Ro-Net project : Romania could lose EUR 60 M from EU

Deutsche Telekom group is forced to postpone for nearly one year the completion of Ro-Net project, which means the broadband Internet connecting of the 783 disadvantaged localities in Romania, hotnews.ro informs. Ro-Net, amounting to EUR 80 million, should have been completed by the end of this year. If the project is phased on the fiscal year 2014-2020, Romania will lose EU funds unused from 2007-2013 period, according to analyzed data. This although Sorin Grindeanu, former Minister for the Information Society in Victor Ponta’s Government, assured that this will not happen and the authorities are in talks with the European Commission for phasing the project for 2014 – 2020 period. The officials from the Ministry for the Information Society (MSI) estimate that by year-end it will be spent over RON 88.6 million, which is only about 24 percent out of the total value of the project in 2007-2013. This means that Romania will lose the remaining of over 60 million this financial year. If Telekom officials say the Ro-Net project has been phased for 2016 and the part that will be implemented in the next year will be financed from the 2014-2020 budget year,” ministry officials are optimistic that the phasing will be obtained. They point out that currently, the procedures required to obtain the agreement of the European Commission are underway. According to Telekom, the final acceptance and commissioning of the entire project is scheduled for the second half of 2016. “Now, the building sites in over 150 cities are open and the works in 102 towns will be completed by the end of this year,” the Minister for the Information Society, Marius Bostan, estimates. In August, Nikolai Beckers, CEO of Telekom Romania, criticised local authorities for slowing its infrastructure work for the Ro-Net project in the last year. Ro-Net project is unlikely to be ready within the deadline agreed with Brussels and in these circumstances the government will receive no refunds, warned Beckers. Ro-Net broadband project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The total value of the project is RON 377.838 million, of which the financial assistance irredeemable grant is RON 252.282 million. The contract for building the Ro-Net network was attributed to Telekom Romania (formerly Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania). The project’s objective is to build and operate a national infrastructure for broadband communications for the provision of electronic communications services in disadvantaged rural areas who currently are not covered by broadband internet services. With this project, Romania wishes to promote economic growth and the creation jobs in areas covered by the programme.