PM Ponta: Romania and Serbia can develop joint infrastructure projects, such as Timisoara-Belgrade freeway

AGERPRES special correspondent Daniel Florea reports: Romania will offer all the possible support so that the Serbian administrative apparatus can learn as fast as possible European procedures, however it is more important that the two neighboring countries develop as quickly as possible joint infrastructure projects, such as the development of a freeway or highway between Timisoara and Belgrade, said on Thursday Prime Minister Victor Ponta.

"We have two kinds of experiences. Firstly, in the first five years since our accession to the EU we lost time and money, we didn't know how to use these funds. And my first piece of advice for my Serbian friends is to prepare better than Romania in order to understand procedures and the importance of administrative capacity. You must have well trained and well paid officials that know how to build projects at a European level", said the Romanian Prime Minister in a joint press conference with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

Ponta added that in the first five years since the accession, Romania has absorbed only 7 percent of the 20 billion euro that it had at its disposal through cohesion and structural funds.

"It's true that last year over 3 billion euro came to Romania, this year it's going to be more than that", he added.

The Prime Minister gave assurances that the Executive in Bucharest will offer all the possible support so that the Serbian administrative apparatus can learn as fast as possible European procedures.

"If we are speaking of the Danube strategy, there are surely important funds that I want to use to develop that joint Serbian-Romanian region around the Danube. But, most importantly, beyond the fact that the Internal Affairs Ministers have discussed...