Bratislava Region says it is not as rich as it appears, wants a bigger portion of EU funds

Slovak capital is one of the most prosperous regions in the EU, but local and regional authorities cite that statistics do not match life.

The reconstruction of the Dúbravsko-Karloveská tram track is one of projects co-financed from the EU funds in Bratislava.The reconstruction of the Dúbravsko-Karloveská tram track is one of projects co-financed from the EU funds in Bratislava. (Source: Courtesy of the Bratislava City Council)

The Bratislava region is statistically one of the richest regions in the European Union, but its prosperity remains on paper, not reflecting the real situation.

As a direct consequence, Bratislava and its vicinity qualifies only for a small portion of the EU funds package allocated for Slovakia. Representatives of the capital and the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (BSK) have been fighting to change the methodology for the allocation of EU funds, but without any significant result for the upcoming programming period.

SkryťTurn off ads
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

“Although the Bratislava Region is statistically one of the richest regions in the EU, due to under-funding and limited access to external resources, it suffers from a high modernisation debt. This is reflected in the unsatisfactory state of public infrastructure and public services,” Lucia Forman, spokesperson of the BSK, told The Slovak Spectator.

The weakness of the methodology

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad