European Investment Bank Vice President László Baranyay and Minister for National Economy signed a credit facility agreement providing funding at preferential conditions which helps Hungary broaden the scope of the utilization of EU funding made avaialable for the country, achieve economic development objectives and improve people’s standard of living.
Hungary had concluded a loan agreement of EUR 500 with the EIB in June 2015 as the first tranche of a EUR 1bn facility, aimed at the co-financing of three EU programmes. For the programming period 2014-2020, the EIB has now opened another framework facility, this time of EUR 1.5bn, designed to facilitate the realization of four EU programmes through the funding of related investment projects. Hungary is entitled to draw down tranches of the loan from the facility on the basis of case-by-case loan contracts. Hungary can utilize the first tranche of EUR 500, provided by the contract concluded today, for the co-financing of EU projects within the next three years.
The framework facility will support the re-financing of central government budget expenditures related to the four operative programmes of the programming period 2014-2020, the Economic Development and Innovation Operative Programme (EDIOP), the Competitive Central Hungary Operative Programme (CCHOP), the Regional and Municipal Development Operative Programme (RMDOP) as well as the Human Resource Development Operative Programme (HRDOP).
The utilization of the framework loan is expected to contribute – along with the EU programmes – to the capacity expansion of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, the creation of jobs in free entrepreneurial zones, the development of industrial parks, the modernization of brownfield industrial areas as well as to the development of tourism organizations and the running of national tourism marketing and promotion campaigns. In addition, Hungary will be assisted in the transition to a low-emission economic model especially in urban areas and in the implementation of community-led local development projects. Through these, the funding thus granted will facilitate the labour market integration of people with disabilities, the training and employment of the Roma population, the realization of youth programmes as well as the development of emergency medical care for children.
The EIB has been lending to Hungary since 1990, helping Hungary close the economic gap with the EU. Since Hungary joined the EU in May 2014, the country has been a stakeholder of the EIB. EIB funding enables the long-term financing of fiscal expenditures aimed at economic development with low-interest rates, while the existing and future structure of general government debt is becoming more and more favourable.
(Ministry for National Economy)
