Public consultation for the Blue Book EEA and Norway Grants 2021-2028

Introduction

The EEA and Norway Grants are funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The Grants have two goals – to contribute to a more equal Europe, both socially and economically – and to strengthen the relations between Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the 15 EU Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia).

The funding aligns with the EU's Cohesion Policy and has been distributed over several funding periods. The latest agreement with the EU, for the 2021-2028 Financial Mechanism, allocates 3.268 billion euro for this period.

The EU and the Donor States have also agreed that the country specific allocations shall promote three thematic priorities:

European green transition.
Democracy, rule of law and human rights.
Social inclusion and resilience.

To contribute to these thematic priorities, 15 programme areas and three funds have been identified. The following three funds have been established within the EEA and Norway Grants 2021-2028 funding period.

Fund for Civil Society.
Fund for Capacity building and Cooperation with International Partner Organisations and Institutions.
Fund for Social Dialogue and Decent work (only Norway Grants).

These three funds will also contribute to the objectives and thematic priorities of the Grants. All three funds will be managed by the Donor States.

The Grants are based on the common values and principles of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. All programmes and activities funded by the Grants shall be in line with these common values and principles and implementation shall comply with the fundamental rights and obligations enshrined in relevant instruments and standards. Gender equality and digitalization are to be mainstreamed and form parts of all relevant programme areas.

As one of the two main goals of the EEA and Norway Grants is to increase cooperation and relations with the beneficiary states, partnerships between entities from the beneficiary states and their counterparts in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are a fundamental part of the Grants. In the last funding mechanism almost 40% of projects were carried out in partnership with Donor entities such as national directorates, universities, municipalities, hospitals, cultural institutions and artists, civil society organisations and businesses. Partnerships under the Grants provide a unique opportunity to address common European challenges. They enhance international experience and networks, support access to new knowledge, expertise, and facilities, foster innovation, and create forums for developing cooperation to be supported with other funding sources.

In this financial period, the EEA and Norway Grants include a contribution of €183 million to be made available for projects related to challenges stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The projects should meet identified needs in the Beneficiary States.