Minister Migaľ: The transfer of EU funds will occur if municipalities are unable to draw them down

Bratislava – The Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization (MIRRI) of the Slovak Republic cares about ensuring that EU funds are utilized to the maximum possible extent, ideally at 100 percent. Their reallocation would only occur if municipalities demonstrably failed to utilize these resources and there was a risk that the European Commission (EC) would seize them from Slovakia. This is stated in the remarks of Minister of Investments Samuel Migaľ (independent) in connection with the concerns of municipalities that they may lose part of the EU funds.

According to him, the Banskobystrický, Košický, and Prešovský self-governing regions have seized the opportunities provided to them. He described the progress of the Catching-up Regions Initiative as a good example of utilizing European funds. At the end of the seven-year initiative, which involved collaboration with the mentioned regions, as well as the European Commission and the World Bank, Minister Migaľ announced this at the closing conference.

“In the event that it turns out that some municipalities or towns will not be able to utilize the funds, then perhaps there would be some redistribution, but we, from our ministry, will return them to these regions,” emphasized Migaľ after a meeting with the chairman of the Banskobystrický self-governing region (BBSK) Ondrej Lunter.

The head of the region warned on Tuesday at an extraordinary briefing about the threat that municipalities may lose part of the EU funds intended for regional development. According to Lunter, the government allegedly plans to transfer part of these resources from municipalities to the central level in June. He stated that this would mean a disaster for public services that people need and use daily, from road repairs to renovations and investments in schools, as well as jeopardizing the provision of basic social services.

“There are transparent rules in place, and we can fairly see who is utilizing how much. The minister assured me that those who keep up need not worry. It is also important for me that it is not the government, but personally the minister who will decide on the reallocation or transfer of resources from municipalities,” Lunter stated after the meeting with the minister.

As he added, the BBSK has a complete portfolio of projects ready. By the end of this year, 100 percent of the projects will be approved by the regional partnership council. There will be at least 80 percent of applications for non-repayable financial contributions. (April 15)

“In the event that it turns out that some municipalities or towns will not be able to utilize the EU funds, then perhaps there would be some redistribution, but we, from our ministry, will return them to these regions.” Samuel Migaľ