Alexandru Stănescu, the brother of PSD Baron Paul Stănescu, won the organized selection for the position of Director General of the Southwestern Regional Development Agency “Oltenia”, according to the official announcement. Stănescu has no experience in the field of European funds, as the institute he leads manages European funds worth € 1.2 billion.
Note that he passed the final test of the interview with 90.6 points, while his only opponent, a senior employee in ADR, Gabriel Burada, scored only 57.14 points, according to the official document.
Alexandru Stănescu had already passed the selection phase of the application file together with another candidate and took the interview on 12 September.
The call for selection did not require applicants to have experience in the management of EU funds, although the Oltenia Regional Development Agency has as its main purpose the management of projects with EU funds from the Regional Operational Program in the old financial year 2014-2020, and in the new financial year 2021-2027 will be the managing authority. In other words, ADR Oltenia will manage projects of regional interest for 1.2 billion euros – transport infrastructures, development of the business environment, utilities, public works in the educational and health sectors. Furthermore, ADRs have certain powers over local investments made with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
Alexandru Stănescu graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanics of Politehnica Bucharest.
ADR Sud-Vest Oltenia is an NGO established and controlled by the local barons of the counties of the region – Dolj, Gorj, Mehedinţi, Olt and Vâlcea. ADR Oltenia has received over 1.2 billion euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and from the state budget in the period 2021-2027, which it can use for small local and regional projects. The southwestern region of Oltenia is one of the poorest in Romania.
It is the second political sinecure this year for Alexandru Stănescu, after he was pushed by the PSD to a leadership position at ANRE, the arbiter of the energy market, in early 2022. The head of the PSD, Marcel Ciolacu, at the time stated that Sătnescu had been rewarded for not having obtained another parliamentary seat. He subsequently resigned from ANRE a few days before the Constitutional Court ruled that his appointment violated the Constitution.
