Minister of National Development Tamás Fellegi addressed yesterday’s event on the future and potentials of cohesion policy held in Brussels as part of the Open Days series of events on regional and local development. The minister emphasised Hungary’s interest in a strong cohesion policy and said that during its presidency Hungary intended to place this issue on the agenda of the ministerial General Affairs Council.

In his address Tamás Fellegi stressed that cohesion policy had undoubtedly been the target of much criticism recently, mostly focused around the sometimes inefficient use of resources. It was important, however, to avoid forming opinions based merely on a few bad examples, abuses or frauds, and the overall judgement should be made on the basis of the complete picture. The system was not perfect and needed improvement. Hungary would put forward its specific proposals in the course of the debates on the coming period, partly during the Hungarian presidency. At the same time, the present principles, system and eligibility criteria of cohesion policy had to be maintained.

The minister confirmed that strengthening the community and cohesion policy was a priority goal for Hungary’s EU presidency, which was of increasing significance in the light of the enlargements. He believed that cohesion between the regions was an essential condition of achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. A globally competitive EU could not be created without combating the still significant development differences between the regions. He explained that cohesion policy was a tool that promoted the growth of the competitiveness of the regions while taking into consideration their specific development needs and possibilities as well as the EU’s strategic goals, which made it an extremely effective tool for the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The minister added that the total budget of cohesion policy for the 2007-13 period was 347.4 billion euros. This sum accounted for 35 per cent of the Community’s budget. By sustaining the existing cohesion policy framework, which also determined the progress of the EU, and by working together, Hungary would endeavour to strengthen cohesion policy during its presidency. To this end, Hungary intended to place this issue on the agenda of the General Affairs Council.
During his visit to Brussels, Tamás Fellegi met Johannes Hahn, Austria’s EU commissioner for regional policy, and László Andor, Hungary’s EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion.

Ministry of National Development Communications Department
Budapest, 7 October 2010