Rural development program for Slovakia approved by European Commission

The European Commission (EC) on Friday, 13^th February, approved a program of rural development in Slovakia. It outlines the priorities of Slovakia regarding the use of public funds of €2.1 billion, which should be available over a seven-year period, from 2014 to 2020. As Dušan Chrenek, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in the Slovak Republic said, the new program gives Slovakia another opportunity to develop Slovak agriculture and rural areas. From the existing Rural Development Programme, which was active since 2007, modernization of more than 1,500 farms and infrastructure in more than a thousand villages was funded. "Subsidies for Slovakia are on the level of the European average," concluded Chrenek.