Directing EU Funds towards Climate Neutrality

Ensuring that Partnership Agreements on EU Funds (PAs) and National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) support the European Green Deal in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Latvia.

Background

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Recovery Resilience Facility (RRF) define the EU’s spending priorities for periods of seven years each. Their purpose is to transfer more abstract policy goals – such as climate targets – into economic realities, for example by additional investments in public infrastructure. The 2021-2027 MFF and RRF are crucial elements of ensuring the realisation of the European Green Deal. EU Member States have been preparing proposals for Partnership Agreements on EU Funds (PAs) and National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) to inform the MFF and RRF. Yet, these documents are not sufficiently coherent with the European Green Deal and therefore prevent the targeted direction of EU funds toward climate neutrality.

Project

The project’s target group consists of representatives of national and local governments, business groups, academia, civil society organisations, and media representatives in the project countries. Project activities enable and encourage them to initiate and engage in informed debates on climate policies and EU funds. First, project members offer trainings and workshops that provide knowledge on EU funding mechanisms and their relation to climate-neutrality. Second, the project team publishes best practice reports on climate-neutral use of EU funds as well as proposals for the national Operational Programs (OPs) in the target countries. Based on these activities, the project partners disseminate their findings and knowledge across EU institutions and the European public through newsletters, online articles, and social media. Furthermore, they reach out to decision makers on European, national, and local level through personal meetings, letters, calls and presentation on events. Thus, the project team encourages them to access available and valuable knowledge and insights on climate-neutral use of EU funds and thus to contribute to implementation of the European Green Deal.