We can also expect two big new EU apps in early 2021 – what do you need to know about them?

Similarities between the old and the new cycle

In the new cycle of the EU, the government does not want to change the structure of the institutional system or the enforcement system, as it indicated at the end of October, and then the other day they drew more attention to the fact that the cycle of the EU 2021-2027 is already underway. founding document, the so-called Social Consultation of the Association Agreement and the new resulting Operational Programs. It can already be seen from these that the largest program in history, the Operational Program for Economic Development and Innovation (EIDHR), will be replaced in the new cycle by the Operational Program for Business Development and Innovation (VINOP).

As we have already noted in the article on the social consultation of the new POs, some requests for social consultation have already been submitted, now we will briefly draw attention to the two VINOP constructions that are of greatest interest to a wider range of companies. The two drafts are available here and, as you can see, several comments have already been received on the social consultation platform during the opportunity, which is open until December 28.

Some characteristics of the new capacity expansion tender

As in the “old” EIDHR, Priority 1 covered calls for the development of entrepreneurship and competitiveness, now the same structure continues in the VINOP and the code number is similar (1.2.1) to the logic already used . The new specific application is entitled “Support to developments to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to the challenges of production and modern business” and has the code number: VINOP-1.2.1-21, where the specific draft.

Opening the draft, it appears that this is a construction with a budget of 200 billion, which was rare even in the “old” cycle, so it will be interesting for many companies and the draft also shows that planning between 1 and 3,000 development projects. support depending on the size of the projects, since the range of aid that can be requested is quite wide: it can vary between 10 and 630 million HUF.

Useful innovation In the draft of the application submitted for the social consultation, there is a summary table of the most important information at the beginning of the call, so that any interested party can quickly get an idea of ​​whether this call is for him in terms of his main addresses . As shown in the bottom sixth row of the table, is in practice a conditionally reimbursable tender system, which means that at least 30% of the capital is definitely necessary for the planned development, and the rest of the funds are initially received by the company as an advance and then repaid or withheld according to how it can meet the expected and agreed conditions. If it can perform very well, then 70% of the external source, up to a maximum of HUF 630 million, will eventually become a grant, that is, you will not have to repay it later (so we are talking about a total investment of 900 million ).

As you can see: according to the draft The tender is expected to open on March 1, 2021 for a good two weeks. The text also states that the proposed budget will be “only” 70 billion, then in June (50 billion), September (40 billion) and February 2022 there will be a “window of time” (and 40 billion). framework). So is bidding scheduled and is not an immediate but predictable bidding opportunity for companies at all costs along with the fact that if the requests received in each “time window” exceed 120% of the amount allocated at that time, the call will be temporarily closed and then wait until the next “time window”. Furthermore, it is also important that during the third and fourth “time windows” only companies that plan to develop in one of the defined free zones can start.

Compared to the size of previous GINOP applications, we asked about the unusually large application possibilities of up to 900 million. Ferencet Ádám Tóth. The managing director of the European Conformity Check Business Development Consulting Institute pointed out to our document:

We have been preparing tenders of this size with a significant portion of our clientele for months, so it is gratifying that a large-scale tender for machine acquisition and site development, supporting investments and developments of up to 900 million, is available again in the near future.

When asked how well companies know and understand this new conditionally reimbursable support scheme, which has pioneered even for 1 year, he replied: “Our partners, who are normally engaged in manufacturing activities, already know the Now is preferred the non-reimbursable aid scheme and the high percentage of aid involved, as well as the 100% advance “.

In light of this, we also asked him what significant change he sees compared to the two previous similar support schemes, Ferenc Ádám Tóth said: “Compared to the applications announced in the spring, it is definitely positive that (although the amount however , the amount of aid that can be obtained (at a rate of 70%) can reach 629.3 million HUF “.

Some characteristics of the new R&D tender

The social query interface of the application portal also shows another VINOP application of a research and development nature and, as in the “old” EIDHR, it also belongs to priority 2 and therefore its code number is the usual 2.1. 2. -21 reflects the system. The draft application is titled “Promoting Corporate Research, Development and Innovation Activities” and when the draft is opened it appears that a non-refundable grant of at least HUF 50 million can be obtained, with a maximum of HUF 1 billion. of HUF, depending on the business R & D & i (200-500 million HUF) or the company in question wishes to achieve a goal of cooperation in R & D & i (500-1000 million HUF), or starts alone or in a consortium.

It can also be said that the app frame is extremely high here: HUF 136.7 billion and the planned indicates intermittent presentation here too, but it is not clear from the text whether the bidding frames will be assigned separately for each “time window” (presumably not, because the introduction indicates that if the frame is over-claimed or its occurrence can be predicted, it will be described). the call can be closed).

This application will also open on March 1 and it is important to know that here A prequalification must be prepared before submitting the actual application. with one of the two professional “assessment” bodies (NKFIH, SZTNH) and their time requirements should be taken into account so as not to get out of the actual application time window afterwards.

In this R&D tender, the support can be used for technological equipment, salaries, materials and services related to the implementation of the innovation, and can be requested from all counties except Budapest, noted in our article yesterday. Papadimitropulosz Alex. Via Credit’s managing director emphasized that companies can apply for HUF 50-1 billion in support depending on the size category. The aid intensity is more favorable for smaller enterprises (micro and small enterprises), up to more than 70%, while as the size increases, the aid intensity decreases.

Cover image source: MTI / Zsolt Czeglédi. The bus body production hall under construction at the site of InterKaction Electrics Kft., A subsidiary of ITK Holding Zrt., In Debrecen on April 28, 2020. The construction cost of the new plant will cost 2 billion HUF .