Takac: Spending under Rural Development Programme Reached €647 million in 2025

Bratislava, 11 February (TASR) - The absorption of funds from the Rural Development Programme (RDP) reached 99.25 percent by the end of 2025, with €647 million drawn in 2025 alone, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Wednesday, with Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) head Marek Cepko also in attendance. "When we took over the ministry as part of [Prime Minister] Robert Fico's government at the end of 2023, the absorption rate was at 39.63 percent. We were the worst in the entire EU, ranking at the very bottom for a long time. As of 31 December 2025, under [Robert] Fico's government, with me as agriculture minister, and with Mr. Cepko as PPA general director, and with other colleagues, we managed to absorb 99.25 percent of the allocation by the end of 2025, i.e. twelve years into the programme," said Takac, adding that in two years Slovakia has surpassed countries such as Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Estonia. According to him, the funds went to farmers, food producers and high-quality projects. "The programme period ran from 2014 to 2022, while the N+3 rule allowed spending until the end of 2025. The total allocation for the funding of projects stood at €1.58 billion. What we achieved in two years hasn't been seen in any other EU country – we've managed to spend €856 million. Those amateurs who are now shouting loud from the opposition benches spent €154 million in three years, while we managed to draw €856 million in two years," stressed Takac, adding that for local action groups, the absorption rate increased from 8 percent in 2023 to 100 percent at the end of 2025. According to the minister, no funds have been forfeited and the ministry managed to spend even more funds than expected. "Did Richard Takac lose €600 million? No, not a single euro was lost in 2025," stated Takac, adding that the ministry and PPA reached an over-contracting stage during which they paid out more that the allocated amount. "We had to pay an additional €42 million from the state budget because we were successful," he said. jrg/df