An MoU on the use of funds under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism inPoland was signed at a Norwegian-Polish conference in Warsaw onOctober 14, attended by over 350 representatives of the businesssector, the public sector and NGOs from the two countries. Under theMoU, about 278 million euros will be made available for projects inPoland, for example in the health and environmental sectors, over afive-year period.
TheNorwegian Financial Mechanism was established as a result of theexpansion of the EEA Agreement in May this year to include the 10 newmembers of the EU. A similar EEA Financial Mechanism backed by thethree EEA EFTA countries Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway was alsoestablished, and an MoU on the use of funds under the EEA FinancialMechanism is expected to be signed with Poland on October 28.
Norway’sForeign Minister Jan Petersen and Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svobodasigned a Memorandum of Understanding on 19 October on the use offunds under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The Czech Republic willreceive approximately 62 million euros over five years. In addition tothe Norwegian Financial Mechanism, a Memorandum of Understanding onthe use of funds under the EEA Financial Mechanism will be signed inthe near future.