Official: Funding to civil organisations to be upped in 2017

Budapest, December 30 (MTI) – Funding opportunities for civil organisations will broaden next year, the state secretary in charge of church, nationality and civil society relations said on Friday.

The National Cooperation Fund (NEA) invited bids two weeks ago to disburse 2.6 billion forints (EUR 8.4m) in grants and now a second tranche of NEA grants will launch with a 1.4 billion forint budget, Miklós Soltész told a press conference.

Hungary has some 55,000 civil organisations. Their funding background changed considerably over the past few years, Soltész said. In 2010 civil organisations received total funding of 423 billion forints, which went up to 577 billion in 2015. The funding came from state, private or European Union sources.

“This clearly refutes allegations made by [businessman] George Soros and his friends that the Hungarian government or Hungarian people would be against civil organisations,” he added.

Source: MTI