Cristian Ghinea, USR’s public policy coordinator, says that the Department for Integrated Evaluation and Monitoring of Funds Funded from Public and European Funds is a “superstructure” that will affect the implementation of the PNRR.

“Ideas that are bad and few never die. Therefore, an agency is made at the Government for EU funds. We also have an EU Ministry of Funds, with the same responsibilities. I always hoped that this fantasy, which was just Marcel Boloş’s lust when he was an adviser to Nicolae Ciucă, so that he would also have his own toy, would die once the man became a minister. Will the new structure and the Ministry of European Investments and Projects be trampling over each other? Obviously. Will it affect the implementation of PNRR? Obviously, yes, it will have an impact on PNRR as well,” says Cristian Ghinea, according to an USR release.

According to him, the ministries will no longer report to the Ministry of European Investments and Projects, but “directly to the new department” set up under the prime minister, which is why MIPE will “lose control” and authority over the ministries.

“The management system is part of the PNRR, it is a separate chapter, according to the European regulation. We had to show, negotiate and agree on what to do, to apply PNRR. Now a new structure is emerging. It was created without consulting the European Commission. Obviously, it was stealing from MIPE. But it has no responsibility. They made a mischief, as usual. Throughout the negotiations, the Commission was concerned about our ‘talent’ for dissipating responsibility and authority. MIPE’s role as coordinator is clear in the PNRR. Now they have put a lid on it: 25 positions that oversee MIPE,” said the former Minister of European Investments and Projects, according to Agerpres.

According to Ghinea, the Government has not yet hired at MIPE “even half” of the people who should work in the direction of PNRR, and the establishment of the new department creates a second “steering wheel” of coordination.

“Will this agency be filled with grandchildren, nephews and mistresses? Obviously. The government has not yet hired half of the people who should work for the PNRR in MIPE. Instead, it creates a superstructure at the Government to supervise them, with 25 positions! There’s no hurry to hire people. The money we struggled to bring in is unused. Coalition’s priority: to make another agency oversee others. Does the Ciucă wing from PNL want to have its own toy on EU funds because the Cîţu wing has MIPE? Obviously. Will this help the absorption and proper use of European money? Obviously not. When you have two steering wheels, it all goes wrong,” Cristian Ghinea also said.

At Monday’s meeting, the government approved the establishment of a Department for integrated evaluation and monitoring of publicly and European-funded programs, which will be run by the prime minister.