THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND ROMANIA CONCLUDED A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (PA), ROMANIA IS THE 11TH COUNTRY WHO SIGNS THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.

That Partnership Agreement covers five European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF):

  • the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF),
  • the Cohesion Fund (CF),
  • the European Social Fund (ESF),
  • the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD),
  • the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).


In period 2014-2020 the allocation for Romania is around € 22.4 billion for Cohesion Policy (ERDF, ESF, Cohesion Fund) with additional resources of € 106 million from the Youth Employment Initiative (matched by the same amount from ESF). A further € 8 billion will be devoted to development of the agricultural sector and rural areas from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The allocation for European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) amounts to some € 168 million.

The PA focuses on the following challenges and corresponding priorities:

  • Promoting competitiveness and local development, with a view to reinforcing the sustainability of economic operators and improving regional attractiveness;
  • Developing human capital, by increasing the employment rate and tertiary education attainment, but also tackling the severe social challenges and poverty levels, in particular for deprived or marginalized communities and in rural areas;
  • Developing physical infrastructure, both in ICT and the transport sector, in order to increase the accessibility of Romanian regions and their attractiveness for investments;
  • Encouraging sustainable and efficient use of natural resources through promotion of energy efficiency and a low carbon economy, protection of the environment and adaptation to climate change;
  • Building a modern and professional public administration by means of a systemic reform aimed at overcoming the structural governance shortcomings.


These funds are the cornerstone of Romania’s ability to address medium and long-term development challenges.
Investments will focus on enhancing innovation activity and competitiveness of enterprises in order to increase their added value, stimulate growth, job creation and improve the performance of the research and innovation system, including the quality of higher education, cooperation with the business sector and increased private investment. One of the key challenges for Romania is to develop and upgrade its significant agricultural potential, currently too concentrated in low added value activities, while at the same time accompanying the farm restructuring process and releasing labor force needed by other competitive sectors.
Investing in human capital and helping people enter the labor market and improve their skills will be a top priority in Romania with a focus on issues highlighted in the country-specific recommendations. A strong emphasis is placed on combating youth unemployment. The funds will finance initiatives to improve education and training systems with a view to better matching the labor force skills with the market needs, in particular for tertiary education and vocational education, but also focusing on early childhood education and care, primary and secondary education, especially for deprived communities, including Roma minority.