Minister of State for EU Developments Eszter Vitályos announced on Saturday that EU funds worth EUR 34 billion will be at Hungary’s disposal during the 2014–2020 budgetary period.

At an event organised on the Open Day of EU Developments in Nyíregyháza, the Minister of State pointed out that Hungary has recorded the second best EU funds per capita data in Europe.

While over the previous seven-year period the per capita rate amounted to 660 000 forints, in the coming period it will be as high as 712 000 forints, Ms. Vitályos explained.

She reiterated that in the coming years development policy will mainly focus on job creation and economic development. The most important objective of the latter will be to support less developed regions of the country in catching up, and to reduce deficiencies characteristic of certain regions, resulting from lack of infrastructure.

The Minister of State said that in the new period the application system will be renewed, which will result in simpler procedures for applicants. She added that seven out of the ten operational programmes submitted to the European Commission have already been approved.

Ms. Vitályos said that this year the Government plans to announce 133 calls for applications, worth a total of HUF 2 700 billion. She stressed that the Government regards small and medium-sized enterprises as strategic partners, therefore the first calls to be announced in the coming weeks will be ones for SMEs. SMEs may gain access to the funds of the Economic Development Operational Programme, worth HUF 2 383 billion.

The Minister of State explained that the priority target groups of the preferential loan, guarantee and capital schemes will be start-up companies, for whom funds of HUF 90 billion will be allocated in April–May. HUF 80 billion of this amount will be for increases in production capacity, while job-creating investments and market entry of SMEs will receive support of HUF 5 billion each.

This year’s Open Day of EU Developments is the fourth to be staged. At the event, visitors are able to see behind the scenes of the most exciting developments implemented with the help of EU funds.

(MTI/Prime Minister's Office)