Local elections 2024. Bucharest, a suffocated city, spent only 30% of the funds…

The electoral struggle for Bucharest, as for all important economic centers, is not only about political prestige, but also about the money that the mayors have on hand. But how do you collect and how do you spend this money?

Bucharest, a city suffocated by traffic, pollution and with problems in the supply of hot water and heat, absorbed only 30% of the European funds scheduled for the period 2020-March 2024, according to a set of data published by the Ministry of Finance. According to the cited source, out of almost 13 billion euros allocated for Bucharest, both for the General City Hall and for the sectors, a total of 4.2 billion euros were spent.

In total, Bucharest (the general city hall plus the sectors) has an annual budget of about 4 billion euros, of which 2 billion euros is the budget of the General City Hall alone. In the four years, the total budget of the Capital was about 15 billion euros, of which most of the money went on the salaries of the town halls and municipal companies, on subsidies and on goods and services. Instead, the town halls borrowed for investments and, as the Finance figures show, absorbed only 30% of the European funds.