Economics, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia, Lithuania

The research includes data on the European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund and European Regional Development Fund during the 2007-2013 planning period.

Estonia and Lithuania are ahead of Latvia in regard to payment ratio, while Lithuania - in regard to contracting ratio. By the end of 2013, the contracting ratio in Latvia was 96 percent (Estonia - 96 percent, Lithuania - 99 percent), while the payment ratio was 70 percent (Estonia - 77 percent, Lithuania - 74 percent). The average contracting ratio in CEE is 97 percent, while the average payment ratio in CEE is 63 percent.

KPMG senior expert in Latvia Anda Drozina explained that the Baltic States' absorption rates are among the highest in the region. Contracting ratio in Latvia and Estonia is lower than the average index in the region, nevertheless, high contracting ratios does not always lead to higher payment ratios. The difference between contracts and payments is an important efficiency indicator in the administration of fund absorption, and the Baltic States have demonstrated the best results in respect of this indicator, while Bulgaria and Romania are at the bottom of the list.

From 2007 to 2013, the amount of funding available for CEE countries was EUR 174.72 billion. The largest funding was granted to Poland (38.2 percent), Czech Republic (15 percent) and Hungary (14.2 percent). Meanwhile, 3.9 percent of the funds were available to Lithuania, 2.6 percent - Latvia, and 1.9 percent - Estonia.