A new era in Hungarian rural policy began in 2010, the essence of which is that the development of villages is an issue of key national importance and there is a need for even the smallest settlements, said Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas on Friday in Kuncsor at the inauguration of the new village service centre.

Previously, rural areas were generally disregarded, with "show" development projects and prolonged, inefficient programmes, the Minister said. Every small town and village deserves attention, because we can only be a strong nation if we are capable of occupying and developing the full area of the country, Mr. Fazekas emphasised, adding that it is in this spirit that the establishment of village service centres is included in the rural development programme and some 400 settlements have already received funding for similar projects.

This is also important because small settlements re often able to renovate run-down buildings and make them one of the jewels of the village, giving local residents access to services that they require on site, Mr. Fazekas said.

The Minister of Rural Development also spoke about the fact that during the course of negotiations with the European Union, the Government had succeeded in securing 1400 billion forints (over 4.5 billion euros) in funding for rural development. The level of domestic contributions included in this sum may be somewhat higher than previously, but it is basically a similar sum to that acquired for the 2007-2014 period and will enable the continuation of many important programmes, he said.

The project in Kuncsor was realised with funding of 53.4 million forints (EUR 80 thousand). A former general practitioner's office was renovated during the course of the development project, which was reconstructed to include an internet room, village administrator and Leader offices, a conference room, a library and a community area. The so-called integrated community service (ICS) area is operated by Tisza-menti Leader Association, which has also received the required funding to run the centre for the following three years within the framework of the project.

(MTI)