National
Development Agency

The objective of the event organized by the National Development Agency was to summarize the 2007-2013's programming period and generate brainstorming as a way to assist preparation for the 2014-2020's period.

Naturally, special attention was given to the results of the Hungarian system presented to the international participants, primarily focusing on elements that could be considered unique: the structure of the uniform project management institutional system, which allows for closer coordination and a uniform system of standards, and the unique regulatory environment under which only one law and its related procedural rules apply to all grant programs and the belonging grant schemes.

Croatia, which will join the EU in June 2012, will also adopt the uniform management environment on Hungary’s influence. This fact is due to the success of the international project in which Lithuanian and Hungarian experts promote the more successful use of EU funds in Croatia. Lithuanian Viktoras Sirvydis project manager reported about the results of the project and further proposals at the conference, who also stressed that "the Hungarian institutional, IT and regulatory environment, as a pattern was a great help in setting up the Croatian EU support system."

The representatives of the European Commission had an important message for the Member States:  the Commission finds it important and recommendable to maintain the already existing operational support management institutional framework, with regard to the fact that the regulatory framework of the 2014-2020's period is not going to change radically, and the tried and tested institutions can encourage a faster program start.
One of the highlights of the conference was the lecture held by Pawel Swidlicki, the analyst of the Open Europe, a British think-tank, who presented experiences on the use of the Structural and Cohesion Funds from a net contributor country’s point of view, a bit sarcastically. He suggested that the method presently applied by the EU is not effective, and the grants should primarily be focused on regions which are lagging behind the EU average. The presentation also highlighted the fact that in the future result-centeredness must be in the forefront with regard to the use of the funds so that the largest contributing countries would continue to support the current cohesion policy objectives.

Besides the lectures, unique methods were presented by the Hungarian party during professional workshops, which may be essential to the future success of all Member States in terms of resource utilization.

The Hungarian proposal, which was considered new even on EU level, was followed with great interest. It suggested that large-scale investments should be able to be divided between the 2007-13 and 2014-20 financial periods with regard to both the financial and the construction aspects. This means that if a more complex project with a long lead-time cannot be completed before the 2007-13 financial period ends, the funds will not be lost automatically, but there will be an opportunity to close the already completed project element, and go on with the implementation of others in the 2014-2020 financial period. This initiative would provide an extremely beneficial situation for the Member States, in terms of resource utilization.

The conference provided an excellent opportunity for the participants to exchange professional experiences with the aim to ensure that the use of the EU funds made available to the Member States is the greatest possible and the most effective. The presentation of the Hungarian good examples generated further interest, and the Hungarian experts have already received invitations to give more detailed demonstrations of the elements of the support management system in Poland and Bulgaria.