Romania urged to increase budget ahead of EU entry
BRAILA, Romania (Reuters) – Romania will need to increase its modest budget by as much as 10 percent of national income in order to fully enjoy the benefits of European Union membership, an EU official said yesterday. Jonathan Scheele, head of the European Commission’s delegation in Bucharest, said Romania’s budget was lower as a percentage of gross domestic product than that of any countries currently in the EU, and below fellow candidate Bulgaria’s. «Romania is the last, so they have to aim to increase spending from 30 percent to 35 and later to 40 percent of GDP (gross domestic product),» he said during a meeting with officials from the town of Braila. Romania, which wants to join the European Union in 2007, must find cash to co-finance projects worth billions of euros but diplomats have expressed concern that weak administration and rampant graft will make it difficult to absorb the funds. The EU may delay Romania’s accession by one year to 2008 if it decides its structural reforms and its fight against rampant corruption are not effective enough. Scheele said the EU had awarded some 60 million euros for various projects in and around the small Danube river town of Braila to improve education, help disabled people and rebuild historic buildings. Analysts and officials have said Romania will need to spend more to absorb structural funds from the EU and to improve crumbling communist-era infrastructure in an effort to make its economy more competitive within the bloc.
