20 YEARS OF EUROPEAN FUNDS’ MANAGEMENT — WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED AND WHAT IS TO DO NEXT? A PRACTITIONER’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The management of European funds was part of the public agenda, in a consistent manner, for the past 15 to 20 years. Although visible progress has been made since the moment Romania started to access pre-accession funds (Phare, ISPA, SAPARD), to date, with direct effects on the economic growth, the efficiency in implementing it suffered a lot due to the political spectrum intervention, the human resource involved, the volatile administrative framework or even due to the influence, sometimes unwelcomed, of the private sector. The present material tries to unveil some of the causes that affected the implementation of European projects, and also to offer a range of solutions for a better management of it, taking into consideration the fact that the new programming period, 2021-2027, is at our doorstep.