Hungary is receiving major EU development funds, negotiated well with respect to the period between 2014-2020, and is among the winners, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said in Parliament.
János Lázár indicated in his presentation delivered as part of the political debate concerning the utilisation of the EU funds to be made available to Hungary during the period between 2014 and 2020: rural development and agricultural funds included, we may use a sum of HUF 12 thousand billion in total. He reiterated that HUF 1,500-1,600 billion will be disbursed this year, while disbursements totalling HUF 2,000-2,500 billion will be made available next year as expected.
An allocation of HUF 986 billion is available, own resources included, for human resources developments, and the Ministry of Human Capacities published calls for proposals worth HUF 527 billion on 21 November, the Minister detailed. He said that HUF 2,500 billion will be available for the development of the economy, of which the Ministry for National Economy has already opened an allocation of HUF 1,674 billion which must go directly to the sector of small and medium-sized businesses. HUF 1,216 billion will be available for transport developments, and HUF 1,161 billion for environmental and energy developments. They are planning to use HUF 290 billion for the development of public administration, including IT developments worth HUF 160 billion in order to facilitate administration. HUF 1,200 billion will be allocated to counties and county-ranked cities for the purposes of the development of the economy.
According to Mr Lázár’s summary, they made available 75 per cent of the entire allocation up to 21 November. The goal is to make available the totality of the funds by March 2017, and they would like to publish calls for proposals worth HUF 1,000 billion by the end of this year. He remarked: the publication of calls for proposals is much swifter now than between 2007-2013, and there are ongoing consultations with the interest representations.
He said: the aspiration of the Hungarian Government to use 60 per cent of the funds for the development of the economy has never provoked any criticism yet so far. This share was 14-16 per cent earlier, and most of these funds were awarded to large companies in foreign ownership, Mr Lázár remarked. The Minister also pointed out that, according to a 2016 audit, Hungary’s figures are improving significantly, and the number of open tender procedures is on the increase.
He stated: regarding corruption, there is zero tolerance, and they are investigating every case and every report. He stressed: the EU defines the framework for the absorption of the funds, and Hungary as a Member State has limited scope for manoeuvring which is tied to a set of stringent regulations. He further pointed out: the big question of the next few decades is whether – if Hungary is not a member of this community – the economy will be able to generate development funds of this magnitude.
He remarked: in the case of the EU funds, we are not talking about money for free, we ourselves contribute HUF 3,500 billion, and we are a net winner, but in the perspective of a decade, we must consider to what extent this was worthwhile for the Hungarian economy, and to what extent it would be able to stand on its own to feet better than without the utilisation of these funds.
At the same time, comparing this year’s GDP of HUF 38 thousand billion with the HUF 1,600 billion to be disbursed, this sum should not dominate so much, and should not influence the country’s economic performance to such an extent. What may perhaps be behind the data is that Hungary still spends too much on general operations, and there are no local own resources for developments, he said expressing his view. He indicated: they have engaged the audit firm KPMG to state an opinion on the overall benefit of the funds made available between 2007-2013.
He said that there is an intensive debate about the cohesion and fiscal policies that should characterise the EU beyond 2020. He also indicated: on the part of the European Commission, there are plans to implement a system in which the EU funds are not disbursed via national institutions, but in a centralised manner.