of the total EUR 33.5 billion allocation, was only 12 percent.

Romania last year absorbed EUR 1.2 billion euros, up from EUR 700 million in 2011. The new government has made improving the EU absorption rate a priority and the issue is a perennial topic of discussion with EU officials.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: the company)