Structural Funds - those two words that we are hearing day by day more often and which are instantly awaking in us the entrepreneur instinct. Romania is going to benefit of structural funds around Euro 28-30 billions from EU during 2007-2013 period. 8, 5 billions Euro have to be spent daily, inclusive Saturday's and Sunday's and after January 1st 2007. What exactly are Structural Funds and which are the success projects that are going to benefit from EU finance

What Are Structural Funds ?

How to Obtain Structural Funds ?

National Development Plan 2007-2013

National Strategic Reference Guide

Operational Programs

Fondul European pentru Agricultura si Dezvoltare Rurala (FEADR)

What are the Structural Funds?

As well as the pre-adherence funds (Sapard, Phare, Ispa) the structural funds are a methods of irremediable finance that are going to be operational in Romania beginning with 2007. These funds are going to be granted to various projects through the conveyance of developing programs that comprise certain development directions and eligible measures in order to receive this kind of finance.

STRUCTURAL FUNDS are financial instruments through which European Union is acting to eliminate economical social regions contradictions with the purpose of making an economical and social cohesion:

European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD)
- is a structural fund that supports less developed regions through investment financing in the production area, infrastructure, education, health sector, local development and small and medium enterprises, as well as the economic and social conversion for the sectors that have difficulties on an structural level.

European Social Fund (ESF)
- is an structural fund that is intended for European Union social policy and that supports measures for labor forces occupation and human resources development

European Fund Orientation and Grants in Agriculture (EFOGA)
- "Orientation" sector - is a structural fund intended for common agriculture policy of European Union that supports measures for modernization of the agriculture and rural development.

Financial Instruments for Fishy Orientation (FIFO)
- is an structural fund intended to the community policy in the fishery sector, that supports measures for increasing the competitiveness in fishy sector, in the conditions of an long lasting balance between resources and exploitation capacity. Along these is functioning also as structural instrument the Cohesion Fund; this one gives supplementation to some finance, specially for the new member states that need infrastructure development projects (large transport networks, water supply networks and canalization, electricity, etc) but also in the same time has to stringently respect the figure imposed for admissible budgetary deficit. Looked at this way the Cohesion Fund is more a financial assistance with an effect expected at macroeconomic level.

Basically each of these four structural funds is financing certain projects that are in a relation with those:

- EFDR is financing mainly the investments in the production units, infrastructure and SME's
- FEADR is financing the measures that are aiming agriculture adjustment to ACP (Agriculture Common Policy of EU)
- ESF is financing the measures regarding the human resources market and employment of human resources (educational systems, professional training and employment recruitment) The financing is made most of the time under the form of nonrefundable assistance (and not as often as a refundable assistance, ex: subventions of interest rate, grants, etc) and only by respecting certain limits.

Areas of intervention of the structural funds

From EU cohesion and structural funds can be financed 14 areas:
- Research and technological development
- Companies computerization
- Transport
- Energy
- Environment protection and risk prevention
- Tourism
- Culture
- Urban and rural regeneration
- Support for companies and entrepreneurs
- Access to secure working places
- Social inclusion for underprivileged persons
- Human resources capital development
- Social infrastructure investments and also health and education investments
- Partnership development promotion

In order for us to make an image over the business, that is need it for strategies definition, I consider that is important to present you the areas of intervention on categories and subcategories:

1. Production area
1.1.Agriculture
- - Investments in infields
- - Young farmers activity initiation
- - Professional training
- - Processing and agriculture products marketing improvement

1.2. Silviculture
- Investments in forests
- Improvement of gather in/ cutting, processing and marketing of the forest products
- Promotion of the ways of using and marketing of the forest products
- Foundation of forest owners associations
- Reestablishment of lost forest production potential due to natural disasters and fire and insertion of some adequate preventive instruments
- Improvability/ conservation of ecological stability of the forests with a protection role
- Professional training

