Glossary

Advance Payment
The sums transferred by the Beneficiary to a contractor, based on the proving documents, according to the law, within a project financed through structural funds (Ordinance no. 29 of 2006, art. 1 par. (2) let. j)).

Aid scheme (within the limit) de minimis
Act based on which, in the conditions of fulfillment of certain criteria, individual aids can be given to enterprises defined in the act, generally and abstractly within the de minimis limit. The aid given to an enterprise, in a period of up to 3 fiscal years, in a total value of 200.000 EUR (equivalent in lei), is considered to be authorized, according to the community regulations regarding competition and state aid, without notice to the European Commission of the de minimis aid scheme.

Audit Authority
It is the public authority, at a national level, responsible for the checking of the managing operations and of the control system for each operational programme, functionally independent from the Managing Authority and from the Certification Authority. In Romania, for all the operational programmes, the Audit Authority functions close to the Audit Office.


Beneficiary
Authorities of the local public administration, enterprises (public/private) responsible for initiating or initiating and implementing the projects approved for financing within the Regional Operational Programme (Ordinance no. 29 of 2006, art. 1 par. (2) let. g))

Building / Construction works
The construction works are the specific operations that create (build) constructions of any kind or demolish constructions and/or improvements similar to constructions.(Order no. 1430 of 2005 for the approval of the Methodological norms of application of Law no. 50 of 1991 regarding the authorization of the execution of the construction works, with the ulterior changes and completions).


Call for proposals
A public invitation addressed by the Managing Authority / Intermediary Organism to a clearly identified category of applicants, to present the grant application forms for the projects, within the 2007-2013 Regional Operational Programme.

Certification and Payment Authority
Organization within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, responsible with the certification of the sums that appear in the costs declarations sent to the European Commission and for receiving the funds transferred to Romania from the European Fund for regional development the Social European fund and the Cohesion fund and with their transfer towards the beneficiaries, and also of the corresponding sums of pre-financing and co-financing from fund from the state budget (Ordinance no. 29 of 2007 regarding the way of assigning the structural instruments, of the pre-financing and co-financing assigned from the state budget, including the National fund for development, in the budget of the institutions involved in the management of structural instruments and their usage for the convergence objective, art. 1, par. (2), lett. c)).

Conflict of Interests
According to the Guide of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the conflict of interests involves a conflict between the duty towards the organization in which an employee carries out its activity and the personal interests of the latter, in which the employee has interests in his/her capacity of private person, that could influence in an un-proper way the fulfillment of the working obligations and responsibilities (The OECD Guide for solving the conflict of interests in the public administration, June 2003).

Consolidation works
Resistance added to the base/infrastructure of the building/road in order for it to be according to the STAS-es in force regarding the seismic coefficient.

Contract
The legal document of valuable consideration, signed between the Beneficiary and the contractor, for executing a certain work, supplying certain products or offering certain services.

Contractor
The natural person or legal entity, of public or private right, with which the Beneficiary has signed the contract for executing a work, supplying certain products or offering certain services.


Department for the Fights Against Fraud
It is the structure within the Prime Minister’s Office, that does not have the status of legal entity, the contact institution of the European Anti-Fraud Office, that ensures the coordination of the fight against frauds and that is responsible for the actual protection of the financial interests of the European Union in Romania.

Development regions
Territorial-statistical units, composed by 4-7 counties by free association of the County Councils. They correspond to the CTSU II level in the Classification of Territorial Statistical Units (CTSU) of EUROSTAT, for which specific statistic data is collected, according to the EUROSTAT regulations CTSU II level territories.


Eligible costs
Costs made by the Beneficiary, corresponding to the projects financed within the operational programmes, that can be financed both by structural instruments, and by the state budget and/or the contribution of the Beneficiary (Ordinance no. 29 of 2006, art. 1 par. (2) let. m))

European Anti-Fraud Office
It is the independent body, within the European Commission, responsible for the fight against the fraud of the European Union budget.

Extension works
In the case of civil works, especially buildings, works of construction for new annexes to existent buildings.


Financing Contract
The legal act for valuable consideration, signed between the Intermediary Organism and the Beneficiary, that approves the financing of a project, within the Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013.


Grant application form
The form filled in by the Applicant, in order to obtain financing through the Regional Operational Programme.


Infrastructure
Buildings, constructions, access roads, interior streets, public utilities network, communication network, excluded the land on which they are located.

