2009

The "Home for Cooperation" in the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia arranged an inter-communal music, poetry and film jam on 19-20 December 2009.

An overall amount of nearly €700 000 is made available to bilateral and multilateral cross-border cooperation projects in Poland.

Christmas preparations are well underway for the children at the municipal nursery school in Idrija, Slovenia.

The Czech Technical Assistance Fund of the EEA and Norway Grants has launched an open call for grants up to €100 000.

Christmas is a special time of the year for the children at the Disabled Children’s Centre in Zamosc, Poland, which has undergone an extensive renovation thanks to support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Media and civil society representatives from Hungary and Norway were gathered at an EEA and Norway Grants supported anti-corruption workshop in Budapest on the International Day against corruption on 9 December.

On 21 October, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ljubljana organised an informational excursion on the EEA and Norway Grants for Slovenia-based ambassadors from the Western Balkans and the 27 EU member states.

Several EEA and Norway Grants funded environmental projects were presented at the POLEKO 2009 International Trade Fair in Environmental Protection in Poznan, Poland, on 24-27 November.

Cultural heritage preservation and cultural exchange projects provide new meeting places and play an important role in urban renewal and economic development by attracting tourists and investment, as well as forming a basis for local identity.

6 Czech and Norwegian universities cooperate on teaching the Czech public about Sami language and culture. The project is supported by the Czech scholarship fund.

Zywiec municipality in Poland has restored its 15th century old castle and the adjacent Habsburg Park in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research, forming the basis for a new cultural tourism product and providing local residents with a new meeting place.

The Polish Cultural Exchange Fund of the EEA and Norway Grants has financed a Polish-Norwegian artistic exchange to make the works of Henrik Ibsen available to a wider audience.

The Bente Kahan Foundation and the Wrocław Center for Jewish Culture and Education have been awarded a grant to organise a series of concerts and cultural events to spread information to the Norwegian and Polish public about Jewish culture and traditions.

During the last year, the 18th century Koigi Manor School in Estonia has been comprehensively renovated to offer better working conditions for pupils and teachers and a new exhibition space for the village`s cultural and social events.

Thanks to more than €1,3 million in support from the EEA and Norway Grants, the Lake Balaton resort area has undergone a remarkable change over the last couple of years. Parks have been renovated, new equipment has been bought and environment friendly waste management techniques have been introduced.

On 6 November 2009, more than 150 representatives of small and medium sized enterprises participated in the annual meeting of the Clean Business Clubs in Niepolomice, Poland. 5 businesses received awards for improved environmental and economic performance.

On 30 October, 60 Hungarian mayors attended the very first weekend training session of the "Mayors' Academy", an EEA Grants supported capacity building project focused on good governance and increasing transparency in local government.

On 5 November 2009, Kunda Nordic Tsement officially opened a new phase in the factory's development towards a more environment friendly industry. With support from the EEA Grants, the factory has installed new feeding lines to their rotary kilns that allow for burning waste materials instead of highly polluting oil-shale.

On 9 November 1989, civil action by non-violent demonstrators led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, leading to democracy and the reunification of Europe. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway acknowledge the importance of NGOs in promoting democratic societies and have placed funding for civil society at the core of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The Slovakian cross-border cooperation and regional development fund, "Opening doors to new arenas of cooperation", has launched an open call for grants up to €150 000.

The EEA and Norway Grants bring together stakeholders in impoverished border regions in Central Europe for joint projects to spur economic growth and sustainable social development. An important component in these projects is to establish institutional and personal networks involving partners from neighbouring countries bordering the European Economic Area.

One in five supported projects is carried out in cooperation between entities in the 15 beneficiary states and partners in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Portugal and Poland take the lead.

In addition to a mutually beneficial exchange of know-how and resources, partnership projects contribute to building down barriers and drawing people together across borders.

The Financial Mechanism Office is looking for trainees to join our team for 5 months, starting in March 2010. The application deadline is 15 November.

Situated at the crossroads between abundantly wealthy and very poor nations, Poland is a transit country as well as a country of origin and destination for trafficking in girls and women. The EEA and Norway Grants support La Strada, Poland's only dedicated non-governmental organisation (NGO) fighting trafficking and providing assistance to trafficking victims.

