AFIR has reported that the General Director of the Agency for Rural Investment Financing, George CHIRIȚĂ, met at the Agency's headquarters with Cezar GRAMA – President of the PRO EUROPA Union, as well as other representatives from the Union's leadership.

The main topics of discussion focused on finalizing negotiations for the conclusion of a collective labor contract for all AFIR staff and signing this agreement, the possibility of salary increases through granting a 15% complexity work bonus on the base salary.

PRO EUROPA Union specified that they are in discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Labor regarding a new salary law.

It is worth mentioning that PRO EUROPA Union is the only union of AFIR employees that meets the representativeness conditions provided by Law 367/19.12.2022 on social dialogue, with subsequent amendments and completions, according to Civil Decision no. 411/2024 pronounced by the Bucharest Sector 1 Court in file no. 36067/299/2023, and Civil Decision no. 994A/30.03.2023 pronounced by the Bucharest Tribunal in file no. 42553/299/2022, through its representative, Cezar GRAMA – President of PRO EUROPA Union.

We emphasize the fact that the Agency for Rural Investment Financing is one of the most performant institutions in Romania, and we achieved this performance together with farmers, processors, and local authorities through the efficient management of European funds granted by the European Union and the Romanian Government, for the modernization of agriculture and the development of rural areas in Romania.

Proof of this are the institutional performances recorded by AFIR both regarding the management of European funds granted and for strengthening administrative capacity at a level that has brought international recognition and certification for AFIR (ISO 270001:2013 on information security, ISO 370001:2016 on anti-bribery management, ISO 20000-1:2018 on IT service management), repeated appreciations, and successful direct collaboration with several elite companies worldwide in software development (Microsoft, UiPath), as well as using AFIR as a best practice example at the central administration level.

So far, through the SAPARD, PNDR 2007 – 2013, PNDR 2014 – 2020 programs and the Transition period, the Agency has made payments of 21 billion euros, non-refundable funds for financing investment projects, as well as compensatory payments. We have been directly and actively involved for over 23 years in implementing non-refundable European funds granted to Romania for financing investments in agriculture and rural development, as well as for making payments to farmers.

We focus on supporting the development of agriculture and rural areas by providing funding and support for projects that contribute to economic growth, job creation, and improving the quality of life in local communities.