National
Development Agency

The European Union and Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement on 27 February 2006, in accordance with which Switzerland shall ensure development funding of a total of 1 billion Swiss Franks for the 10 countries that acceded to the EU in 2004. Hungary’s share of this framework is equivalent to a gross 130 730 000 Swiss Franks, i.e. 19.7 billion HUF. The cooperation programme has a dual objective. It on the one hand wishes to reduce inequalities between the member states of the European Union, whilst on the other hand targets the reduction of disparities experienced within the concerned countries.

The first calls for applications in Hungary are expected to be published in summer 2008. The final deadline for payment is 14 June 2017.

On behalf of Hungary, the National Development Agency was responsible for the preparation of the document that has just been side. The series of negotiations held with the concerned ministries and the civil sphere, which defined the priorities of the programme to be followed in Hungary and the frameworks for using the funding made available, were closed at the end of September. The Swiss State Council and the Hungarian government both approved the final version of the negotiated text of the agreement, which therefore enables its implementation.

Following the signing of document on funding, Hungary’s Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Gordon Bajnai declared the following: I find it extremely important that the decision on funding should not simply be agreed at a government level, but that the citizens of Switzerland reinforce their intention to support and promote solidarity, i.e. the decision on granting funding to 10 EU member states, within the context of a referendum. The minister emphasised the following: a minimum of 40 per cent of the funding granted by the Swiss Fund will be allocated to financing the needs of the most disadvantaged regions, namely, North Hungary and the North Great Plain. Gordon Bajnai has every confidence that the Swiss Fund will contribute to the realisation of the development process that has been launched in the region in recent years. By reducing regional disparities and increasing competitiveness, Europe will equally be able to strengthen its position in the international economy.

In accordance with Swiss expectations, we must follow the principle of thematic and geographic concentration when using the funding made available. This means that 70% of the funding that has been made available must be committed in 8 priority areas and that 40% of the funding must be used in the North Hungary and North Great Plain regions. We can only assume commitments for a maximum 80% of the funding during the initial two years of the launch of the programme. A decision on the fate of the remaining 20% can be made on the basis of the evaluation that will take place at the end of the second year.

Hungary is responsible for the selection of projects. This can be performed within the framework of an open tender, or specific Hungarian players (government, NDA) may also make recommendations. The explicit approval of the Swiss party is needed in the case of each project recommended for approval.

The way we managed to apply a simple, fast and 2-round procedure for selecting projects is an important outcome of the negotiations that were held. Day-to-day management shall be undertaken by an Office set up at the Swiss Embassy in Budapest, instead of at a Brussels-based office.

As regards the scope of beneficiaries of the calls for applications that are about to be published, each individual project must be at least 1 million CHF in value (155 million HUF), in order to be able to ensure efficiency and the validation of the principle of transparency. This ceiling limit is 4 million CHF (612 million HUF) in the case of programmes comprised of several small-scale projects.

We shall ensure access to the detailed set of documents of the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme Strategic Regulatory Framework on the website of the National Development Agency: www.nfu.hu.