Under the Economic Development and Innovation Operative Programme (GINOP), the Ministry for National Economy (NGM) is to announce some 70 invitations to tender for funding of some HUF 830bn this year, Minister of State for the Utilization of EU Funds Balázs Rákossy said.

As the Minister of State stressed, GINOP is the most straightforward device of economic development for boosting employment and innovation. In the 2014-2020 EU fiscal period, he added, funding available for economic stakeholders under the economic development operative programmes would total HUF 2733bn.

Balázs Rákossy pointed out that the key priorities of this period include economic expansion based on sustainable, high added value production and high employment, the improvement of competitiveness and the promotion of the Hungarian industrial sector. The Ministry has identified eight priority fields.

The first priority of GINOP is to improve the competitiveness of SMEs, upgrade business infrastructure and facilitate capacity expansion in deprived regions. These tenders are expected to result in the increase of the number of exporting SMEs, in bolstering competitiveness and the re-industrialization of Hungary. Under this chapter, the NGM is to announce 12 calls for tenders this year worth some HUF 145bn.

The second priority focuses on the support of research and development, which are both crucial for the future of Hungary, the Minister of State explained. As a new element, besides the private sector, the government is to place larger emphasis on the scientific non-profit sector. In 2015, 13 tenders are scheduled to be announced for funding of some HUF 210bn.
Information and communication development is the third prioritized field, Balázs Rákossy added. These projects are set to improve the operation of public administration and the competitiveness of enterprises, especially that of small and medium-sized ones. For this purpose 13 tender bids will be invited with funding of HUF 95bn.

The fourth priority revolves around energy, especially the support of SME energy efficiency, the updating of the eco-efficiency of buildings, the reduction of fossil fuels and the popularization of renewable energy. This year, 3 tenders worth HUF 18bn are planned to be awarded.

The fifth GINOP priority aims for full employment, the promotion of flexible, family-friendly work schemes and workfare society. In order to boost employment, the quality and quantity of labour force must be improved and jobseekers and those with low school attainment must be incentivized. The effective labour market integration of jobseekers requires high-quality, well-aimed and customized labour market services. 7 tenders of HUF 130bn are expected to serve this purpose this year.

In the sixth priority field, education and vocational training, the NGM expects to announce four tenders of HUF 44bn. One key precondition for meeting employment goals is to improve the quality of labour force. From this aspect, the concept is mainly targeting elderly people, underprivileged social groups, women with little children returning to work, disabled people and jobseekers from deprived regions. In addition to the above, flexible education schemes and modernized teaching material will assist jobseekers in obtaining marketable knowledge.

It has been one of the largest successes achieved at negotiations with Brussels that tourism was allowed to be included among subsidized fields, the Minister of State continued. The seventh priority focuses on the support of small-scale, sustainable and distinctive tourism development projects that present cultural assets in an authentic manner, with four tenders of HUF 21.5bn in 2015.

The eighth field of primary importance is financial instruments. Experiences show that SMEs can less easily access bank financing than their peers in Western Europe, because financing small projects is less lucrative for banks. Therefore, the government of Hungary intends to provide SMEs within the productive and services sectors with loan-, guarantee and capital facilities under preferential conditions to increase the number of R&D&I as well as energy efficiency projects. Among the target groups are start-ups, young people and women as entrepreneurs that are to aim for 12 tenders worth HUF 170bn.

(Ministry for National Economy)