1.3. Promotion of the adapting process and development of the rural area
- Territorial improvement
- Land replotting
- Foundation of assistance and management services for farms
- Marketing of high quality agriculture products
- Basic services for rural economy and population
- Renewal and development of the villages and protection and conservation of the rural inheritance
- Diversification of the rural activities and of those near to agriculture area, for the insurance of multiple activities or alternative incomes - Intendance of water supplies for agriculture
- Tourist activities furtherance
- Handiwork activities furtherance
- Conservation of the environment in association with conservation of the lands, forests and landscape as well as improvement of animals life conditions
- Reestablishment of lost agriculture production potential due to natural disasters and insertion of some adequate preventive instruments
- Financial engineering

1.4. Fishery
- Fishing activity restructure
- Renewal and modernization of the fishing fleet
- Processing, marketing and promotion of the fishery products
- Aquaculture
- Fishery area equipage and conservation of the marine coast areas
- Social -economic measures (including assistance for temporary pause and compensations for technical restrictions)
- Actions of professionals fishermen (including professional training, reduce scale coast fishing activities)

1.5. Support of large business
- Investments in material capital (machinery and equipment, co-financing of state assistance)
- Non - pollution and non aggressive technology, clean and economical technology from energy field area
- Business consultancy services (including international promotion, export and environment management problems, technology acquisitions)
- Services for interested/ involved parties (health and security, assurance for taking care of addicted persons)
- Financial engineering


1.6. SME area support and handiwork area
- Investments in material capital (machinery and equipment, co-financing of state assistance)
- Non - pollution and non aggressive technology, clean and economical technology from energy field area
- Business consultancy services (information, business planning, consultancy services, marketing, management, design, international promotion, export, environment management problems, technology acquisitions)
- Business participation services assistance (spaces for business activity, business incubators, stimulation services, promotion, communication network foundation, conferences, exhibitions)
- Financial engineering
- Services for social - economy support (assurance for taking care of addicted persons, security and health service assistance, cultural activities)
- Professional training

1.7. Tourism
- Material investments (information centers, housing, service offering, facilities)
- Investments of other nature than material investments (development and tourism services offer, sport, cultural and free time activities, tradition)
- Participation services for tourism area (including promotional activities, communication/ contacts network foundation, conferences, exhibitions)
- Professional training

1.8. Research, technological development and innovation
- Research projects conducted in universities and research institutes
- Innovation and technology transfers, foundation of communication/ contacts networks and partnerships between companies and/ or research institutes
- Research infrastructure, technological development and innovation
- Researchers training

2. Human resources
2.1. Human resources market policy
2.2. Social integration
2.3. Development of educational and professional training environment (persons and companies)
2.4. Human resources flexibility, entrepreneurial activities, innovation, information and communication technologies (persons and companies)
2.5. Human resources market actions within women advantage

3. Basic infrastructures
3.1. 3.1 Transport infrastructure
- Railway
- Roads
- Highways
- Airports
- Harbors
- Navigable canals
- Urban transport
- Multimodal transport
- Intelligent transport systems

3.2. Telecommunications and informatics society infrastructure
- Basic infrastructure
- Information and communication technology (including security and secure transmission measures)
- Services and applications for the citizens (health, administration, education)
- Services and applications for SME's (commerce and electronic transactions, education and training, foundation of communication/ contacts networks)


3.3. Energy area infrastructure (production and distribution)
- Electricity, natural gases, petroleum, solid carburant
- Regenerating energy sources (solar energy, wind energy, hydro - electricity, biomass)
- Energetic efficiency, co-regeneration, energetic control


3.4. 3.4 Environment infrastructure (including water)
- Air
- Noise
- Urban and industrial wastes (including sanitary wastes and dangerous wastes)
- Potable water (water impound, storage, treatment and distribution)
- Sewerage and purification

3.5. 3.5 Planning and rehabilitation
- Military and industrial sites modernization and rehabilitation
- Urban areas rehabilitation
- Natural environment protection, improvement and regeneration
- Maintenance and restoration of cultural heritage


3.6. Social infrastructure and public health

4. Various
4.1. Technical assistance and innovating actions (EFRD, ESF, EFOGA, FIFO)
- Training, implementation, monitoring, advertising
- Evaluation
- Studies
- Innovating actions
- Public information services