The channelling of EU funds to the economy can only account for a narrow segment of development policy; the competitiveness of a country is determined by the combined competitiveness of the State, the economy and society, Nándor Csepreghy, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office stressed at the conference Portfolio Budapest Economic Forum 2017.

He highlighted: if reflects a flawed mentality if someone solely lays the emphasis on the most efficient possible placement of monetary grants as the only means of state intervention.

He remarked: compared with the previous EU fiscal cycle, the country is in a substantially better position as regards the absorption of funds. While the weekly average of the disbursement of funds in response to calls for proposals during the cycle between 2007-2013 amounted to HUF 5.8 billion, businesses now have access to funding worth HUF 24 billion weekly from the grants available during the period between 2012-2020.

Mr Csepreghy further pointed out that claims made by analysts to the effect that the positive impact of the Hungarian Government’s measures on the economy is purely transitory have been refuted one by one. The sovereign debt has not been on the decrease for a mere year or two, but has been on a steady downward course for seven years, the deficit of the budget has remained below 3 per cent on a long-term basis, the economy is growing, the number of jobs is on the increase, and wages, too, are rising, the State Secretary listed.

The functioning of the world changed in its very foundations after the 2008 crisis; however, the criteria for the ranking of competitiveness have remained the same, the Parliamentary State Secretary pointed out upon highlighting the extent to which competitiveness rankings reflect the actual position of a given country.

Regarding the reduction of bureaucracy which is likewise an important factor in the competitiveness of a country, Mr Csepreghy said that while they have achieved important results in this department during the Government’s term in office, these results are only partial results. At the same time, they have completed the transformation of the institutional system with the setting up of the 8 core ministries and the development of the district system, he remarked.

The reorganised infrastructure has passed the test according to the Deputy Minister as while in 2010 state offices only closed 44 per cent of cases within 8 days, this percentage now stands at 85 per cent.

It is the goal of the Government to reduce the gap between the capital and the countryside which they wish to achieve, inter alia, through the Modern Cities Programme, Mr Csepreghy underlined, and also added that they will channel HUF 3,400 billion to localities outside the capital in the next five years.

By the middle of next year there will be no topographical lot number in Hungary where there is no Internet connection with a minimum speed of 30 megabits per second available, he pointed out, adding that as a result, Hungary will be the first Member State in the European Union which will have accomplished this task.

According to Mr Csepreghy, it is important that the region should continue to take a united stance on issues concerning the economies of the countries in the region as, he said, we may expect to see the intensification of forces serving Western-European business interests against the representation of national interests. “We would not like Central-Europe to become the economic and demographic hinterland of the core countries”, he pointed out. Only those types of economic cooperation schemes are acceptable for the countries of the region, he continued, which serve the best interests of both parties. The region with a population of 150-200 million has the combined strength which enables it to enter into a bargaining position with the core countries, the State Secretary added.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)