The new Call for Applications of the Western Balkans Green Programme closed with significant interest

Despite recent difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new grant call for climate protection projects of the Western Balkans Green Center has attracted significant interest, as announced by Attila Steiner, State Secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy. Applications were received for the call with a total of HUF 1.3 billion (EUR 3.7 billion) requests, exceeding the available resources multiple times, after the evaluation of which, grant decisions are expected in the fall.

The third call of the program, which is part of the international climate finance effort by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, has a budget of HUF 400 million (EUR 1.2 million) and aims to support the green economy transition of the Western Balkan countries awaiting accession to the European Union, and so to promote the long-term  cooperation in the technical and technology-related fields.

The State Secretary highlighted that the applications received in the sectors of energy, water industry, circular economy and urban development all set out the goals that would substantially promote the green transition. The Western Balkans region faces significant challenges and related development needs in terms of the climate change processes.  However, the publicity of the grant programme is already enabling medium- and long-term planning of investments both in the host countries and in Hungary, thus helping to solve the challenges, added Attila Steiner.

Another experience of the program is that awareness of climate protection is growing in the Western Balkans, and the countries of the region are paying more and more attention to the issue of green economy transition. In the near future, significant resources will be opened at the international and local level for the implementation of projects prepared for financing, which is why it is important that Hungary supports Hungarian companies in the international competition for resources to exercise top quality climate action. Among the target countries, Serbia is still the most popular, but there is also a growing interest in further relations. Applicants include a large number of representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, and higher education institutions are also increasingly interested in the program.

Please find the official press release here:

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