Through the Hungarian cross-border fund of the EEA and Norway Grants, grants are made available to partnership projects carried out between the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County in Hungary and the Sub-Carpathian County in Ukraine.

With support from the EEA and Norway Grants, 18 secondary schools and universities in Slovakia are carrying out collaboration projects with partner institutions in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

With support from the EEA and Norway Grants, a conference on the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life was held in Prague on September 24.

The 6th Mazovia NGO Initiatives Forum was held in Warsaw on 25 September. The forum gathered representatives of NGOs and local governments, and is part of a project to strengthen civil society in the Mazovia region. The project is supported by the Polish NGO fund for democracy and civil society.

Two events to assist Greek project promoters and Norwegian partners in the implementation process were held in Athens from 24-25 September.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Over the next few months, several projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants will be featured on Programme 3 of the Polish Radio. One of them concerns the revitalization of the old castle and Habsburg park complex in Żywiec, as pictured.

Regional development, cross-border cooperation and public sector capacity building were the themes of the day at this week's presentation of the EEA and Norway Grants at the Open Days in Brussels.

Norway provides more than €120 million to assist the newly joined Schengen members with implementing the Schengen acquis, strengthening the judiciary and improving prison infrastructure.

Half a million euro was made available today for Slovenian students, university staff and researchers for studies or work stays in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Several international police projects are funded by the Norway Grants. This cooperation benefits both Norway and the beneficiary states, says the Norwegian National Police Directorate.

HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway opened a seminar on the EEA and Norway Grants in Budapest, which was organised in order to draw some lessons so far and prepare common ground for a successful implementation of projects.

Public entities in the Lubelskie region can now apply for grants for cooperation projects with partners from the Euroregion Bug, covering the border-sharing areas of Belarus, Poland and Ukraine.

The EEA Grants have expanded and strengthened the good relations between Norway and Portugal, said State Secretary Elisabeth Walaas from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a conference on the EEA Grants in Lisbon on September 7.

Senior police officers are trained in identifying and combating discriminatory attitudes and practices in the Polish police force.

Today the Polish Cultural Exchange Fund launched a €2.9 million open call for cultural exchanges and projects between entities in Poland and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Several hundred students have benefited from scholarships to study in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In addition, 230 partnership projects between educational institutions in the EEA EFFTA states and the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have received support.

Teachers in Szolnok County can apply for grants for training courses on environment education.

The knowledge-based economy is upon us. Governments have to invest in research and development - but first and foremost in people. 10% of the EEA and Norway Grants is spent on human resource development in Central and Southern Europe.

Grants are now available for students, researchers and university staff at Bulgarian higher educational institutions for studies or teaching periods in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway next spring semester.

Through regional and cross-border cooperation projects under the EEA and Norway Grants, actors from 15 European countries are brought together, realising mutual benefits by transferring resources, knowledge and experience between regions.

Through nine cross-border and regional funds and programmes, nearly €22 million are put to use to increase cooperation and development across European borders and regions.

Dedication to increasing and promoting partnerships across Europe is a central pillar of the EEA and Norway Grants as a whole and nowhere is this more pronounced than in the regional and cross-border priority sector. Not only are Norwegian partners heavily invested in projects within a range of fields, partners in the neighbouring countries of the beneficiaries also play a vital part.

The Financial Mechanism Office (FMO) carried out a monitoring visit to Poland from 21 to 25 June, as part of its work to ensure that projects supported by the EEA and Norway Grants achieve what they set out to do.

Civil society organisations can submit their applications until 15 September deadline.

In south-western Norway, students from the Tokai region in Hungary are learning to make apple cider from scratch.

Portuguese researchers in the fields of biological, ocean, environment and health sciences now have the opportunity to apply for funding to spend a period working in a host institution in one of the EEA EFTA states.

On 30 June, Michna Palace in Prague hosted the signing ceremony of grant agreements with representatives of civil society organisations who have been selected for support in the third round of open calls under the Czech NGO Fund. 44 projects were supported within this call.

Portuguese and Norwegian researchers, culture workers and coastal population gather this week in Tromsø for a seminar to exchange experience and views on coastal culture. The seminar is part of an EEA Grants supported project that aims to promote coastal culture as a factor of local development.

