INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDING

EU funding opportunities targeted to the EUSDR objectives are key factors in improving the coherence and well-being of the participating states of the Danube Region. The process of embedding the EUSDR objectives and actions into the 2021–2027 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), programmes, equivalent instruments for non-EU countries as well as centrally managed EU programmes has been highlighted in the Fourth Report on the implementation of EU macro-regional strategies and is closely followed by DG Regio. Following these insights, in 2019-2020 the Croatian EUSDR Presidency with support of the Danube Strategy Point, the EUSDR National Coordinators and the Interact programme formulated a Guidance Paper on embedding the Danube Strategy into EU programmes and  established a Task Force to draft a comprehensive tool, which aims at coordinating the implementation of the EUSDR Action Plan with the EU’s priorities as well as the priorities of the involved pre-accession and neighbouring countries for the 2021 – 2027 financing period. This process was continued by the Austrian Presidency in 2024 who started the preparation for the embedding of the EUSDR priorities into the financing programmes after 2027. To ease the embedding process Priority Area Coordinators were asked to compile a shortlist of up to three strategic topics per PA, based on the EUSDR Action Plan, to be included in the relevant national/regional operational programmes. In the case of PA2, these are the following:

ACTION 1: To further explore the sustainable use of clean biomass, solar energy, geothermal, hydropower and wind power to increase the energy independency and to promote and support multipurpose cross border RES utilisation projects.

ACTION 2: To promote energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in buildings and heating systems including district heating and cooling and combined heat and power facilities

ACTION 7: To explore new and innovative solutions of (subsurface) energy storage

More information on the embedding process is available here.

EU FUNDS AND PROGRAMMES TO CONSIDER FOR PA2 ACTIVITIES

The EU Cohesion Policy contributes to strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union. It aims to correct imbalances between countries and regions. From its eight funds, the following are relevant for PA2 activities:

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. In 2021-2027 it will enable investments in a smarter, greener, more connected and more social Europe that is closer to its citizens. PA2 activities align with policy objective PO2: greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe.

The ERDF finances programmes in shared responsibility between the European Commission and national and regional authorities in Member States. The Member States’ administrations choose which projects to finance and take responsibility for day-to-day management, therefore application happens at national levels through ERDF-fed “operative programmes”.

The Cohesion Fund (CF) provides support to Member States with a gross national income (GNI) per capita below 90% EU-27 average to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU and to reduce economic and social disparities. For the 2021-2027 period, the Cohesion Fund concerns the following EUSDR countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Similarly to the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund finances programmes in shared responsibility between the European Commission and national and regional authorities in Member States. The Member States’ administrations choose which projects to finance and take responsibility for day-to-day management. The Cohesion Fund supports investments in the field of environment and trans-European networks in the area if transport infrastructure (TEN-T).

To address the specific challenges of the European Green Deal achieving climate-neutrality of the EU by 2050, the Commission has introduced the Just Transition Mechanism that provides targeted support to carbon-intensive territories which will need to restructure and/or diversify their economy, maintain social cohesion, and, (re)train the affected workers and youth to prepare them for future jobs. These regions are characterized by the concentration of extractive industries (hard coal, lignite, peat or oil shale) and related energy production as well as carbon intensive industries (e.g. cement, steel, aluminium, fertiliser or paper production), which will pose a significant challenge to them in this transition.

The Mechanism has 3 pillars:

1. The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a new instrument of the Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 and supports the territories most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality to avoid regional inequalities growing, in line with EU cohesion policy’s aim to reduce regional disparities and to address structural changes in the EU.
2. The InvestEU scheme will be implemented under the InvestEU programme that can support investments in the framework of the Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) in a wider range of projects, such as projects for energy and transport infrastructure, including gas infrastructure and district heating, but also decarbonisation projects, economic diversification and social infrastructure.
3. The Public Sector Loan Facility will combine €1.5 billion of grants, financed from the EU budget, with €10 billion of loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB), to mobilise between €25 and €30 billion of public investment that will meet the development needs of just transition territories. This instrument will exclusively target public entities, providing support to projects that do not generate a sufficient stream of own resources to be financed commercially. Projects are expected to include investments in all types of public infrastructures, such as in the area of energy and transport, district heating networks, energy efficiency measures including renovation of buildings, as well as social infrastructure. Support to fossil fuels related investments is excluded.

