The European Union will pay up to 95 percent of costs in rural development projects in Romania, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Latvia to help stimulate economic recovery by speeding up investment and boosting competitiveness. These higher co-financing rates for states in financial difficulty would be applied on a temporary basis only, until the end of 2013.

Members of the European Parliament supported this increase in co-financing rates under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to ensure that these strapped for cash countries can continue to implement their projects. Cash-flow problems caused by the current financial crisis are currently hitting these countries' growth prospects and drying up public funding.

The overall amount of EU money earmarked for rural development will not change and the temporary measures will not have any impact on the programming period after 2013. The resolution passed with 622 votes in favor, 60 against and 17 abstentions.

Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)