Cohesion Policy Communication Effort' Effectiveness – Romanian Case Study

2007–2013 was the first multi-annual programming exercise after Romania’s accession to the European Union. In order to reach the horizontal aspects of communication regarding the European funds and EU’s role in the effort to reduce the development disparities, Romania opted for a unique National Communication Strategy for all the Structural Instruments. The focus in the communication supported by the bodies through which the operational programmes were carried out (managing authorities, intermediate bodies) was mainly laid on the information and motivation of the potential beneficiaries of structural instruments. On the other hand, at the level of projects funded by the operational programmes, the communication made by the beneficiaries was largely directed by the compulsory procedures contained in the Visual Identity Manuals of the operational programmes through which the projects were financed. This article contains the conclusions of an analysis on the effectiveness of the communication process for the structural instruments in the first programming period. Its conclusions are based on a case study conducted on the communication process for the Regional Operational Programme at the level of the Sud-Est development Region. Thus, the greatest obstacles have been identified (Balkan mentality, prejudices resulting from the previous failures in accessing the European funds, the technical communication language, the negative information associated to the implementation of structural programmes) and the elements that came to support the communication (communication norms and rules laid down in the European and national strategic documents referring to information and publicity) in the concrete case of the Sud-Est Region. At the same time, the analysis of the communication process at the level of the investigated region reveals the functional communication channels for the different categories of target audience: young people (on-line channels), public beneficiaries (information sessions), private beneficiaries (press releases), rural area (information caravans).