Rasi: Slovakia Late Drawing EU Funds from Programme Slovakia

Bratislava, May 23 (TASR) - Slovakia is late in drawing EU funds from Programme Slovakia 2021-2027, as the first calls were announced as late as in mid-2023, said Investment and Regional Development Minister Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) following the Cabinet session on Thursday. A total of 123 calls amounting to €4.4 billion have been announced, and contracts worth some €2.6 billion have been signed to date, stated Rasi, adding that the rate of drawing funds has been minimal until now. "There is no threat of them being uncoupled for now, as the commitment to the EU concerning the drawing of these funds has been defined for 2025-2026. Despite the fact that €1.5 billion in EU funds should be drawn in 2025 and over €2.1 billion in 2026, we can already say that we're late in drawing the funds at the moment," said Rasi. Rasi added that the agreement with the European Commission (EC) was signed in 2022, and the first calls were announced only in mid-2023. The task of respective bodies is to analyse the schedule for drawing funds, find all the critical points and announce calls for drawing new EU funds as soon as possible. The goal is for there to be no problem with drawing funds in 2025, which should reach a level of €1.5 billion, stated the minister. ko/df