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Slovakia becomes fifth EU country with approved Partnership Agreement

25 June 2014 00:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Slovakia has become the fifth EU-member country to see its Partnership Agreement for 2014-20 approved by the European Commission, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at a press conference following a meeting with EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn on Tuesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The Commission last Friday okayed the fundamental strategic document on priorities and conditions for Slovakia in carrying out investments from structural and investment funds for the next few years to the tune of 15.3 billion euros (20.8 billion U.S. dollars).

"Our goal was to create and adopt a document that would represent a consensus of all social partners, representatives of the regions and the broader civil society," stressed Fico at the press conference at the Government Office, adding that the agreement will provide conditions for Slovakia to achieve prosperity and growth in the upcoming period.

According to Fico, the use of European funds will be focused on supporting economic growth and employment. Other priorities include investments in research, development and innovation, the digital agenda, energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, transport and environmental infrastructure, social inclusion, education, the fight against poverty, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and boosting the efficiency of public administration. "In the sphere of transport infrastructure, we've modernized 62 kilometers of railways and constructed 72 kilometers of new roads," added Fico.

Hahn praised Fico for his personal engagement in drawing up the Partnership Agreement and the inclusion of the social partners. "The Slovak Government was also very successful compared to other member states in negotiating the conditions and the volume of funds. Even though the overall volume of EU funds has been reduced in the EU as a whole, the allocation for Slovakia has risen by 13 percent compared to the previous programme period," noted Hahn.

The Partnership Agreement defines the strategy and priorities for the effective and efficient investment of 15.3 billion euros over the next 10 years. Of this, 13.7 billion euros is allocated to the Structural and Cohesion Funds, 1.55 billion euros in the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and 15.8 million euros in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Although Slovakia is the most land-locked nation in Europe, it does have an extensive fish-farming industry. (1 euro = 1.36 U.S. dollars)