European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), better known as Interreg provides a framework for the implementation of joint actions and policy exchanges between national, regional and local actors from different Member States. It aims at helping to ensure that borders are not barriers, bringing Europeans closer together, helping to solve common problems, facilitating the sharing of ideas and assets, and encouraging strategic work towards common goals. Interreg is built around three strands of cooperation: cross-border (Interreg A), transnational (Interreg B) and interregional (Interreg C).

Interreg A cross-border cooperation programs (CBC) supports cooperation between NUTS III regions from at least two different Member States lying directly on the borders or adjacent to them. It aims to tackle common challenges identified jointly in the border regions and to exploit the untapped growth potential in border areas. In the 2021-2027 period it comprises 59 individual programmes. For more information please visit the CBC website.

Interreg B – Transnational Cooperation involves regions from several countries of the EU and beyond forming bigger areas. It aims to boost strategic cooperation and regional development by a joint approach to tackle common issues. In the 2021-2027 period it comprises 14 individual programs, from which Interreg Danube Region Programme and Central Europe Programme are the most relevant for EUSDR PA2.

Interreg Danube Region Programme (DRP) is the one which fully covers the territory of the EUSDR. The main goal of the programme is to continue the reduction of energy dependency through innovative solutions, better cooperation while taking into account the social aspects. The programme has 4 priority areas with specific objectives:

• Priority 1: A more competitive and smarter Danube Region
  • Specific Objective 1.1: Enhancing innovation and technology transfer
  • Specific Objective 1.2: Developing skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship
• Priority 2: A greener, low-carbon Danube Region
  • Specific Objective 2.1: Greening the energy and transport sectors in the Danube Region by enhancing the integration of renewable energy sources
  • Specific Objective 2.2: Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster management on transnational level
  • Specific Objective 2.3: Sustainable, integrated, transnational water and sediment management in the Danube River Basin
  • Specific Objective 2.4: Protecting and preserving the biodiversity in ecological corridors and eco-regions of transnational relevance
• Priority 3: A more social Danube Region
  • Specific Objective 3.1: Accessible, inclusive and effective labour markets
  • Specific Objective 3.2: Accessible and inclusive quality services in education, training and lifelong learning
  • Specific Objective 3.3: Socio-economic development through heritage, culture and tourism
• Priority 4: A better cooperation governance in the Danube Region
  • Specific Objective 4.1: Support of the EUSDR Priority Area Coordinators (EUSDR PACs) and Danube Strategy Point (DSP)
  • Specific Objective 4.2: Support for the governance of the EUSDR

For more information, please visit the DRP website.

First calls are expected in Q1 2022 (2 stage proposals).

Central Europe Program (CE) fundings are available for D, CZ, AT, SI, HU, SK and HR from the EUSDR countries. PA2 activities fit into Priority 2: Cooperating for a greener central Europe, and SO 2.1 Supporting the energy transition to a climate-neutral central Europe. Potential fields to be addressed in transnational actions (non-exhaustive list) include:

• Smart integration of carbon-neutral solutions across sectors
• Renewable energy sources
• Energy efficiency of buildings and public infrastructures
• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from industry and other sectors
• Energy planning at local and regional levels
• Energy demand management and behavioural change
• Financing schemes for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments
• Energy poverty

For more information please visit CE website.

