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Romania launches the largest social inclusion and poverty reduction program with funding from EU funds

by AI | 17.Mar 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Thousands of localities in Romania will have integrated services for medical assistance, social assistance, and school counseling.

Benefits for communities in Romania with EU funds (c) Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity of Romania - Facebook

Bucharest – The Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity of Romania has launched the selection process for 2,000 communes that will benefit from funding within the project “Provision of integrated services in rural communities – facilitating vulnerable people’s access to efficient and quality basic services”, with a total budget of 815 million euros, co-financed by the European Union, through the Inclusion and Social Dignity Program 2021 – 2027.

The program, carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Health, and the National Agency for Social Payments and Inspection (ANPIS), aims to increase social inclusion and reduce poverty. In the 2,000 rural communities, Integrated Community Teams (ICT) composed of specialists in social assistance, health, and education will operate to find personalized solutions for each beneficiary, states the Ministry of Labor on Monday in a post on Facebook.

“It is a project that supports the most vulnerable among us and puts people first. I urge all the mayors of the communes in Romania to access this program – the largest social assistance program financed from European funds. Through integration, care, and inclusion, we can build stronger and more supportive communities,” declared Minister Simona Bucura Oprescu, quoted in the post.

The benefits brought by the project are: the formation of integrated community teams (specialists in health, social assistance, and education) in 2,000 communes; providing direct support to vulnerable people: food packages, home care services, educational and professional counseling; equipping and setting up spaces for the provision of social services; providing equipment and resources for local specialists; financial support for 200 SPAS employees who wish to pursue higher education in the field of social assistance.

The selection of communes is done in the order of requests submitted until the signing of 2,000 protocols. The interested Administrative Territorial Units (ATU) must submit a letter of intent and the necessary documents to the AJPIS of each county, which can be sent electronically or physically, according to the instructions in the selection procedure.

The project implementation period is January 2025 – December 2029. (17.3.2025)