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Summarywill be considerably strengthened - incomparison with the programming period2004 - 2006. Enhancing the competences ofthe regions should lead to a multiple solutionof territorial problems, the concentration ofresources and to better opportunities of thecoordination of complex projects having alarger impact on area.The improvement of the implementationprocess will certainly require thecompletion of administrative capacitieswithin relevant authorities. To add:managing and/or mediating bodies forthe programming period 2007 - 2013 sharediverse experience; and to add more, newmediating bodies are being built in theregions NUTS 2 and NUTS 3.To make the use of resources availablemore effective in the future programmingperiod, it is necessary for us to improve thecoordination of information activities andto make them more essential.■ Where are the biggest problems of regionaldevelopment, in your view? Despite the factthat in the past the regions except for theCapital City were preferred in spendingthe EU funds, there is still a considerabledifference between particular regions andtheir potential is being used insufficiently.Do you suppose that the situation will bechanged in near future?The biggest problem concerning particularregions or almost entire Slovakia, consistsin incomplete infrastructure. To achieveoverall development and the reduction ofdifference between particular regions, wewill have to make considerable progress inbuilding the transport infrastructure as wellas in the innovation of existing educational,medical, social and cultural infrastructure.Notwithstanding, the solution of theproblems related to infrastructure is onlyone of the conditions necessary for overallmodernization. If we take the developmentof the society seriously, we have to investin science, research and primarily ineducation because the highly qualified andprofessionally competent population is thebest valorization of the resources investedwhich will be definitely many times paidback. For a harmonious development ofthe society it is necessary to support moreintensely the projects contributing to theimprovement of the environment.Excerpt from an Interview with Mr.Martin Glváč, the State Secretary of theMinistry of Construction and RegionalDevelopment■ Slovakia is said to face the sanctionsfor insufficient use of financial resourcesfrom the EU structural funds. How much ofthem is left in the package administered bythe Ministry of Construction and RegionalDevelopment?First, I‘d like to highlight that none ofthe European Union member States, in thepast, at present or in future, will not spendthe allocated funds entirely. It is simplyimpossible to spend all the funds at onehundred per cent. Real spending is beingaffected by huge number of factors. Someof the project intentions, successfull inevaluation process, will not be effectuatedin practice at all. For instance, becauseit is possible that during the projectimplementation process the total costswill be reduced in public procurement,etc. Also the countries like Germany,France and/or Spain can spend the givenfunds at 85 - 95 per cent.■ So thus, we may be satisfied with theresults reached so far?I did not say so. Of course, it doesnot mean that we are saturated withthe current use of the resources. Wefaced the huge problems while dealingwith the programmes JPD 2 – BratislavaTarget Two and Target Three as well asthe programmes related to cross-bordercooperation Interreg III A. Within theframework of the programme JPD 2– Bratislava Target Two for instance, themeasure of the programme primarilydetermined with the aim to back up thesmall and medium-sized enterprising,improvement of business activities andservices in tourism trade did not meetthe expected feedback. Therefore, portionof the resources determined for the saidmeasures was re-allocated in favour ofthe measure specified for building anddeveloping the regions and for saving thecultural heritage, notably where there is aninterest in the use of the funds.■ What is Slovakia‘s position when tocompare it with other States which haveentered the European Union recently only?According to the European Commissionstandpoint, at present Slovakia takes thefourth place among the member Statesnewly acceded the EU - also thanks to themeasures taken - what concerns the use ofthe EU funds; Slovenia, Estonia and Latviaprecede us. Out of the Group V4 countries,Slovakia is the best, using twenty-eight percent of the EU funds.■ To acquire the resources from the EUfunds means a tremendous never-endingadministrative torture for the applicants. Ontop of that, Slovakia is said to face excessivelylimiting practices and inspections. Are thereany altering amendments under preparationwhich would side the applicants?Right you are. In some programmeswe are given conditions beyond anyframework of requirements determinedfor other countries. Anyway, each Statehas to follow its specific needs andopportunities accordingly. If there is aproof of evidence that conditions have notbeen determined in an optimum way, theyhave to be revised.Časopis na prezentáciu Slovenska v Európskej úniiExcerpt form an Interview with Mr.Daniel Ács, the State Secretary of theMinistry of Construction and RegionalDevelopment■ Prior to the extraordinary governmentalsession concerning the ministerial proposalrelated to the National Strategic ReferenceFrame, it was obvious that it did not takeinto account sufficiently the needs andrequirements of the knowledge-basedeconomy as regional development, tobe more exact - reduction of differencesbetween the developed and undevelopedregions with the help of the EU funds, whichwas the priority and basic idea of the authorof this strategic document. The Governmenthas removed this insufficiency. The questionis whether your Ministry did not realizeproperly what kind of document was tobe designed, or that under the ministerialconcept, the undeveloped regions were to beprimarily developed ...In introduction, it has to be said that asfar as there were no EU funds, the SlovakRepublic did not have any concept ofregional development. The National StrategicReference Frame is such a document which,on the contrary, is not based on real exactneeds and requirements of the regions. Sothus, the prime task was to design a visionof regions‘ development and then to design areal concept of their needs which should notbe dependent on the structural funds only.■ Why?The reason is that those are just theinstrument how to meet our own regionalpolicy, not the European Union policybased upon which there was just somethingoutlined roughly. We have to specifyprecisely what do we want to do and what dowe need. Once there is a lack of somethinglike it, it could not have been comprisedin the National Strategic Reference Frameeither as it is tough job which cannot bedone in two weeks. We really have to realizefirst what the EU cohesion policy is and whatis its objective, and then what do we wish toachieve. Whether the matter is putting theinter-regional differences into balance withinthe scope of the European Union or betweenour regions.■ I thought that after the chief executiveofficers of the two Eastern Slovakia‘s regionshad been called two years ago, the issue ofsubsidiarity, i.e., the allocation of the EUfunds, was closed already. Chief executiveofficers of the regional authorities asked todecide about the funds allocation at NUTS 2level in the regions, and not in Bratislava.If the matter dealt just with regions ofPrešov and Košice, no problem wouldoccur. But it does not concern all the regionsequally. One thing is to be delegated withpowers and the other thing is to comply withprofessional, administrative and methodicalessentials what requires sufficient numberOktóber 200693