Hungary will be second behind only Lithuania within the European Union with regard to per capita funding, and Hungary will receive increased net per capita funding despite a drop in the EU's total budget, according to the 2014-2020 financial framework agreed in Brussels on Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated.

He spoke in an interview for public Kossuth radio’s Sunday program Vasárnapi Újság, highlighting that in response to Hungary’s demand for equal treatment, the EU heads of state and government recognised the Hungarian people's efforts to reduce public debt and the deficit.

During the 2007-2013 financing period, Hungary was entitled to the equivalent of HUF 660,000 in EU funding per capita, which will now increase to HUF 712,000, the Prime Minister announced. This is due to the fact that HUF 7,080 billion (EUR 24.2bn) of EU funding is to be allocated to Hungary for the period 2014-2020, which is HUF 20 billion more than in the previous period ending this year, he added.

The HUF 7,080 billion represents 3.6% of the gross national income (GNI), Prime Minister Orbán said. Taking into consideration this indicator, Hungary will be in the best position after Bulgaria, while during the current financial period, the country stood in only seventh place, he added.

The previously contested possibility of earlier VAT settlement will remain and the proportion of EU funding for projects will increase from 75% to 85%, the Prime Minister stated. This will result in savings of an annual 210 billion forints in the Hungarian budget, he added. "Support for the four poorest Hungarian regions will not decrease," he pointed out, adding that the undeservedly disadvantageous position of underdeveloped regions will be compensated for by the EU with the help of 1.56 billion euros.

"Hungary will perform better than previously in the next seven years when it comes to development funding", Prime Minister Orbán emphasised, while pointing out that agricultural subsidies have not been affected by budget cuts, and instead the "Connecting Europe" facility for infrastructure has been reduced.

The Hungarian Prime Minister noted that a total of 48 million euros has been received for regions where youth unemployment reaches 25%. In the future, decisions on the utilisation of EU funds will be made at the ministries instead of the National Development Agency, Prime Minister Orbán said, however it has not yet been decided when the agency would hand over this function. The use of EU funds will be coordinated by the Prime Minister's Office, he added.

He stated that these funds represent an opportunity, which still requires a lot of work on the part of Hungary. Projects have to be drafted and the direction of development and agricultural policy must be set in a way that ensures the money reaches the Hungarians, the Prime Minister added.

(Prime Minister’s Office)