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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 primary financial sources: the Children and Youth Fund, the National Cooperation Fund and the EU youth programmes.

The Children and Youth Fund's [Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapprogram (GYIA)] budget between 2018–2023 was HUF 80.0 million each year (about EUR 205 000), which was higher than the 2017 budget and the budget for 2024 (which was HUF 69.6 million, about EUR 174 000). The budget for 2025 and the planned budget for 2026 is HUF 58.3 million per year (around EUR 145 000).

The National Cooperation Fund's [Nemzeti Együttműködési Alap (NEA)] budget for 2024 was HUF 13.9 billion (about EUR 34.7 million). The earmarked budget for 2025 is HUF 13 billion (about EUR 32 million).

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 share similar aims in their activities, but specific frameworks may entail diverse aims, it is impossible to group the different budget lines by topic. The Act LXIX of 2025 on the Central Budget of Hungary for 2026 (2025. évi LXIX. törvény Magyarország 2026. évi központi költségvetéséről) defines the budgetary allocations planned for 2026:

Youth policy programmes

This is a newly introduced budget line that supports the implementation of the objectives of the National Youth Strategy and the EU Youth Strategy (2019–2027). The appropriation finances programmes of youth organisations, initiatives promoting volunteering, career guidance and youth employment activities, as well as the operation of the National Working Group on EU Youth Dialogue. It also supports international youth cooperation programmes, including the Báthory István Hungarian–Lithuanian Youth Cooperation Fund, and covers the administrative costs of programme implementation managed by the Tempus Public Foundation (Tempus Közalapítvány).

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 networks 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 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 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 primary funding source, with an allocation of HUF 60 million (about EUR 150 000), 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 by the revenue sources of the Fund:

In the field of health and social environment they support 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 and the development and operation of an information and analysis system capable of monitoring changes in the social situation of young people.

In the field of participation they provide support to 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 and programmes of institutions and non-governmental organisations active in the field of youth which build on participation, democratic decision-making and cooperation.

In the field of environmental protection, communities and competencies support is available for programmes to promote the preservation and protection of the natural and built environment; community initiatives of young people, initiatives and activities of their organisations and groups, and programmes to promote young people's problem-solving skills.

Funding calls of the Children and Youth Fund in 2026

In 2026, the Children and Youth Fund (Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapprogram) launched several funding calls aimed at strengthening youth communities, supporting local initiatives and promoting healthy lifestyles among young people.

One programme is the 'Switch off, connect!' ('Kapcsolj ki, kapcsolódj be!') – Supporting communities. This open call supports programmes that strengthen youth communities and promote value-based community engagement among young people. The call aims to reinforce youth organisations and community spaces where young people can develop social connections and a stable value system. The total budget is HUF 250 million (about EUR 625 000), and supported projects run between February 2026 and June 2027.

Another support is called 'Dream bigger' ('Nagyobbat álmodunk') which aimed at large-scale local youth initiatives. This invitation-based call supports youth-related initiatives of municipalities that placed third in the Hungary Youth Capital 2026 selection process. The programme provides HUF 20 million (about EUR 50 000) per municipality to support youth initiatives in Debrecen and Gödöllő, in cooperation with their partner cities Székelyudvarhely and Csíkszereda. The total budget is HUF 80 million (about EUR 200 000).

The Active School Programme (Aktív Iskola Program) call supports the implementation of a comprehensive school-based physical activity and health promotion programme in vocational education institutions. The programme aims to increase students' physical activity, improve health outcomes and support the development of a school environment promoting healthy lifestyles. The programme is implemented by the Hungarian School Sport Federation, with a total budget of HUF 70 million (about EUR 175 000).

Financial accountability

Financial accountability of national and EU projects is administered through the System of Electronic Tender Management and Cooperation (Elektronikus Pályázatkezelési és Együttműködési Rendszer - EPER). The monitoring is administered by the National Cultural Grant Management Office (Nemzeti Kulturális Támogatáskezelő). It also coordinates the external audits of the State Audit Office of Hungary, the Hungarian State Treasury and the Directorate General for Audit of European Funds.

In National Cooperation Fund (Nemzeti Együttműködés Alap - NEA) projects, the beneficiaries submit a financial and content report, and there are on-the-spot checks. The Children and Youth Fund monitoring 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, filtering out and summarising the grants dedicated explicitly to youth policy is almost impossible.

The main EU-funded project of the 2014–2020 budgetary cycle was the Youth Guarantee programme, which used around HUF 200 billion (around EUR 512 million) from different projects. The Programme was continued from 2024, under the name of Youth Guarantee Plus (Ifjúsági Garancia Plusz), and funded through the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme Plus. The whole budget of the operational programme (including other objectives) consists of 19.1% national budgetary sources. In comparison, 80.9% of the budget is financed by the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. (For more related information, see 3.2.)

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