Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Tuesday that the problems facing communes are currently being assessed "from an accounting perspective", stressing that local administrative units cannot be treated as "commercial companies".
"A weakened budgetary apparatus - at local, county and central level - one that cannot function and is marked by division, can push a state towards failure. I say this because in 2025 the Ministry of Agriculture was allocated almost EUR 5 billion from the state budget. Together with my colleagues at the ministry and the agencies managing EU-funded programmes, the Ministry of Agriculture brought in exactly EUR 5.08 billion from the European Union in 2025. In practical terms, the ministry used zero funds from the state budget that year. I say this responsibly, as a member of this government, but at present I believe that the problems of local communities and administrative-territorial units are being analysed purely from an accounting standpoint. This should not be the case. We cannot treat communes and administrative-territorial units as commercial entities," Barbu said at the General Assembly of the Association of Communes of Romania.
He argued that sound economic development is needed without placing an excessive burden on residents of rural communities. 'We need to channel processing facilities towards communes, facilities that create jobs and generate income, so that you have the resources to develop your communities and secure co-financing for EU-funded projects. Agriculture and the food industry, which operate within your administrative-territorial units, accounted for 20% of GDP. Let me add another point: it is in these same areas where agricultural activities take place that processing facilities have generated 50% of state budget revenues," the minister told mayors.
Barbu also underlined that rural development cannot be achieved without strong local administration, adding that "the Ministry of Agriculture remains a reliable partner in the development of the Romanian countryside."
"Administrative-territorial units should not be viewed or treated as a problem for Romania. They play a strategic role in ensuring food security, as well as social conditions and wellbeing for the residents of your communes," he said.
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