The agreements were signed by Norway’s ambassador to Hungary H.E.Ms. Siri Ellen Sletner, Iceland’s ambassador to Hungary, H.E. Mr. Stefán Skjaldarson, and Deputy State Secretary for European Union and International Relations of the Ministry of National Development, Mr. Tamás Iván Kovács, on behalf of the Republic of Hungary.
The signing ceremony took place at the Royal Waiting Room at the Railway Station in Gödöllő – a venue refurbished from funds for preserving cultural heritage in the previous period of the EEA and Norway Grants.
Hungary is the third largest beneficiary (of a total of 15 recipient EU countries) in the new Grants period with a total allocation of approx. 40 billion HUF (153 million EUR). Priority areas with the largest share of funds in Hungary are environmental protection, civil society and Norwegian-Hungarian research development.
– The Grants are intended to help reduce social and economic disparities in Europe and strengthen bilateral cooperation between Hungary and Norway. We are pleased to see that the contact between our countries has increased. We would like to further strengthen this cooperation in the years to come, says Norway’s ambassador to Hungary, H.E. Ms. Siri Ellen Sletner
The Grants, running until 2016, are provided in a spirit of solidarity by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, where Norway provides 97% of the funds.
- We warmly welcome that the cooperation between Hungary and the Donor States initiated by the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms will continue and thus provides support for areas that are of utmost importance for Hungary. Such areas are research, green industry innovation and public health, emphasized Deputy State Secretary for European Union and International Relations of the Ministry of National Development, Mr. Tamás Iván Kovács.
Norwegian-Hungarian environmental initiative
A large initiative on environmental cooperation has been a priority in the new agreements. Around 12.2 billion HUF (€ 44,349,000) has been earmarked for green industry innovation, renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change programmes.
Several Norwegian partners, such as Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB) are to take part in the elaboration of the programmes.
Doubled support for civil society
Strengthening Hungarian civil society is another priority area. 3.5 billion HUF (€ 12,618,000) has been allocated to this purpose – a 100 % increase from the previous programme period (2004-09). The fund will support NGO capacity building, and at least one third will cover core areas such as human rights, anti-discrimination and social inequalities. Children and youth, gender issues and the Roma population are also target areas.
Strengthening Hungarian-Norwegian research cooperation
In the previous programme period, collaborative projects gained international recognition, among others a robot technology project in manufacturing. The bilateral research cooperation will continue with a Norwegian-Hungarian Research Programme of 6.6 billion HUF (€ 24.128 000), and will focus on health and environment.
In addition, there will be new programmes focusing on public health initiatives, children and young people at risk, scholarships, and decent work and tripartite dialogue.