Árpád János Potápi, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad, said the government has earmarked two billion forints (EUR 5.2m) for supporting Hungarian organizations across the borders.
The state secretary told a press conference on Tuesday that the Caring Nation program received 4,109 applications from the Carpathian Basin and Hungarian diasporas by the June 5 deadline. The government will support 62% or 2,571 applications, he said. Fully 1.5 billion forints were earmarked to support operational costs and development such as the ice rink in Carta (Csikkarcfalva) in Transylvania. Another half a billion is going towards organising events and programmes such as the Harmony – Music Awards for Slovakia Hungarians, he said. Most of the bids for funding arrived from Transylvania, he said. The government is working to maintain its strategic goals despite the difficult economic situation and the war, Potápi said. It continues to bolster institutions across the border and maintain the network created during the thematic years organised to support various aspects of life, he said. Another goal is to support cooperation among micro-communities, he said. The Fidesz government has spent more than 500 billion forints on supporting some 34,000 organisations across the borders since it came to power in 2010, he said. More than 300 billion forints has been ploughed into 5,400 investments, he added.