EU Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cre?u has insisted that poverty betrays a systematic error of society that can only be remedied through a holistic approach.

In an interview for the Bulgaria On Air TV channel, Romania's EU Commissioner admits that roads and infrastructure are important, just as the reduction of poverty and social inequalities.

“This is why I demand greater cooperation between the ministries and the authorities managing the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Social Fund, most notably in countries like Romania and Bulgaria. Poverty cannot be tackled without a coordinated approach that includes all participants and all levels of society. The battle cannot be fought without efficient and well-developed institutions. The World Bank has long been studying the connection between poverty and poor governance,” she notes.

Romania's EU Commissioner argues that achieving a high rate of efficiency requires severing the vicious circle of poverty fed by corruption and poor governance.

“Regional policy accounts for around 1/3 of the budget of the European Union. I am fully aware of the substantial responsibility that I have been entrusted with. In the first months of 2015 I have been concentrating all my efforts on helping EU Member States facing certain challenges in the absorption of the remaining funding under structural funds in 2007-2013. I want to avoid a scenario under which somebody loses money,” she says, as cited by investor.bg.

“In the long term I intend to work in close cooperation with the EU Member States, the EU Council, and the European Parliament, so that we can cope with the problem of growing inequality between the different countries and regions in Europe. We would like to encourage the exchange of good practices and cross-border cooperation and to promote strategic investments aimed at increasing the competitiveness of our countries,” Cre?u declares.

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