Regarding the other Intrerreg B Transnational Cooperation Programmes that partly cover territories of EUSDR countries the following has to be mentioned:

The Adriatic-Ionian Programme (SI, HR, BiH, SRB, MNG) and the Mediterranean Programme (SI, HR, BiH, MNG, BG) have close links with the EUSAIR priorities and objectives. Nevertheless, the territorial analyses highlighted the needs for decarbonisation and switch to renewable energy sources, both topics high on the PA2 agenda.

The future Alpine Space Programme (AT, SI, D) has close links with the EUSALP priorities and objectives. However its Priority 2: “Carbon neutral and resource sensitive Alpine region” and Specific objective: “Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas has close links to PA2 goals.

Interreg C – Interregional Programs cover the Interreg Europe Program, which will continue to support interregional cooperation among regions from all across Europe. The intervention logic has changed: in the 2021-2027 period the former 4 thematic priorities are replaced by only one cross-cutting priority of capacity building with the specific objective to enhance the institutional capacity of policy responsible organizations: public authorities and relevant stakeholders. About 80% of funding goes to policy areas (1) Smarter Europe, (2) Greener Europe, and (3) More social Europe. For more information please visit the Interreg Europe website.

The Connecting Europe Facility Programme (CEF) continues to fund trans-European networks and infrastructures in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy (large-scale investment projects) in the 2021-2027period.

The CEF Transport part of the programme supports the development and modernisation of railway, road, inland waterway and maritime infrastructure, as well as promoting safe and secure mobility. Priority is given to further development of the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T). The CEF Energy part of the programme supports the further integration of the European energy market, improving the interoperability of energy networks, facilitating decarbonisation, and ensuring security of supply. Funding is also available for cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy generation. When defining award criteria, consistency with EU and national energy and climate plans, including the principle of ‘energy efficiency first’, is taken into account.

The Horizon Europe Programme is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation which focuses on industrial leadership and tackling major societal challenges, maximising the competitiveness impact of research and innovation and raising and spreading levels of excellence in R&I. PA2 related topics fit Pillar II: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, and within that cluster “Climate, Energy and Mobility”. The 2021-2022 work program is available here. Intervention areas are:

• climate science and solutions 
• energy supply 
• energy systems and grids 
• buildings and industrial facilities in energy transition
• communities and cities 
• industrial competitiveness in transport
• clean, safe and accessible transport and mobility 
• smart mobility
• energy storage

For currently open calls visit the EU Funding and Tender Portal

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The LIFE Clean Energy sub-programme aims at facilitating the transition towards an energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and -resilient economy by funding coordination and support actions across Europe. Areas of intervention are:

• Building a national, regional and local policy framework supporting the clean energy transition;
• Accelerating technology roll-out, digitalisation, new services and business models and enhancement of the related professional skills on the market;
• Attracting private finance for sustainable energy;
• Supporting the development of local and regional investment projects;
• Involving and empowering citizens in the clean energy transition.

Calls for proposals are published at the CINEA website and on the EU Funding and Tender Portal.

The Visegrád Fund was established in 2000 by the governments of the Visegrad Group countries —Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to promote regional cooperation in the Visegrad region (V4) as well as between the V4 region and other countries, especially in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions, therefore has a good spatial overlap with the EUSDR. The Visegrad Grants should involve at least 3 V4 countries, whilst the Visegrad+ Grants at least 3 V4 countries and 1 entity from the EaP region or the Western Balkans countries. Projects must clearly address one of the objectives of the program (not clearly energy related topics):

• Education and Capacity Building
• Public Policy and Institutional Partnership
• Regional Development, Environment and Tourism

There are three regular calls for applications open 30 days before the deadlines of submission on 1 February, 1 June, 1 October.

The European City Facility supports municipalities, local authorities, their groupings and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities  in Europe with tailor-made, fast and simplified financial support (in the form of EUR 60,000 lump sums) to enable them to develop relevant investment concepts related to the implementation of actions identified in their climate and energy action plans.

Finally a general tool to overview and select currently available funding possibilities and open calls is provided by Euro-Access