Romania May Loose the Funding From the European Union

Jonathan Scheele, the head of the Delegation of the EU Commission in Bucharest, said in a television interview that Romania may loose the money coming from the EU if the public administration will be unable to administer it more efficiently and fairer than it did up to now.

"It is true, currently Romania runs the risk to loose its EU allotted money," said Scheele. He explained that Parliament did its part of the job with passing laws relevant for European integration, but changes have to be made in implementing those laws. "A lot of changes will take place by the time Romania becomes a full EU member. For example, an influx of money will be available for the rural areas and Romanian farmers, but they will be unable to draw the funds if a system, called Ajax, will not be set in place. This Ajax system provides for an aerial picture for every piece of property land in order to know its exact make and location. This system will not be implemented in due time," said Scheele.

He also said that it was uncertain Romania would have been accepted as an EU member at the time of the last enlargement, in 1 May 2004, even if negotiations would have been completed by that time. "By 2000, when we started the negotiation process, Romania had not achieved a level of change that would have allowed it to accomplish all the necessary changes by the end of 2003. It was quite impossible, really, even if the Executive in charge prior to 2001 would have performed without fault," said Scheele.