European funds for human resources could be the first European money to run out, considering that hundreds of companies and NGOs have signed contracts worth 80% more than the amount allocated until 2013. Beneficiaries of EU funds for human resources have signed contracts worth 3.5 billion euros, with 4.25 billion euros being allocated for the entire programme. At least several tens of firms, NGOs, state agencies and institutions, have announced launches of projects in the past few days, which involved training, professional reconversion of the unemployed and combating discrimination against women, financed with EU money.
“Unfortunately we started off on the wrong foot with this
programme, so 2010 was the year of the restart. There have been no
repayments so far, because we have not had projects contracted,”
said Anca Zevedei, head of AMPOSDRU, the management authority in
charge of EU money for human resources. She estimates the full
amount of 4.25 billion euros will be contracted by mid this
year.
Last year, over 400 million euros went into the accounts of
Romanians who received EU funding for HR, ten times more than in
2009, with the money being used to pay tens of thousands of
salaries of project managers, trainers, and employees involved in
such programmes, considering that the biggest costs of such a
programme, between 50 and 60%, are salary costs.