Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took part in a meeting of the Friends of Cohesion in Bratislava. The representatives of 15 EU Member States agreed on a declaration in support of a Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) proposal that leaves Cohesion Funds untouched.

Following the adoption of the declaration, Prime Minister Orbán stated that "The EU has arrived at a very sensitive and important phase, as the budget for the next 7 years will be decided in the near future. As a result, competition between the representatives of differing standpoints is intensifying". "The debate is about how Europe and the countries that form the Union may be dragged one-by-one out of the crisis Europe is currently suffering from", he added.

To ensure that the proposal supported by the Friends of Cohesion will be adopted by the EU, he said, the support of net contributor countries is also required, the acquisition of which will be a complicated process. He stated that we have to seek negotiation and consensus, stating however that the cohesion group has declared that there are some unacceptable conditions. He highlighted that the other Member States may be convinced by arguments based on experience, pointing out that the EU's most successful undertaking to date has been the joint economic development program, since in addition to the projects realised it has created several million jobs. “Our strongest argument and greatest ally is reality” – he added, stating that within the next one-and-a-half months, serious results may be achieved.

The proposal accepted by the 15-member cohesion group sets out a 339 billion euro package for the budgetary period 2014-2020. This sum is 15,8 billion euros less than in the previous period and would mean a 4.5% decrease in convergence support. The net contributor countries have proposed a cut of 100-150 billion euros, which would result in a 50-60 billion euro decrease in convergence funds compared to the previous budgetary period.

(Prime Minister’s Office)