Romania's Rural Municipalities Receive €41.2M EU Funding for Social Services

The Romanian Ministry of Labour announced that roughly 400 rural municipalities have received advance payments totaling more than €41.2 million to launch the SCI2000 project, the country’s largest European‑funded social‑inclusion programme. The funds, drawn from the European Social Fund Plus and the European Regional Development Fund, will support integrated community teams that provide assistance to vulnerable groups – children at risk of school abandonment, the elderly, people with disabilities and those facing social exclusion. The programme aims to serve about 450,000 vulnerable residents across 2,000 communes by improving access to education, health and social services and reducing poverty in rural areas. Remaining municipalities that have completed the required documentation will receive their advances in the coming weeks.