We can be amazed by the daily updated development policy database of the European Commission: Hungary is at the top of the list of payments for the EU support period 2021-2027 – our newspaper noticed while browsing the statistics.
However, the long-awaited Brussels agreement between the Hungarian government and the EU institutional system has not yet been reached, so how is it possible?
In such a way that the co-financing of EU developments by the European Commission takes place retrospectively: not only in Hungary, but also in the other 26 Member States, it is usual for the state in question to request, judge and then pay for bids at the expense of its central budget and at the expense of its central budget. More precisely on developing the investments of winning entrepreneurs.
Will the money come now or not?
However, at present, even those Member States whose EU development plans have not been hampered by the Brussels embargo have not succeeded in overtaking us either. The reason for this is none other than that the majority of their projects have not yet reached a stage where performance-based invoices can be sent to Brussels for commission compensation.
According to European Commission statistics, 21.73 billion euros are available to Hungary in the 2021-2027 cycle, and 3% of them, or 606.1 million euros, are already available.
The support comes in euros, but we use it in forints, and it remains at the 375 exchange rate used in development policy, equivalent to more than 227 billion forints. By the way, the aforementioned 21.73 billion euros were converted together with the national deductible amount of 26.13 billion euros, into approximately 9,800 billion forints.
This confirms previous Hungarian calculations, according to which between 9 and 10 billion HUF will be allocated to operational programs by the end of 2027, depending on the exchange rate, and moreover more than 4,000 billion HUF have already been pre-approved by the Hungarian government. European Commission for agricultural and rural development programmes.
A strong start isn’t everything
According to the latest data, within the amount of 606.1 million euros, there are 540.6 million euros in advance and 65.5 million euros in periodic payments. This was possible because there was a Hungarian operating program to which the red light did not apply: VOP Plusz was the one that received the green light. It is worth noting that the work of the enforcement institution system falls under the umbrella of this reference. This program aims to assist in the effective and efficient use of cohesion resources, ensuring that professionals have access to up-to-date knowledge and infrastructural conditions.
At the same time, it is the first place that has been surpassed
- Greece,
- Bulgaria
- and portugal,
Just a quick shot, as, for example, in football, the championship is not necessarily won by the team that leads after the first few rounds.
Hungary’s strong start could be overshadowed if European countries that have not aligned with Brussels begin withdrawing resources too quickly.
In other words, we may be the first to be the last, but much depends on when differences of opinion with the EU institutional system can be resolved. Hungarian interests are represented by János Buka, who became a member of the government as Minister responsible for European Union Affairs, as well as Tibor Navrášeks, Minister of Regional Development.
We are impatiently awaiting the end of the battle in Brussels
The Ministry of Navracsics had previously called for large-scale collective tenders by the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 for investments in the SME sector, which lacks resources, but recently, the Minister said that all issues could be settled by next May, the anniversary. Twenty years to join the European Union. However, a development policy expert who spoke to Index was much gloomier than this: If a Brussels agreement is not reached in October, the Hungarian debate will likely not be clarified, said Zsombor Esi, president of Magyarok a Piacon Klub. Until after the European Parliament elections next June, a settlement may be reached on the EU money owed to our country.
(Cover photo: EU Affairs Minister János Buka (b) and Regional Development Minister Tibor Navrášeks on September 14, 2023. Photo: Tibor Rosta/MTI)