On 22 June, the Faculty Hospital in Brno opened the first and only gait laboratory in the Czech Republic. Gait analysis records muscle activity during walking and enables doctors to make confident recommendations for surgical treatments for children with cerebral spastic palsy.

In a festive ceremony in the Polish Senate, 15 cities and municipalities were recently given awards for great improvements in their services to citizens. The awards were part of an EEA and Norway Grants project to share best practices among hundreds of Polish local and regional authorities.

Restoration works begin on the interior of the Virgin Mary Church in Luže, Czech Republic. The inside walls have not been painted for more than 100 years.

Lithuanian civil society activity has received a major boost thanks to support from the EEA and Norway Grants. More than 100 projects are supported through the NGO Fund, including a help line for young people with psychological problems.

A project aiming to create a greener city is underway in the city of Koszalin in Poland, with support from the Polish NGO fund. This short film shows how the project contributes to achieving a more environmentally friendly city and more healthy citizens.

NGO fund managers from 12 beneficiary states gathered in Oslo on 16 and 17 of June to discuss experiences and the way forward. The conference was organised by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Non-governmental organisations are engines of change and development in modern society. Funding more than 1 000 NGO projects, the EEA and Norway Grants are today primary supporters of civil society in Central and Southern Europe.

With support from the EEA and Norway Grants, the Hungarian NGO fund is blowing new life into the country`s civil society sector. One of the initiatives supported by the fund is a project to protect women from trafficking and prostitution.

The signing ceremony of grant agreements with non-governmental organisations awarded funding under the third call for proposals for the Czech NGO fund took place in Prague on 30 June.

Tactile stimulation, taught by an NGO supported by the EEA and Norway Grants, brings Latvian parents closer to connecting with their disabled children.

As a celebration of Norwegian-Polish solidarity, the Norwegian folk music group Streif performed between 7 and 13 June at Polish cultural heritage sites renovated by the EEA and Norway Grants.

The Norway Grants have partnered with SOS Children`s Villages to help orphaned and abandoned children find a new family and home in southern Estonia. On 15 June, construction works began on 3 new family homes in Põltsamaa.

The Slovenian scholarship, research and expert exchange fund has announced an open call for proposals for mobility projects, making available some €1.2 million euros in funding.

More than €3.2 million in grants for regional policy projects is now available for local, regional and national authorities in Lithuania.

More than €3.2 million in grants for regional policy projects is now available for local, regional and national authorities in Lithuania.

Many European countries battle stagnating student mobility. But while overall numbers may drop, the EEA and Norway Grants give important stimulus to student exchanges from Central and Southern Europe to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The suspensions of payments to Bulgarian projects supported by the EEA Grants have been lifted following the replacement of an implementation agency.

Earmarked funds for cultural cooperation projects between Poland and the EEA EFTA states are now available in Poland.

A nationwide campaign to encourage Polish citizens to cast their vote in the European Parliament elections has named the Polish municipality Podkowa Leśna "the Heart of Europe" after recording Poland's highest voter turnout at 50.8 percent.

International cooperation within the field of academic research is particularly important for long-term social and economic progress. New insight is produced by sharing resources, ideas, knowledge and experience.

Eight academic research funds have been established under the EEA and Norway Grants. The funds support a broad spectrum of research activities, with a special focus on environment, sustainable development and health.

Norway has announced that it will allocate €140 million to carbon capture and storage projects in selected beneficiary states under the next round of EEA and Norway Grants.

The EEA and Norway Grants status report 2009 highlights the major achievements of the social and economic development projects that Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway support in Central and Southern Europe.

Nine projects have been approved under the Polish Cultural Exchange Fund after its second call for proposals. 18 Norwegian and Icelandic entities are now set to engage in cooperation projects with Polish cultural institutions.

Several hundred children turned out at the newly renovated sport facilities of the Estonian coastal town of Haapsalu on 7 May for a relay bringing together Estonian and Norwegian aspiring athletes.

The Zoltan Magyary Postdoctoral Fellowship has now announced its second open call for proposals, making available some €390,000 for young researchers with international experience.

An additional €16 million have been distributed to 10 funds under the EEA and Norway Grants, enabling them to support additional projects.

The EEA and Norway Grants were thoroughly represented at the Forum of European Funds in Warsaw on 7-8 May 2009.

