IN THE PERIOD from May 2004 to September 2006, Slovakia used 27.6 percent of the money allocated to it in cohesion and structural funds from the European Union budget, according to an analysis by European Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaite.
On average, the 10 new EU-member countries drew 26.2 percent of the funds they were eligible for. Slovenia was the most successful, with 34.1 percent of funds drawn, followed by Hungary, Estonia, and Slovakia in fourth place. Cyprus and the Czech Republic have drawn the least from the funds they were entitled to.
Grybauskaite warned the new countries that they are moving too slowly in drawing EU money, and that they have used only €5.6 billion of the overall €21.5 billion that was earmarked for them since joining the EU on May 1, 2004.
