THE ROLE OF EU FUNDS ON BOOSTING LOCAL ECONOMIES IN SMALL TOWNS OF ROMANIA. ANALYSIS OF SMART CITY PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN SIRET TOWN, ROMANIA

Abstract

In this study, we explore how EU funding can be a real injector in the local budget of small and medium-sized towns of Romania. Due to various obstacles encountered by local public administration entities in Romania when executing innovative projects with own budgets, EU funding seems to be the adequate response to the need of smart city solutions development. The primary aim of this research is to demonstrate that the town of Siret, among other local public administrations in Romania, exhibit a remarkable ambition to implement innovative investment projects based on a willingness to embrace smart and sustainable local development, strategic foresight, transparency, adaptability, and the ability to engage and integrate the needs of the entire community. Through an examination of various programming documents made available by the local public authority in Siret, we extract some key financial indicators that EU funding is essential in fostering innovation and the development of smart city initiatives.

Keywords

• smart city
• strategy
• public sector
• sustainable development
• eu funding