The fourth meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg NEXT Romania – Republic of Moldova 2021-2027 Program took place.

The primary objective of the meeting was to review the evaluation report of the projects submitted under the call for standard projects, presented by the Managing Authority within the Ministry of Development, Public Works, and Administration, and to approve the list of selected projects and the corresponding funding.

The selected projects focus on areas such as climate change adaptation, biodiversity, education, health, culture, and border management.

To optimize the implementation of the program, which has a total budget of 107 million euros (of which 97.27 million euros come from European funds), the Monitoring Committee approved the financing of all projects, including those on the reserve list, given the high scores they obtained.

This approach allows for the contracting of approximately 80% of the program’s funds in the near future.

Additionally, the Monitoring Committee decided on the reallocation of funds within the program’s priorities to ensure optimal absorption, as well as on allocations for the next call for small-scale projects.

The meeting was attended by representatives of central, local, and regional public authorities from the program area, representatives of the National Authorities from both states, and representatives of the European Commission.

The Monitoring Committee (MC) consists of representatives of local, regional, and central authorities from the participating states. Each participating country has equal voting rights, regardless of the number of designated representatives.

The Monitoring Committee oversees the implementation of the program, examines all issues affecting its performance, and has the authority to issue recommendations to the Managing Authority regarding program implementation.

The work and decisions of the Monitoring Committee are based on the principles of transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination, objectivity, and fair competition.

The Monitoring Committee approves the project selection criteria and is responsible for the evaluation and selection procedures for projects to be funded under the program.