Last year was a year of success in the Government’s development policy, the Government published calls for proposals for the entire development allocation, and according to plans EU grants will be awarded by spring this year, Nándor Csepreghy, Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office said at a press conference.

He highlighted that, compared with the previous seven-year EU development period, during the cycle between 2014-2020 bidders will not be required to finish projects in a rush. The Minister of State pointed out that the Government had honoured its undertaking to publish calls for proposals for all development funds made available during the period between 2014-2020 by 31 March 2017, and as part of 546 calls for proposals some HUF 9,630 billion was made available to bidders. Grants worth HUF 2,488 billion were paid to awarded bidders last year which figure was higher than planned, he added.

The Government sent invoices to the value of EUR 2.4 billion to Brussels by the end of last year, and the European Commission has transferred more than EUR 2.1 billion already, Mr Csepreghy said. At the press conference held after the Wednesday meeting of representatives of the Government and project management and tender drafting companies, Mr Csepreghy said: since 2010 the Government has placed its cooperation with market players on new foundations, and this cooperation is maintained at several forums.

The Minister of State told the press that since 2016 they have had consultations with project management and tender drafting specialists with respect to important issues of development policy every two to three months. The national board of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and representatives of the Government at the level of ministers and state secretaries meet with biannual regularity. Based on the Government’s 2016 decision, Parliament holds a debate on the utilisation of EU funds during every sitting, and they are planning to hold a debate during this spring’s sitting as well. A report is drafted on the utilisation of grants quarterly, he said.

Mr Csepreghy stressed it is certain today that there will be a common development policy in the European Union also beyond 2020, and the most important question is for what purposes and in what form funds will be available.

The Hungarian Government takes the view that we need a stronger European Union. To this end, the nation states must be strengthened, for the purposes of which EU development funds must be made available. The actual arrangements and financial allocations can be determined once these objectives have been laid down, the Minister of State said.

László Krisán said it is a positive development that the EU calls for proposals for the period between 2014-2020 have been published, and the emphasis is now on implementation. The President of KAVOSZ and the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry also pointed out that Budapest and Central Hungary have had limited access to funding during the present EU financial cycle. He added that they will make a proposal to the effect that if EU funds are not available, the required grants should be supplied from the domestic budget. Mr Krisán said it is necessary to redraw the boundaries of regions to ensure that Pest County’s smaller settlements should not find themselves at a disadvantage due to the more advanced state of the capital Budapest.

In answer to a question, Mr Csepreghy said the Government is paying applicants advances at a higher rate than stipulated in the relevant EU regulations, but any Member State is free to do so at its own risk if it has a stable budget. The Minister of State told the press that the total allocation of EU grants available in the form of calls for proposals amounts to some HUF 9,500 billion, and Hungary currently stands at HUF 8,200-8,300 in the absorption of funds.

Mr Csepreghy also said that they will hold a consultation next week where they will propose specific solutions to the difficulties which have emerged due to the rise in the costs of developments. He mentioned as an example that the solution may be rescheduling or the changing of the internal contents of projects.

(MTI)