Hungary has successfully secured all available European Union funding, but the bulk of the work is only now beginning, Transport and Investment Minister Dávid Vitézy said on Facebook on Monday, outlining the country’s main planned development projects.
Vitézy said the funds secured from the EU must now be used as efficiently and transparently as possible so that the results of the investments can be celebrated alongside the funding itself. He stressed that EU funding makes it possible to finance development projects without having to take resources away from other areas.
The minister highlighted four major areas of planned investment. Under the Baross Gábor Plan, the government intends to halt the decline of Hungary’s rail network and shift from what he called the previous years’ ‘destruction of railways’ towards railway development.
The government also plans to address the housing crisis by building new affordable homes, rental housing and student accommodation, increasing the availability of reasonably priced homes and improving living standards.
Water management projects will also be launched, Vitézy said, arguing that there will finally be the political will, attention and funding needed to reduce the impact of recurring droughts.
Energy security will be another priority, with renewable energy projects and investments in the energy network intended to strengthen energy efficiency and resilience.
According to Vitézy, the use of EU funds can put Hungary back on a development path after years of falling behind and help the country catch up with its regional neighbours.
He recalled that when Prime Minister Péter Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reached a political agreement on EU funding in May, it was already clear that the bulk of the work would follow.
‘What the other 26 member states had years to do, we had three months left to complete by the end of August,’ Vitézy said.
He added that Magyar had tasked him with ensuring that not a single euro cent was left behind and that all available funding was brought back to Hungary. ‘I can report: we succeeded,’ he said.
Vitézy said ministries, public institutions, municipalities and Parliament had worked continuously over the previous two months. More than 100 new pieces of legislation were adopted as part of the coordinated effort, while numerous projects were launched or completed.
He said the release of previously frozen funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility had required the work of a large number of people, allowing the money to be redirected towards Hungary’s development.
Vitézy also said the accelerated legislative process, the creation of new institutions and the adoption and amendment of legislation, including anti-corruption measures, had demonstrated that Hungary could meet the requirements needed to unlock the funding.
However, he stressed that although the political agreement reached in May had been a success, he had warned at the time that the real work would begin only afterwards, with the completion of the so-called super milestones.
First, Hungary had to negotiate the conditions required to make the funds available, after which it had to complete the tasks agreed during those negotiations, he said.
Vitézy said that process had now been completed, describing it as a major success not only for the government and Parliament but for all Hungarians.
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