State secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Cornelia Mihai, said last week Romania expects an answer from the European Commission in November on the request to extend by one year the deadline for the distribution of SAPARD funds for 2006.
She said the Payment Agency for Rural Development and Fishing, or APDRP, which is in charge of the SAPARD program, has only paid 5-10% of the European funds assigned for 2006.
Romania should have finished distributing the 2006 funds by the end of this year, as the European Union doesn’t reimburse payments performed after the deadline.