Initial investment
Investment in tangible and/or intangible assets with the purpose of founding a new unit, extending an existent unit, diversifying the production of a unit with its products and of fundamentally changing the whole production process in an existent unit.

Intermediary Body for the Regional Operational Programme
It represents the institution designated by the Managing Authority that, by delegation of attributions from the latter, implements the priority axes / intervention areas through the 2007-2013 Regional Operational Programme. According to the provisions of Government Decision no. 497 of 2004, the eight Regional Development Agencies were designated. For the key area of intervention – the Promotion of the touristic potential and the creation of the necessary infrastructure, in order to increase Romania’s attractiveness as a touristic destination, the Intermediary Organism is the Ministry for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Commerce, Tourism and Liberal Professions.

Irregularity
Any violation of the law, the regularity and conformity, and also of the provisions of the financing memoranda, of the agreement memoranda, of the financing agreements regarding non-reimbursable financial assistance given to Romania by the European Community, and also of the provisions of the contracts signed parting from these memoranda/agreements, resulting from an action or omission of the economic operator that, through a non-eligible cost, has as effect the damaging of the general budget of the European Community and/or of the budgets described in art.1 par. (2) let. a) – f) and i) of Law no. 500 of 2002 regarding the public finances, with the ulterior changes and completions, and art. 1 par. (2) let. a) – d) of Law 273 of 2006 regarding the local public finances with the ulterior changes and completions.


Local public administration authority
The local councils of the communes, the cities, the municipalities, the sectors of Bucharest, the county councils and the General Council of Bucharest, as deliberative authorities, the mayors, the sector mayors and the general mayor of Bucharest, as executive authorities.


Managing Authority for the Regional Operational Programme
The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing is responsible for the management, administration and implementation of the financial assistance from of the structural instruments of the European Union for the Regional Operational Programme within the programming period 2007-2013, according to Government Decision no. 497 of 2004 regarding the settling of the institutional framework for the coordination, implementation and administration of structural instruments and of Government Decision no. 361 of 2007 regarding the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing.

Micro-enterprise
Enterprises that have up to 9 employees and that make a net annual turnover of up to 2 million EUR, equivalent in lei.

Modernization / rehabilitation works
Construction and installation works corresponding to the existent constructions and also the re- technologising works performed over the normal functioning duration of a construction, works that once made bring the respective construction to a new state on exploitation.

Monitoring Committee
Body that secures the coordination of structural instruments, and also the following of the efficiency and quality of community assistance implementation, its usage and impact, by respecting community provisions.(Government Decision no. 497 of 2004 with the ulterior changes and completions)


National Development Plan
Strategic planning and financial programming document, that has as a purpose the guiding and stimulation of Romania’s economic and financial development for reaching the EU objective, respectively the creation of socio-economic cohesion (Government Decision no. 497 of 2004 with the ulterior changes and completions)

National Reference Strategic Framework
The document approved by the European Commission, previously negotiated with Romania, as a member state, after evaluating the National Development Plan. The NRSF contains the contribution from structural instruments and the other financial resources for reaching the priorities and measures in the National Development Plan. The document’s provisions are implemented through the operational programmes (Government Decision no. 497 of 2004 with the ulterior changes and completions)

National Regional Development Strategy within the NDP
It includes Romania’s development priorities at a national, regional and local level, and it proposes their support through concentrated public investments, assigned on the basis programmes and projects. The strategy reflects Romania’s regional development policy, according to the Law of regional development (Law no. 315 of 2004) and the decentralization process as it is detailed in the Framework Law regarding Decentralization no. 195 of 2006 and also other relevant laws. Also, the Strategy takes into consideration the EU Strategic Cohesion Orientations for the period 2007–2013 and the Lisbon Agenda.

NATURA 2000, Objective NATURA 2000 type
According to art. 14, paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 236 of 2000 regarding the status of protected natural areas, preserving the natural habitats, the wild flora and fauna, the protected natural areas (including the special preserving areas and the special protection areas) must be highlighted in the national, zonal and local territory arrangement and urbanism plans, by forbidding, within their perimeter and vicinity, any work or activity likely to have a negative impact on them. Other legal norms in force:  Order no. 552 of 2003 of the minister of agriculture, forests, waters and environment regarding the approval of the interior zoning of the national and natural parks, from the point of view the need to preserve the biological diversity  Law no. 462 of 2001 for the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 236 of 2000 regarding the status of protected natural areas, the preservation of natural habitats and of the wild flora and fauna species  Directive no. 92/43/EEC regarding the preservation of natural habitats, of the wild flora and fauna

Non-eligible costs
The costs inherent to carrying out the projects financed by structural instruments within the operational programmes, that cannot be financed by structural funds, according to the community and national legislations (Ordinance no. 29 of 2006, art. 1 par. (2) let. n)).


