Changing development priorities

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced that the government and the European Commission agreed on EUR 34 billion in funding from the European Union. Together with the necessary own resources this means HUF 12,000 billion earmarked for development purposes in the 2014-2020 period. PMO Minister János Lázár added that SMEs can count on development resources never seen before: 60 percent of the EU funding will be used for economic development. Tools and programmes contributing to preserving the rural lifestyle and keeping young people in villages (instead of leaving due to lack of opportunities) will be treated as priorities when using the money. In achieving these goals the agri-food sector will play a leading role. In this year’s budget nearly HUF 13.5 billion was earmarked for investment promotion. There are prioritised sectors but others can be eligible for funding, too. However, the steel industry, ship building, energy production and the retail sectors can’t be supported.