Dostálová: The quality of projects from European subsidies is improving

Aqualand Moravia in Pasohlávky - EU funding of 340 million CZK

Prague – The quality of projects funded by European subsidies is gradually improving. There are no longer unnecessary golf courses, water parks, or observation towers being built. In an interview with ČTK, Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) said that larger projects need to be prepared well in advance. It is thus safer to finance them from the state budget.

By the end of last year, the European Commission had reimbursed the Czech Republic 54.2 percent of the subsidies allocated for the programming period 2014 to 2020. This amounts to 338.2 billion CZK out of a total of 623.8 billion CZK allocated. The Czech Republic has contractually secured 596.8 billion CZK, which is 95.7 percent. According to Dostálová, all ten operational programs have met the so-called N+3 rule. This means that states must use the subsidies allocated to them in a given year within three years. The current programming period will therefore effectively end in 2023. According to analysts, the absorption has improved compared to the previous programming period, and the Czech Republic should not have to return any funds this time, although they claim that quantity often replaces quality.

"I think that along with the quantity of absorption, the level of projects is also improving. We have gone through a turbulent period when golf courses, water parks, or observation towers were being built here. We have surpassed that and now we have projects with added value,” stated Dostálová. In the previous programming period from 2007 to 2013, the Czech Republic did not utilize 3.7 percent of European subsidies. This accounted for 996.2 million euros (27 billion CZK) from a total allocation of 26.8 billion euros (728.6 billion CZK). Some projects ended up in court due to suspicions of corruption.

"We would like it to be about strategic projects. But they take a very long time. However, because this programming period is set, we have to meet deadlines. We would need to have a vision at least for the next 20 years. Moreover, programming periods usually start with a one-year delay, when the legislation has not been approved at the European Commission level. Then it becomes very complicated,” the minister added.

In the programming period from 2021 to 2027, the Czech Republic is expected to receive approximately 960 billion CZK from Brussels. For example, in the National Recovery Plan, which includes 172 billion CZK, projects must be contractually secured by the end of 2024 according to Dostálová. The programming period will start no earlier than the beginning of next year. "These are incredibly limiting factors because preparations cost money. And if we invest in preparations and do not see the light at the end of the tunnel, everything becomes more complicated. Since we have to act with the care of a good manager, we say that we will prepare projects for a longer term from the state budget and prepare the ground for smaller projects,” Dostálová further stated.

In the previous programming period, the largest supported project was the Education for Growth program - job opportunities worth 9.02 billion CZK. The applicant was the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, with the main recipient being the capital city of Prague.

Analysts frequently mention the example of Poland or Hungary, which built a large number of kilometers of new highways using European subsidies. "But they had them prepared. We had a huge problem when, during the tenure of Minister of Transport Vít Bárta (Public Affairs), the preparation was halted. And the completion of projects with the construction regulations we have is unrealistic within the set deadlines. Now, on the contrary, we are ready with projects, we are aware of them. That is also why we have transferred a large amount of money into the Cohesion Fund, from which subsidies for highways can be drawn. The preparation really cannot be expedited; it has its own certain organizational culture,” added Dostálová. Vít Bárta was Minister of Transport from July 2010 to April 2011.