About
Fund for Regional Cooperation
The EEA and Norway Grants are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway’s contribution to reducing economic and social disparities in Europe and to strengthening bilateral relations with 15 beneficiary countries in Northern, Central and Southern Europe.
Many of the economic, social and environmental challenges faced by Europe today are not confined by national borders – their effects are felt and shared across countries.
The EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation recognises regional cross-border and transnational cooperation as a key driver to find shared solutions to these issues.
The Fund for Regional Cooperation, indeed, supports projects tackling common European challenges through regional cross-border and transnational cooperation.
Strengthening regional cross-border and transnational cooperation
Whereas the majority of EEA and Norway Grants funding is tailor-made to national initiatives and bilateral cooperation between the donor and beneficiary countries, the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation targets projects strengthening cross-border and transnational cooperation between the donor countries, the beneficiary countries and ten non-EU Member States.
With € 34.5 million, the Fund supports cooperation projects focusing on knowledge sharing, exchange of good practice and capacity building across the priority sectors of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021: Innovation, Research, Education and Competitiveness; Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction; Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy; Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights and Freedoms; Justice and Home Affairs (read more about the priority sectors here).
Within these sectors, in the framework of the Fund for Regional Cooperation, funding is allocated to initiatives such as:
- Inclusive dialogue and the strengthening of transnational/regional networks, knowledge sharing and policy exchange to accelerate innovation
- The development of sustainable transnational cooperation structures between the business sector, public sector, civil sector and academia
- Engagements contributing to and enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in policy development and responses to common European challenges
Cooperation between entities in at least three countries
The projects supported must be regional cross-border or transnational in nature and involve partners and activities in at least three different countries. Entities in the following countries are eligible for funding:
- Albania
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Greece
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
Funding will be allocated to support inclusive dialogue and the strengthening of cross-border and transnational networks, capacity building, knowledge sharing and policy exchange to accelerate innovation; the development of sustainable cooperation structures between the business sector, public sector, civil sector and academia; and engagements contributing to and enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in policy development and responses to common European challenges.
