On Thursday 22 December, the European Commission adopted the Partnership Agreement for Hungary under the Cohesion Policy 2021-2027. At €22 billion, it was the last Partnership Agreement to await the institution’s approval.
A partially suspended agreement
The finalisation of the Hungarian agreement is closely linked to the Recovery Plan (see EUROPE 13083/27), under which the Orbán government has committed itself to reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, as well as to the Rule of law conditionality mechanism (see EUROPE 13085/8).
Thus, the agreement adopted contains a roadmap to improve the country’s administrative capacity, transparency in public procurement, prevention of corruption and fraud, and capacity building of beneficiaries of cohesion funds. In addition, 55% of the funds will remain suspended until Hungary commits to reforms (see EUROPE 13084/19).
Breakdown of funds
€6.7 billion from the ERDF to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and increase renewable energy production. €250 million from the Just Transition Fund will support the regions most affected by phasing out coal.
In terms of the economy, Hungary will spend €4.3 billion on the country’s ‘smart’ economic transformation, €1.5 billion on research and innovation and €670 million on the digital transformation of SMEs. €1.7 billion from the Cohesion Fund will contribute to the modernisation of national transport infrastructure. €5.3 billion from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) will be dedicated to projects aimed at improving access to the labour market. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)