New head for HR-targeted European funds: There's no way we can work miracles

The 5% absorption rate for European funds aimed at human resources is set to rise by yearend, but we will not be able to absorb the 1.5bn-euro sum available for us by the end of this year, believes Cristina Zevedei, 34, the new general manager of the authority managing 4.2bn euros for human resources. "It's impossible to come at the end and manage to work miracles, because we cannot work miracles," explained Zevedei for ZF, in the first press interview after her appointment. During the 2007-2010 period, Romania has over 6.3bn RON (1.5bn euros) available for HR projects, of which only 330m RON (78m euros) have actually reached beneficiaries' accounts, in line with reports by the Authority for the Coordination of Structural Instruments (ACIS). At present, the authority has reimbursement applications worth 60m RON (14m euros) filed in, while the estimated value of pre-financing applications for 2010 stands at 543m RON (130m euros), with the sums likely to rise in time.