Study: Estonia Slowest Baltic State to Spend EU Grants
Although the amount of grant money paid to Estonia within the EU's 2007-2013 funding program exceeds the average in Central and Eastern Europe, Latvia and Lithuania are still more active in the acquisition and use of the joint financial support, a survey by business advisory company KPMG has revealed.
During the seven-year program Estonia will receive a total of 3.4 billion euros from the EU funds, out of which 60 percent had already been contracted and 21 percent allocated to the state budget by the end of 2010.
Nevertheless, the contracted ratio in Latvia during the same period was 76 percent, out of which the country had already obtained 30 percent. In Lithuania the figures are 68 percent and 29 percent respectively.
The EU had distributed a total of 110 billion euros to 10 Central and Eastern European nations by the end of 2010, which makes up 53 percent of the total subsidies planned.
While the average support received by countries in the Central and Eastern European region is 360 euros per citizen, Estonia’s average is around 660 euros.
Estonia mostly receives the grants through the local human resource and socio-economic environmental development programs. The study also revealed that, compared to the other nations in the region, Estonia is investing more grants into the environment and transport sectors.
Ingrid Teesalu