1250 projects, programmes and funds of a total value of €1.230 billion are now set to benefit from financial support through the EEA and Norway Grants. Environmental protection and efforts to preserve our common cultural heritage make up the largest groups of beneficiaries.

More than 1 in 5 projects are implemented in collaboration with partners from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Entities from the donor states are involved in some 300 partnership projects accross Central and Southern Europe.

April 2009 saw the approval of the first EEA Grants projects in Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania*. In total, 140 Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian projects have been approved, making up some €100 million in project support.

5,000 seedlings and an EEA and Norway Grants project put the environment into the limelight in Warsaw's city park.

Today, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway committed the remaining funding of the EEA and Norway Grants 2004-2009. 1249 projects, programmes and funds in the 15 beneficiary states are supported to reduce economic and social disparities in Europe.

The Financial Mechanism Committee has resumed approval of Bulgarian applications, on the condition that the Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) will be replaced by another implementing agency for the EEA Grants.

The NGO Fund in Romania has launched its second open call for project proposals, making available nearly €3 million to civil society organisations in the country.

Today, vast amounts of food is lost to spoilage and waste in Europe. In a bid to tackle this problem, the Polish NGO fund is supporting a campaign to raise awareness of the environmental, financial and social impacts of food waste.

Through the EEA and Norway Grants close to 200 cultural heritage projects receive support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The support goes to renovation of historical monuments, arts and documents, making these available to the public and future generations.

Many pieces of cultural heritage in the Czech Republic would have been subject to complete deterioration without the EEA and Norway Grants. The review finds the support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to have a significant and positive impact on the preservation of European cultural heritage in the Czech Republic.

Through 19 NGO funds supported by the EEA and Norway Grants, smaller and easily-accessible grants are made available to non-governmental organisations. Support to a fragile civil society is one of the cornerstones of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The initial chapter of the EEA and Norway Grants closes in end-April when the approval of projects comes to an end. At the same time, we flip to a new chapter with more than 1100 projects in implementation.

Women in Warsaw struggling to find work are offered a chance to improve their skills and self-esteem in a project supported by the Polish NGO fund under the EEA and Norway Grants.

Polish and Norwegian artists are sharing ideas on constructing tailored spaces of living for artists in residencies at institutions, with support from the Cultural Exchange Fund under the EEA and Norway Grants.

Through the EEA and Norway grants, 160 health and childcare projects in Central and Southern Europe are receiving grant support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The Polish NGO fund has released its last open call for projects in the area of Democracy and Civil Society. Applications can be submitted until 29 April 2009.

The Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), the secretariat of the EEA and Norway Grants, is announcing a tender for monitoring agents.

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway contribute to Poland`s environmental efforts through the EEA and Norway Grants. The support to energy renovate public buildings cuts energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

The largest fund financed by the EEA and Norway Grants is the Polish NGO fund. For the time being it has ongoing calls for projects concerning environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as equal opportunities and social integration. In the future, we might also see funds specifically targeting social dialogue.

The largest fund financed by the EEA and Norway Grants is the Polish NGO fund. For the time being it has ongoing calls for projects concerning environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as equal opportunities and social integration. In the future, we might also see funds specifically targeting social dialogue.

The largest fund financed by the EEA and Norway Grants is the Polish NGO fund. For the time being it has ongoing calls for projects concerning environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as equal opportunities and social integration. In the future, we might also see funds specifically targeting social dialogue.

The final report outlining the impact of the Financial Mechanism 1994-1998 has now been launched.

Lithuania and Poland has chosen to use parts of the EEA and Norway Grants on preventing cancer and raising quality of life for cancer patients.

The FMO has now launched fact sheets on all priority sectors under the EEA and Norway Grants, outlining the impact of the €1.3 billion grant support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Through the EEA and Norway Grants, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are supporting more than 200 environmental projects in Central and Southern Europe. Support to energy efficiency and renewable energy make up the most significant contribution.

The Lithuanian fund for local and regional development has announced an open call for proposals. The fund will strengthen ties between Lithuania and Norway.

On 12 September 2008, the Slovene town of Tržic saw the inauguration of its new cultural centre. The centre is a part of the Lively Old Town project, which seeks to bring life back to the towns of the Gorenjska region.

The Slovene town Jesenice has applied a €1.2 million grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to renovate its old town square and turn it into a local social venue.