Payments to structural fund beneficiaries hit 1.2bn euros

Of the 8.6bn euros in European structural funds available for the 2007-2010 period, local authorities have so far transferred 1.2bn euros to beneficiaries, meaning a 13.4% absorption rate. Major payments have started being operated over the past two months, when those who won European projected received almost 260m euros.
The programme that made the biggest headway is the one destined to human resources development (POSDRU), which last year lagged behind the others in terms of European money absorption.
POSDRU has 1.5bn euros allotted during the 2007-2010 period, and payments so far have amounted to 300m euros. authorities say the progress is because of the fact that those winning European fund projects get a 30% pre-financing in the eligible value of the project.
The lowest absorption rate is still registered by the operational transport programme, at 1.85%, which operated 37m-euro payments of a total of 2bn euros earmarked for it in 2007-2010.