Brussels freezes EU farm aid to Romania: ministry
(BUCHAREST) - The European Commission has frozen some 28.3 million euros (41.5 million dollars) in agricultural subsidies to Romanian farmers due to "technical problems," the finance ministry announced Wednesday.
"The Commission has temporarily suspended ... payments of up to 28.3 million euros ... until these problems, which were observed in June, have been solved," the ministry said.
Brussels informed Bucharest on July 9 that it would suspend farm aid to the EU newcomer due to weaknesses in the way the Romanian agency in charge of distributing the funds was managed and controlled.
"The distribution of aid will only resume when an independent auditor has confirmed the problems have been solved," the ministry said.
Romania, which joined the European Union in January 2007, remains under strict supervision from Brussels over its management of agricultural subsidies as well as concerns over corruption and food safety.
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