Pest county to secede from Budapest to increase EU funding

Pest county is prepared to secede from Budapest this year in order to form an autonomous region. Fidesz chairman of the county council Lajos Szűcs said Pest County can receive Ft 160-180 billion more in EU funds in 2007-13 if it separates itself from the city.

Szűcs said the Ft 480 billion earmarked for the fourth metro line would primarily serve the residents of downtown Budapest, while the 187 towns and villages in Pest county would get only Ft 240-250 billion next year, Magyar Hírlap reports.

As EU funds are allocated in proportion to per capita GDP, the poorer Pest county would be eligible for more funds on its own than if it remains part of the same region as the wealthier Budapest.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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