Abstract:

European funds are one of the main instruments used by the EU Member States to finance sustainable development. Absorption of European funds is an objective at Member States level which is part of the European Union. The purpose of the article is to bring to the attention of the stakeholders the issue of the absorption of European funds by using a methodology based on a composite indicator that integrates the functionalities provided by the management authority in absorbing the European funds. The article deals with a topic neglected by the specialized literature, namely identifying the absorption that can be achieved by a Member State, a process based on a methodology that uses the criteria that characterize the absorption process. The article addresses the situation of Romania and includes in the analysis of the operational programs that are financed from the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020. The article proves the modest results of Romania in the absorption of the European funds related to the programming period 2014-2020.