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EACEA National Policies Platform
Hungary

Hungary

1. Youth Policy Governance

1.7 Funding youth policy

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. How youth policy is funded
  2. What is funded?
  3. Financial accountability
  4. Use of EU Funds

How youth policy is funded

​Youth organisations have three main financial sources: 

  • the Children and Youth Fund,
  • the National Cooperation Fund,
  • the EU youth programmes.

     

The Children and Youth Fund's [Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapprogram (hereinafter referred to as GYIA)] budget from 2018 to 2022 was HUF 80.0 million each year (about EUR 224 000), which was higher than the 2017 budget. 

The National Cooperation Fund's [Nemzeti Együttműködési Alap (hereinafter referred to as NEA)] budget for 2021 was HUF 9 287.6 million (about EUR 25.8 million). In the budget for 2022 it was HUF 10 869 million (about EUR 30 million).

It must be noted that in the case of the first two sources, only a part of the budget is channelled into youth policy. GYIA also funds children's projects, while NEA is a general funding scheme for civil society.

What is funded?

Since some frameworks can have similar aims with their activities, but certain frameworks might entail diverse aims, it is not really possible to group the different budget lines by topics.

The budgetary allocations for the last year and planned for 2023:

 

2022

2023

 

million HUF

million EUR

million HUF

million EUR

National Cooperation Fund

10 869

27.2

11 051

27.6

Support for Elisabeth children and youth camps

4 376

10.9

9 407

23.5

National Talent Programme

4 208

10.5

4 110

10.3

Support of  young people's first language exam

1 983

5

1 980

5

Support of young people's first driving licence

1 137

2.8

1 135

2.8

Support of equal opportunity, volunteering and crisis management programmes and tasks 

376

1

501

1.2

Support of Children and Youth Fund

80

0.2

80

0.2

Support for social, civil and other organisations in the field of family and youth affairs, community and talent support programmes and tasks

605

1.5

380

1

Children, youth and family policy programmes

2 816

7.04

2 229

5.5

Waclaw Felczak Foundation 361 1 377 1

 

National Cooperation Fund

The National Cooperation Fund (Nemzeti Együttműködési Alap) provides the source for the support of civil society organisations and the Bethlen Gábor Fund (Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt.) is responsible for the management of the applications. The budget of the National Cooperation Fund belongs to the Prime Minister's Office (Miniszterelnökség).

The budget lines indicate the specific directions of support:

  • support for the participation of Hungarian civil society organisations in international civil network and national/international events and festivals support for international membership fees, support for programmes promoting European integration;
  • support for scientific research, monitoring activities, and registration tasks related to the civil society;
  • support for activities and institutions related to the provision of services, consultancy, education, development and support related to civil society
  • support for the production of publications, electronic and printed professional media that deal with the civil society
  • project co-financing support for civil society organisations;
  • providing grants to organisations distributing donations, in accordance with the decision of the Council of the National Cooperation Fund and the decisions of the bodies to ensure automatic funding based on uniform evaluation criteria;
  • supporting civil interest representation activities.

 

Children and Youth Fund

The other main source of funding, with an allocation of HUF 80 million (about EUR 220 000), is the Children and Youth Fund (Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapprogram).

According to the Act LXIV of 1995 on the GYIA (1995. évi LXIV. törvény a Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapról) the following objectives may be supported from the revenue sources of the Fund:

At the field of health and social environment:

  • programmes to promote the physical, mental and spiritual development of children,
  • prevention and awareness-raising programmes on the dangers of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other substances harmful to health,
  • programmes to promote the integration of children and young people with fewer opportunities,
  • the development and operation of an information and analysis system capable of monitoring changes in the social situation of young people.

At the field of participation:

  • programmes to promote knowledge of the country, local knowledge and patriotism,
  • programmes and initiatives relating to education for democracy, the exercise of democratic functioning and citizenship education,
  • initiatives to promote youth participation in the European integration process and the development of European relations,
  • programmes of institutions and non-governmental organisations active in the field of youth which build on participation, democratic decision-making and cooperation.

At the field of environment protection, communities and competencies:

  • programmes to promote the preservation and protection of the natural and built environment,
  • community initiatives of young people, initiatives and activities of their own organisations and groups,
  • programmes to promote young people’s own problem-solving skills.

Financial accountability

Financial accountability of national and EU projects is administered through the System of Electronic Tender Management and Cooperation (EPER). The monitoring is administered by the Human Capacities Grant Management Office (Emberi Erőforrás Támogatáskezelő, hereinafter referred to as EMET). EMET also coordinates the external audits of the

  • State Audit Office of Hungary,
  • Hungarian State Treasury,
  • Directorate General for Audit of European Funds.

In National Cooperation Fund (NEA) projects, the beneficiaries submit a financial and a content report, and there are on-the-spot checks as well. The monitoring of Children and Youth Fund (GYIA) is carried out by the Council of the Fund, which 'contributes to the monitoring and evaluation tasks' in line with Regulation 2/1999 of 24 September [2/1999. (IX. 24.) ISM rendelet módosítása].

Use of EU Funds

Although there is detailed information on EU grants, it is almost impossible to filter out and summarise the grants that were specifically dedicated to youth policy. According to the information provided by the Ministry in 2023, the development of the funding concept, followed by the launch of calls for proposals of the current budget cycle can and will happen once the EU grants these resources to Hungary. According to the information provided in 2021, the project being planned is primarily aimed at engaging young people in voluntary activities and improving the situation of disadvantaged young people through voluntary activities, but this is not yet found in any official/public document.

The main EU funded project of the 2014-2020 budgetary cycle was the Youth Guarantee programme (Ifjúsági Garancia program), which used a total of around HUF 200 billion (around EUR 620 Million) from different projects funded by the Competitive Central Hungary Operation Programme and the Economic Development and Innovation Operation Programme. (For more related information, please see sub-chapter 3.2 Administration and governance.)

Another key project was the 'Complex development in the field of youth – New Generation Reloaded'. The project is funded through the Human Resource Development Operational Programme (EFOP, HRDOP) in the convergence regions (HUF 3.5 billion, about EUR 11.24 million) and the Competitive Central Hungary Operation Programme (VEKOP, CCHOP) in Central Hungary (HUF 1.5 billion, about EUR 4.8 million).

Other relevant projects included:

HRDOP-1.2.11-16: Opportunity at home (aiming young people living in the countryside areas to stay in their local communities)- HUF 10,66 Billion (around EUR 33 Million). (The last application date was 01 February 2019).

HRDOP-1.3.8-17: Volunteering personalised (aiming young people freshly finishing secondary studies to engage in voluntary activities) - HUF 4 708 218 251 (around EUR 14.6 Million). (The last application date was 02 May 2019).

HRDOP-3.3.6-17: Development of experiential education programmes and experience centres in the field of natural sciences: HUF 4.5 Billion (around EUR 13.9 Million). (The last application date was 08 May 2019).

Please refer to the specific sub-chapters for more detailed data on spending.