In end-October, the EEA and Norway Grants reached the important milestones of having more than one thousand applications selected nationally for more than €1 billion in grant support.
The project proposals have been forwarded to the Financial Mechanism Office, the day-to-day secretariat for the grant schemes, for appraisal, EC screening and donor approval. To date, the EEA EFTA states have approved more than 700 projects.
Based on reports from the beneficiary states, some 1300 individual projects, programmes and funds will be selected nationally for funding under EEA and Norway Grants. An additional 300 applications are therefore left to be forwarded for appraisal and approval before the end of the commitment period of the grant schemes on 30 April 2009.
While the FMO is busy appraising the incoming individual projects, the various fund intermediaries across Europe are working hard to make further funding available to potential applicants. The funds provide tailor-made assistance to groups that may otherwise have had difficulty in gaining support under the EEA and Norway Grants, such as non governmental organisations (NGOs) and students. The funds are operated by national intermediaries, who are responsible for making the funding available and for awarding grants to applicants.