Operational Programme
The strategic programming document elaborated by the Member State and approved by the European Commission, that settles a sectoral or regional development strategy through a set of coherent priorities


Payment unit for the ROP
Structure within the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing, having the responsibility of transferring the pre-financing sums, the co-financing sums assigned from the state budget, and also the sums from the non-reimbursable financial assistance to the (Ordinance no. 29 of 2007, art. 1 par. (2) let. f)).

Priority axis
One of the strategic priorities in and operational programme; it is composed of a group of operations related to one another and having specific measurable objectives. (Council Regulation no. 1083 of 2006)

Project
A serie of economical interconected activities, with defined objectives, conceived to produce a specific result in a perioad of time.

Project implementation duration
The period between the date of signing of the financing contract and the date in which the last reimbursement was sent by the Beneficiary to the Intermediary Organism.

Public financing
Financing from public funds. According to Law no. 500 of 2002 regarding the public finance, with the ulterior changes and completions, the public funds represent the sums assigned from the state budget, the budgets of the special funds, the budget of the state treasury, the budgets of the independent public institutions, the budgets of the public institutions totally or partially financed from the state budget, the budget of the state social insurances and the budgets of special funds, according to the case, the budget of public institutions totally financed by own incomes, the budget of funds from external credits contracted or secured by the state and the reimbursement, interests and other costs of which are covered by public funds; the budget of non-reimbursable external funds. According to Law 273 of 2006 regarding the local public finances, with the ulterior modifications and completions, the local public funds are the sums assigned from the local budgets of communes, towns, municipalities, sectors in Bucharest, counties and the municipality of Bucharest, tye budgets of the public institutions totally or partially financed by the local budgets, according to the case, the budgets of the public institutions totally financed by own incomes, the budget of internal and external loans, for which the reimbursement, the payment of interests, of commissions, of expenses and other costs are covered by the local budgets (and that come from: external loans contracted by the state and sublet to the local public administration authorities and/or to the economic agents and public services subordinated to them), loans contracted by the local public administration authorities and secured by the state, external and/or external loans contracted or secured by the local public administration authorities, the budget of the non-reimbursable external funds.


Regional Committee for Strategic Evaluation and Correlation
The regional organism, with no legal status, created with the purpose of evaluating the degree to which the projects that can be financed within the 2007-2013 ROP can contribute to reaching the objectives of the development strategies of the regions, and also of the regional correlation of the projects that can be financed by public funds. (Government Decision no. 764/2007 regarding the approval of the creation of the regional committees for strategic evaluation and correlation and of the framework-Regulation of organization and functioning of these committees)

Regional Development Agency
Non-governmental, non-profit, public utility body, with the status of legal entity, that functions in the field of regional development and that organizes itself and functions according to Law no. 315 of 2004 regarding regional development in Romania, with the ulterior changes and completions.

Regional Development Board
It is the deliberative body, without legal status, that formed and works based on the principle of partnership in every region, in order to coordinate the activities related to elaboration and monitoring residing from the regional development policies.

Regional Development Strategy 2007-2013
Document elaborated for each development region, it contains priorities and measures that will be able to be financed from structural instruments through the Regional Operational Programme, the Sectoral Operational Programmes, the National Strategic Plan for Rural Development, and also from other financing sources.

Regional Operational Programme
Programme that implements the important elements of the National Regional Development Strategy of the National Development Plan, by contributing, together with the other Operational Programmes, at reaching the objective of the National Regional Development Strategy of the NDP and of the National Reference Strategic Framework that is the decrease of disparities between Romania’s development Regions.


Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Enterprises that simultaneously meet the following conditions:  They have an average annual number of employees under 250;  They make a net annual turnover of up to 50 million EUR, equivalent in lei, or the have total assets not higher than the equivalent in lei of 43 million EUR, according to the last approved financial situation, By total assets is meant fixed assets plus the circulating assets plus advance expenses. (Law no. 175 of 2006 regarding the approval of Government Ordinance no. 27/2006 for the modification and completion of Law no. 346/2004 regarding the stimulation of the founding and development of small and medium-sized enterprises)

Supplementary costs
The costs that come about during the project, in the absence of which the project cannot be implemented and that cannot be financed through structural instruments.