How to Access EU and Member State Recovery Funds

Between the EU’s recovery package and the recent stimulus packages announced by Germany, France, Portugal, Austria and Denmark there is more than €1 trillion to be spent in relaunching and greening Europe’s economy in the coming years. Other member states continue to develop their plans which will boost the figure much higher. It is crucial for cities to actively lobby for their fair share of those funds with concrete project proposals. Cities are at the forefront of the COVID-19 and climate change response. Stimulus spending will only be successful if the needs of cities are met.

Timeline

Member States must submit their draft Recovery Plans to the
European Commission by October. There will be several months of review and
negotiation before the deadline for final plans at the end of April 2021.

Who to talk to

In order to ensure your city’s needs are met it is
imperative to get in contact with your national finance ministry to find out
where they are in the process and find out how you can contribute.

Secondly, find out who is responsible for your specific area
of concern. Do you have transportation projects in mind? Social housing?
Renovation of buildings or perhaps investing in renewable electricity
generation in your city? Whatever your project, look to the national authority
on the subject as they will be providing input for their sector.

Third, meet with the government body responsible for
cohesion policy funding – that’s the EU’s European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) and European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). These funds have been underspent
in many EU countries previously and represent a tremendous opportunity.

What to bring

Project ideas. The more fully-formed, the better. Ideally,
they would tackle more than one issue at a time by tackling emissions and
creating jobs or other social challenges such as poverty – energy efficiency,
building renovation, mobility infrastructure (walking, biking, public
transportation), building a more circular economy or linking rural food
production and city markets should all be welcomed.

Strength in numbers

Most Europeans live in cities, and cities are at the
frontlines of the efforts against climate change and coronavirus. By joining
forces nationally, and through gaining media attention or combined
representation to national leaders you can better convey the need, urgency and utility
of green investments in our cities. Use the Energy Cities network to find
like-minded cities!

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Fuente: ENERGY CITIES
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