STUDIES ON THE SITUATION OF INVESTMENTS MADE WITH PUBLIC FUNDS UNDER 123 MEASURE "INCREASING THE ADDED VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY PRODUCTS" OF THE NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, IN THE SOUTH-WEST OLTENIA DEVELOPMENT REGION IN ROMANIA

European funds are financial instruments created by the European Union, for member states, private and/or public sector, in order to develop certain areas, and to support countries to achieve certain standards of economic, social or cultural development. The grants are the financial aid which is granted without being returned, and target many activities and investments. The paper makes a practical analysis on the absorption of structural and cohesion funds in Oltenia county for the 2007-2013 time frame, their impact on the regional economy, as well as on the factors that have influenced the accession process. NRDP is a complex program drawn up by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development following consultations with representatives of bodies, organizations and social partners working in this field, and approved after several rounds of negotiations by the European Commission. The measures are aimed at helping the development of agriculture in Romania. These measures cover all areas of activity in rural areas, except the acquisition of land and animals. 123 Measure "increasing the added value of agricultural and forestry products" has as general objectives to increase the competitiveness of agrifood and forestry processing enterprises by improving the general performance of enterprises in the processing and marketing sector of agricultural and forestry products, through better use of human resources and other factors of production.