Within two months, the Hungarian government could receive €163.5 million from part of the frozen EU funds, Népszava has learned. The government can access this amount by taking advantage of an EU regulation, even though the funds in question are currently officially frozen.
According to Népszava‘s report, the funds come from the framework related to the so-called STEP priorities (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform). The purpose of this EU instrument, created last year, is to support the EU’s competitiveness, particularly in the field of critical technologies such as digital developments, biotechnology, and green energy.
STEP allows funds previously earmarked for other purposes to be flexibly reallocated to investments in these areas.
A unique feature of the platform is that it provides a high level of pre-financing: member states can receive up to 30 percent of the total project cost in advance. This is a significant difference from the general rules of cohesion policy, where only half a percent of the annual budget can be requested as pre-financing, writes the portal.
The article recalls that
shortly before, at the request of the Hungarian government, the European Commission approved the reallocation of €545 million during the review of cohesion funds for poorer regions.
Nearly €400 million of this amount came from programs that had previously been frozen by the European Commission due to rule of law concerns.
Although the transfer has been officially completed, Hungary still needs to resolve the dispute over the legal status of universities operated by foundations, as one of the main reasons for the continued freeze is the European Commission’s concern over academic freedom. At the same time, as Hungary Today reported, the government has previously signaled its willingness to address the issue, but there has so far been no meaningful cooperation from the relevant EU institution.
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Via Népszava, Featured image: Hungary Today
The post Substantial EU Pre-Financing for Strategic Technologies from Frozen Funds appeared first on Hungary Today.
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