More about the history of the NSRF...

The National Strategic Reference Framework of the Slovak Republic (NSRF) for years 2007-2013 was devised in accordance with the new EU regulations for the structural funds and the Cohesion fund. Slovakia sent the first proposal for NSRF to the European Commission in December 2006. However, the preparatory works to create this regional policy “document of the year” had begun much earlier).

The original NSRF proposal was brought forward to the EC already by the former Slovak Government on May 17, 2006. The current Government, however, deemed it important to re-consider its content, i.e. the priorities and fund allocation within the framework of the NSRF in connection with priorities stated in the programme memorandum of the Slovak Government. The Government approved the revised NSRF proposal on December 6, 2006 by the Slovak Government Resolution no. 1005 of December 6, 2006, and on December 21, the proposal was officially submitted to the EC. With this step, Slovakia joined several other EU countries that had produced this document in the previous year (Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, the UK and Malta).

Official negotiations with the EU regarding submitted NSRF proposal were commenced in Bratislava on Februrary 27, 2007. The EC requested revisions of the document based on the claims laid out in the EC position document. Consequently, negotiation work meetings between the representatives of the Slovak Ministry of Construction and Regional Development and the representatives of the EC took place in the following months. In regard with the need to incorporate into the document those EC suggestions that required the approval of the Slovak Government, on May 2, 2007, the Minister of Construction and Regional Development brought forward an initiative material called “Proposal for adjustment of the NSRF proposal for 2007-2013 in accordance with suggestions made by the EC and the negotiations with the EC”, which was approved by the Government by the Resolution no. 407 of May 2, 2007. The mentioned changes were incorporated into the text of NSRF and the operational programmes.

At the beginning of June 2007, the NSRF proposal, re-worked according to the suggestions stated in the EC position document, was unofficially sent to the EC. On June 15, 2007, the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development received an unofficial response from the EC regarding this version of the document, which was followed by further work meetings between the representatives of the governing bodies and representatives of the EC. The goal of these discussions and of intensive communication with the EC was to ensure such NSRF content that would be unofficially pre-approved by the EC. Thus adjusted NSRF proposal was officially submitted to the EC again on June 29, 2007. On August 7, 2007, at a press conference in Bratislava, the Minister of Construction and Regional Development and the director of the DG Regional Policy, Jose Palma Andres, signed a memorandum, by which they declared that the approval of the strategic document was expected at the latest by August 17, 2007. Precisely on August 17, 2007, the European Commission officially accepted the National Strategic Reference Framework of the Slovak Republic for 2007-2013, which represents a fundamental strategic document of the Slovak Republic for the use of the EU funds in the years of 2007-2013.

The process Summary: