Siegfried Mureșan argues that Romania can receive tens of billions of euros through the European Union’s future cohesion policy

Liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan says Romania could receive tens of billions of euros through the European Union’s future cohesion policy, but the level of funding will depend on the negotiations in the final stages for the EU’s seven-year multiannual budget.

Mureșan said he has returned to what he calls the “number one priority”: securing the highest possible level of European funds for Romania. According to him, the country has received more than €53 billion through cohesion policy over the past 20 years. This is in addition to agricultural funds and funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, bringing the total to approximately €116 billion.

The statements were made at a conference held Friday in Bucharest as part of the European Parliament’s EPP Group. MEPs, ministers and local elected officials from Romania and other European countries attended the event. Mureșan argued that cohesion policy finances infrastructure, schools, hospitals and local development, helping reduce the gaps between Romania and Western Europe.

The MEP also linked infrastructure investment to European security, in the context of the war in Ukraine. He said Romania, located on the border of the conflict, can defend itself more effectively if it has modern infrastructure. The message came after Parliament rejected, on Wednesday, the cabinet proposed by Mureșan.