European Green Deal: Hungary Among Fund Recipients

In its second year of operation, the European Union Modernization Fund has disbursed a total of EUR 4.11 billion in support of 61 projects in eight beneficiary countries, including Hungary.

Funded by revenues from the auction of emission allowances from the EU's Emissions Trading System, the Modernization Fund aims to support ten EU countries with lower incomes in their transition to climate neutrality. The beneficiary countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

According to a statement by the European commission, these projects will help modernize energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy, industry, transport and agriculture, and improve energy efficiency. Supporting these investments will help those Member States to meet their 2030 climate and energy targets and accelerate the EU's green transition.

Disbursements were made this year to Croatia (EUR 119.8 million), Czechia (EUR 1.34 billion), Estonia (EUR 62.4 million), Hungary (EUR 74.3 million), Lithuania (EUR 85 million), Poland (EUR 643.2 million), Romania (EUR 1.39 billion), and Slovakia (EUR 399.5 million). In June, EUR 2.4 billion was already disbursed to support 45 investment proposals, and this is now complemented by a EUR 1.71 billion disbursement today to back 16 more investment proposals.

This year, the 61 investment proposals selected under the Modernization Fund focus on electricity generation from renewables, modernization of energy networks and energy efficiency in the energy sector, in industry, in buildings, and in transport, and the replacement of coal generation with lower carbon intensity fuel.

Hungary receives its EUR 74.3 million share of this year’s amount for optimization, digitalization and automation of manufacturing processes to reduce electricity consumption and material use in the country.