“Today’s decision by Parliament represents and important step forward in the renewal of the research & development and innovation system; within the new framework, the Government will be providing an addition 32 billion forints (EUR 99.2 million) in funding to the field”, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI.

As he explained, the new legislation will enable the modernisation of the institutional system and financing based on international models.

He emphasised that the expected adoption of the 2020 budget in July will also enable a major increase in financing in the interests of better performance. “Thanks to the changes, the research results of state-financed research locations will be utilised in inventions and patents, and cooperation between scientific life, higher education and the private sector will be increasing”, the Minister said, adding: “The higher domestic funding and the creation of the conditions to perform successfully in EU tenders primarily serves the interests of Hungarian researchers”.

In accordance with Tuesday’s decision by the National Assembly, the operation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ research institute network will be transferred to the newly established Eötvös Loránd Research Network. According to the Government’s intentions, this step will lead to the broader and more efficient utilisation of the basic research results of the research institute network. The Parliament has also established the National Science Policy Council, which will supervise the operations of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFI) and put forward opinions with relation to the Government’s research & development and innovation activities, as a body that is directly responsible to the Prime Minister.

During the parliamentary debate on the bill, Mr. Palkovics said the goal of the changes is to increase Hungary’s competitiveness, achieve more efficient operation, and to create the conditions for the performance-based distribution of resources.

(Ministry for Innovation and Technology/MTI)