GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSING REGIONAL OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME 2007- 2013 - June 2007 - Romania – Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................3 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................5 EX-ANTE EVALUATION PROCESS: ASSESSMENTS & CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................................11 1. CURRENT SITUATION ANALYSIS ..........................................................15 1.1 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND DISPARITIES BETWEEN REGIONS . 15 Entrepreneurial development ............................................................................................. 22 Population and employment............................................................................................... 26 Unemployment................................................................................................................... 33 Transport Infrastructure...................................................................................................... 34 Infrastructure for health care, social and public safety services ........................................ 38 Education............................................................................................................................ 45 Tourism .............................................................................................................................. 52 Urban Development ........................................................................................................... 56 Environment....................................................................................................................... 60 1.2. REGIONS’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND DISPARITIES WITHIN REGIONS........................................................................... 65 North-East Development Region ....................................................................................... 65 South – East Development Region..................................................................................... 70 South Development Region ............................................................................................... 75 South –West Development Region .................................................................................... 80 West Development Region................................................................................................. 86 North-West Development Region...................................................................................... 91 Centre Development Region .............................................................................................. 96 Bucharest-Ilfov Development Region.............................................................................. 101 1.3 LESSONS LEARNED FROM PRE-ACCESSION PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PHARE ESC AND NATIONAL FUNDED PROGRAMMES 2000-2006 .............................................. 107 2. SWOT ANALYSIS........................................................................................115 3. STRATEGY...................................................................................................117 3.1. OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 120 3.2 PRIORITY AXES................................................................................................. 122 3.2.1. Priority Axis 1: Support to sustainable development of urban growth poles......... 122 3.2.2. Priority Axis 2: Improvement of regional and local transport infrastructure......... 126 3.2.3. Priority Axis 3: Improvement of social infrastructure ........................................... 128 1 ______________________________________________________________________________________ June 2007 Romania – Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013 3.2.4. Priority Axis 4: Strengthening the regional and local business environment ........ 137 3.2.5. Priority Axis 5: Sustainable development and promotion of tourism.................... 142 3.2.6. Priority Axis 6: Technical assistance ..................................................................... 147 3.3. COHERENCE AND COMPLIANCE WITH COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL POLICIES............................................................................................. 151 3.3.1 Community policies ................................................................................................ 151 3.3.2 National policies...................................................................................................... 157 3.4. COMPLEMENTARITY WITH OTHER OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES AND OPERATIONS FINANCED BY EAFRD AND EFF...... 158 4. FINANCIAL PLAN ......................................................................................162 5. IMPLEMENTATION...................................................................................166 5.1. ROP MANAGEMENT........................................................................................ 166 5.2. MONITORING AND EVALUATION .............................................................. 171 5.3 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL............................................ 177 5.4. IRREGULARITIES ............................................................................................ 181 5.5. INTERNAL AUDIT ............................................................................................ 182 5.6 INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY.................................................................. 183 5.7 THE SINGLE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ........................ 184 6. PARTNERSHIP ............................................................................................186 ANNEX 1 - TABLES.........................................................................................189 ANNEX 2 – REGIONAL PROFILES.............................................................192 ANNEX 3 - SWOT ANALYSES BY REGIONS............................................207 ANNEX 4 - REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES ......................221 ANNEX 5 - INDICATIVE BREAKDOWN OF THE COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION BY CATEGORY IN THE ROP......................................238 ANNEX 6 – PARTNERSHIPS CONSULTATIONS.....................................239 ANNEX 7 – HIGH POTENTIAL TOURISM AREAS .................................245 ANNEX 8 – NATIONAL TOURISM INFORMATION AND PROMOTION CENTRES ...............................................................................246 2 ______________________________________________________________________________________ June 2007 Romania – Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACIS Authority for the Coordination of Structural Instruments BSS Business Support Structures CEE Central and Eastern European Countries EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EC European Commission ECA European and Central Asia EDIS Extended Decentralised Implementation System ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESC Economic and Social Cohesion ESF European Social Fund EU European Union EUR Euro FDI Foreign Direct Investment GD Government Decision GDP Gross Domestic Product GDRD General Directorate for Regional Development Phare Funds (MDPWH) GS Grant Scheme HRD Human Resources Development IB Intermediate Body ICT Information and Communications Technologies NIS National Institute for Statistics IRIS Integrated Regional Information System ISPA Pre-Accession Structural Instrument JAP Joint Assessment Paper JIM Joint Inclusion Memorandum MA Managing Authority MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MIAR Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform MARR Mining Affected regions Reconstruction MDPWH Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing MERY Ministry of Education, Research and Youth MoLFEO Ministry of Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities MoCC Ministry of Culture and Cults MPH Ministry of Public Health MEF Ministry of Economy and Finance MT Ministry of Transport MESD Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development MSMSCTTLP Ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Companies, Trade, Tourism and Liberal Professions NAE National Agency for Employment NBRD National Board for Regional Development NDP National Development Plan 3 ______________________________________________________________________________________ June 2007 Romania – Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013 NGO Non-governmental Organization NIRDT National Institute for Research & Development in Tourism NPAA National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis NSRF National Strategic Reference Framework NUTS Official Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics OP Operational Programme R&D Research and Development RAI Regions’ Attractiveness Index RAFI Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments RDA Regional Development Agency RDB Regional Development Boards RDI Research, Development and Innovation RDP Regional Development Plan RIQL Research Institute for Quality of Life ROP Regional Operational Programme SAPARD Special Programme for Pre-Accession Aid for Agriculture and Rural Development SF Structural Funds SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprises SOP Sectoral Operational