Hübner bezoekt Hongarije om besteding Cohesiefondsen 2007-2013 te bespreken (en)
The new structural and cohesion funds will effectively transform the economies of the new Member States and deliver quality jobs and growth, noted today Regional Policy Commissioner Hübner, on her first official visit to Hungary.
During her visit, Danuta Hübner i will discuss how Hungary can best prepare to receive and make the most out of significant EU funds. Commissioner Hübner is meeting Minister of Finance János Veres, Minister responsible for European Affairs Etele Baráth, Minister of Economy and Transport János Kóka, Minister of Regional Development István Kolber and other officials responsible for the preparation for the use of the funds in the 2007-2013 period.
She is also visiting projects co-financed by the Structural and Cohesion Funds and opening a conference on "Environment, Infrastructure & Urbanisation" in Budapest.
"I am here to discuss with our partners ways Hungary can prepare to make the best of the significant amount of cohesion policy transfers to boost growth, to discuss the preparation of national strategic reference framework and to assess how in the 2007-2013 programming period Community funding can address the regional disparities in Hungary" said Commissioner Hübner encouraging Hungarian national and regional authorities to prepare carefully for the next programming round.
Commenting on budget proposals tabled by the British presidency, Commissioner Danuta Hübner stressed that the changes introduced to the initial Commission proposal "would lead to a two level system of Cohesion Policy (one for EU 12 and another for
EU 15). Both in financial and management terms and in the amount of investment spent on the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs this could create a 2 tiered cohesion policy".
The discussion on the macroeconomic risks and opportunities of the unprecedented inflows, will focus on how Hungary can maximise the benefits of cohesion policy by improving the supply-side conditions of the economy and raise productivity and output, while minimising the risk of overheating of the economy. It is estimated that probably a third of the projected growth in the new Member States could be attributed to structural and cohesion funding.
Background
Consultations on the preparation of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) for the period 2007-2013 have already started between the Commission services and the Hungarian authorities. For the first time, the Hungarian authorities are intending to prepare single decentralised programmes for the seven Hungarian regions which play an active role in the strategic planning process for the next period.
For the 2004-2006 period, Hungary is eligible for a total of almost EUR 3.21 billion from European funds. In particular, EUR 1,995.72 million concern projects falling under Structural Funds Objective 1 (regions lagging behind in development) while EUR 1,112.67 million fall under the Cohesion Fund.
Hungary is expected to become one of the major beneficiaries of the Structural and Cohesion Funds in the 2007-2013 period.
Some major Cohesion Fund projects:
Budapest Waste Water Treatment Plan: With a total budget of 468 million euro (€ 305 million European co-funding), this project will have a major impact on the water quality in the Danube. More than 100 years after Budapest received its first modern sewage system, it will now finally be possible not only to pump the waste water into the main stream of the river, but to clean it properly.
Budapest MO Motorway ring: With a total budget of 334 million euro (€ 285 million European co-funding), this project allows to close an important gap in the very much needed Budapest Motorway ring, and to de-congest the city from some of its traffic.
Further information: