The Conference on Sustainable Architecture, jointly organised by the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Interior was held in Budapest on 23 May 2013, attracting substantial interest. The high ranking leaders of the organising ministries and the Hungarian and foreign speakers active in this specialised area highlighted the importance of energy aspects related housing newly-built or to be reconstructed.

Deputy Secretary of State responsible for the development of green economy, climate change and high-priority public services Attila Imre Horváth spoke in his presentation at the Conference about the strategic plans for the energy efficiency and the use of renewable forms of energy and also gave a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Hungary concerning renewable energy and energy strategy.

The National Strategy for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, to be completed in 2013, will be an important milestone in modernising the energy efficiency of buildings. The Strategy will be created, in addition to the cost optimisation programme made by the Ministry of Interior, based upon the building energy data of more than 23 thousand buildings and structures as well as the work of many engineers and economists. The volume of the work is reflected by the fact that the planning phase, started in 2012 is expected to be completed by autumn this year, and will create after its completion an adequate professional foundation to launch a well-established and sustainable building reconstruction programme.

Attila Imre Horváth stated that the modernisation of buildings in terms of energy efficiency is regarded as a priority by the Ministry of National Development. In particular, the Government attaches special attention to supporting the energy efficiency endeavours of people living in prefabricated panel houses. Accordingly, NFM gave a new impetus to the "Panel Program" last year by starting the reallocation of the necessary funds. The ministry announces several programs each year for grants supporting the improvement of the energy features of buildings and is engaged in a continuous assessment of possibilities for launching new schemes in this field.

(Ministry of National Development, Division of Communication)