The agreements ensure that independent funding is made available to civil society organisations and that support for climate change measures, renewable energy, business development and innovation is strengthened. The agreements also contain important provisions for local and regional development and the social inclusion of the Roma people.
The agreements were signed in Budapest by Norway’s Ambassador to Hungary, Trine Skymoen, and Hungary’s Minister of State for EU Development, Dr Szabolcs Imre Ágostházy.
Under the agreements (Memoranda of Understanding) the three Donor States have allocated €214.6 million to Hungary through the EEA and Norway Grants funding. The MoUs now signed apply to the funding period for 2014-2021, but projects in all beneficiary countries can be carried out until the end of April 2024.
Kristián Andri Stefánsson, Ambassador of Iceland to the EU and Sabine Monauni, Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the EU signed the agreement in Brussels.
Download the full agreements:
EEA Grants Hungary - Memorandum of Understanding 2014-2021
Norway Grants Hungary - Memorandum of Understanding 2014-2021
Hungary has received funding since entering the EU and EEA in 2004.
“Negotiations with Hungary on EEA and Norway Grants funding have been challenging and taken time. Hungary is the last of 15 beneficiary countries that we have signed MoUs with, and it is positive that this cooperation with Hungary can now begin”, says Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ine Eriksen Søreide.
Contribution to social and economic cohesion
Hungary will be the third-largest recipient of EEA and Norway Grants for the 2014-2021 funding period. The objectives of all the programmes are to contribute to social and economic development in Hungary and strengthen the cooperation between Hungary and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
“As I welcome the signature of the MoU, I am reminded of the proverb “Better late than never”. Hungary has been and is an important partner of the EEA Grants. Iceland remains committed to continued cooperation with Hungary in such important areas as geothermal energy, gender equality, education and culture”, says the Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson.
“I am very glad that we could conclude a challenging year with the signing of the final MoU under the current Financial Mechanism - solidarity in the EEA is more important than ever. We are now looking forward to working with our Hungarian partners on rapid programme development and hope for many successful projects with Liechtenstein partners particularly in our priority fields of culture and education”, says the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, Dr Katrin Eggenberger.
Overview of the programmes - EEA Grants
| Programme | Partner(s) | Allocation (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
|
Education and Scholarships |
Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (DIKU, Norway), National Agency for International Education Affairs (AIBA, Liechtenstein), The Icelandic Center for Research (Rannis, Iceland) |
4,500,000 |
|
Climate Change and Energy |
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), National Energy Authority, (OS, Iceland), as well as Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB, Norway) during programme development. |
50,000,000 |
|
Culture |
Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Norway), Arts Council Norway, The Icelandic Center for Research (Rannis, Iceland) |
17,000,000 |
|
Civil Society |
|
10,890,000 |
|
Roma Inclusion and Empowerment |
Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) |
14,531,000 |
| Bilateral Fund | 2,178,000 |
Overview of the programmes - Norway Grants
| Programme | Partner(s) | Allocation (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
|
Business Development, Innovation and SMEs |
Innovation Norway (IN) |
€ 45,000,000 |
|
Roma Inclusion and Empowerment |
FRA |
€ 17,003,000 |
|
Local Development and Poverty Reduction |
Norwegian Association of Local and RegionalAuthorities (KS), as well as the Norwegian Directorate of Health and Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) during programme development. |
€ 31,013,000 |
|
Social Dialogue – Decent Work |
|
€ 1,057,000 |
|
Bilateral Fund |
|
€ 2,114,000 |
About the EEA and Norway Grants
Under the EEA Agreement, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are part of the European internal market. The EEA Agreement sets out the common goal of working together to reduce social and economic disparities in Europe and strengthen cooperation between European countries. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway contribute to this through the EEA and Norway Grants. For the period 2014-2021, a total contribution of €2.8 billion has been agreed (€1.5 billion EEA Grants and €1.3 billion Norway Grants). Hungary will receive € 214,6 million.
Next steps
In the coming months, the programmes will continue their development and implementation process. Open calls for proposals will be announced at a later stage. Follow the updates on the dedicated Country page.