Slovak Republic’s Ministry of Finance Reports EU Fund Utilization at 2.61%

Bratislava – As of the end of November 2023, the Slovak Republic has drawn 2.61% of the EU funds allocated for the 2021 – 2027 programming period, amounting to 334.24 million euros. This information was released by the Ministry of Finance (MF) of the Slovak Republic on its official website, as reported by TASR.

The ministry is currently monitoring compliance with the n+3 rule, with the first milestone of 1.55 billion euros scheduled for accountability on December 31, 2025, excluding the Fisheries Program for 2021 – 2027. As of the end of October, it was determined that expenditures at the payment authority level must reach at least 1.24 billion euros to meet this requirement. Another important milestone, set for December 31, 2026, stands at 2.14 billion euros, according to the MF.

For the 2021 – 2027 programming period, the Slovak Republic has been allocated a total of 12.79 billion euros in EU funds. Slovakia can access these funds through the main Slovakia Program, which has an allocation of 12.59 billion euros, as well as four smaller programs: Interreg SK-CZ, Interreg SK-AT, INTERACT IV, and the Fisheries Program 2021 – 2027.

As of November 30, 2024, 326.85 million euros have been drawn from the Slovakia Program, equating to a 2.60% draw rate. To satisfy the first milestone of 1.54 billion euros by the end of 2025, the MF indicated that a minimum of 1.23 billion euros in expenditures must be approved at the payment authority level. The subsequent milestone of 2.12 billion euros must be achieved by December 31, 2026.

Additionally, from the previous programming period of 2014 – 2020, a total of 15.577 billion euros was approved across 10 operational programs by the end of November, reflecting a draw rate of 107.42%. The ministry noted that to fully utilize the allocated funds, eligible expenditures totaling at least 169.17 million euros must be submitted to the European Commission (EC), with the largest amounts required from the Operational Program Integrated Infrastructure (144.63 million euros) and the Integrated Regional Operational Program (10.84 million euros).

The Ministry of Finance also mentioned that the final draw levels will be determined after the programming period concludes, based on the submission of final payment requests and accounts to the EC within set deadlines. (December 11)