Towards a climate neutral EU:
efficient allocation of EU funds

The project "Hydrotechnical works in the Niraj river basin, Mures county" was promoted in order to carry out hydrotechnical works for reducing the risk of flooding and preventing negative effects caused by them, having the technical-economic indicators approved by Government Decision no. 67/2014, technical-economic indicators...

In 1975, the local chemical fertilizer platform (Azomures) established the current 30 ha basin with a dual role: that of an open basin for closed-circuit cooling of acid hot water from the technological process of manufacturing complex fertilizers (NPK) and that of storing calcium carbonate suspensions and other insoluble salts as a result of...

In 2021, a 3 hectare rainwater reservoir and a km long concrete-lined channel was constructed in Zsombó village, on the territory of the Kiskunság National Park, which is part of the core area of the National Ecological Network - a priority nature protection area. The construction of the reservoir was justified by preventing inland...

Brief description of the project The objective of the project proposal is to improve the ambient air quality in the Municipality of Vratsa by reducing the levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides as a result of the replacement and modernisation of the rolling stock of mass public transport. It is planned to deliver 13 new electric...

The aim of the project is to boost the energy efficient renovation of residential buildings in Hungary. The current rate of renovations is not sufficient to significantly decrease the energy consumption of the residential sector, which amounts to a third of Hungary's final energy consumption. Residents often lack not only money for the...

The project aims to improve our understanding of ecosystems, map the spatial distribution of Hungary's natural capital and develop the current knowledge base, which is essential to halt biodiversity loss. The project’s main elements include: Status assessment (sampling, surveys, habitat mapping); Development of tools for long-term...

Szeged, in South Hungary is set to have Europe's second largest geothermal residential district heating system after Reykjavik, thanks to a development under the Environment and Energy Efficiency Operational Programme. The aim of the development is to move towards a low-carbon economy by partially converting the city’s fossil gas...

The main objective of the project is to support urban climate adaptation in the field of precipitation management by identifying and strengthening synergies between green and blue infrastructures, in three districts of Budapest (VII, XII, XVIII). The project is planned to effectively reduce the harmful consequences of sudden rainfall by combining...

The South Moravian municipality of Šitbořice operates a unique waste sorting system that directly involves residents. They can sort their waste at home in prepared and labelled bags, motivated not only by environmental protection but also by lower municipal waste collection fees. The best sorters pay only CZK 130 per year for their waste....

The City of Hronov started implementing its energy-saving measures in 2011. Since then, it has managed to insulate the buildings of primary and kindergarten schools, modernise the boiler room in the town theatre and replace most of the outdated heat sources in the town buildings with modern condensing gas boilers. In total, the city saves CZK 1.5...

The subject of the project is the construction of a kindergarten in Sedlejov, with a capacity of 25 children (children aged from 2 to 6 or 7 years), including a garden and play elements. The need for a kindergarten in the village is related to population growth. The increase in the demand for placing children in kindergartens in the village is...

This project had the aim to change travel habits and plan appropriate infrastructure for a safe journey to school and kindergarten. This included a comprehensive concept of promoting sustainable ways of getting to kindergartens and primary schools for children, parents, teachers, educators, school and kindergarten management and municipal...

By participating in two different Horizon 2020 projects, the Slovenian steel producer SIJ managed to decrease GHG emissions through the recovery and use of excess process heat. At its location in Jesenice SIJ, in collaboration with the CREATORS project consortium, recovers process heat and feeds it into the local district heating network. At...

With the opening of Cukrarna Gallery in September 2021, the Slovenian capital has gained a new venue for exhibiting contemporary art and organizing art events. Cukrarna began life in 1828 as a sugar refinery, burnt down only 30 years later. In the 150 years after that it was used as a home for soldiers, factory workers poor people and artists. In...

By upgrading the system for monitoring air pollution, identifying the causes for abnormal air pollution burdens and analysing the impacts of improvement measures, the project SINICA of the Slovenian Environment Agency ARSO contributes to cleaner air and less health impacts from air pollution in Slovenia. Having precise data available is the basis...

With the purchase of a solar power plant and an EV, the small municipality of Loški Potok, already a frontrunner in renewable energy, increased its energy self-sufficiency and now provides a service for the elederly population to get a free locally powered ride. Besides the municipality also the local wood cooperative, which was formed to...

Financed by the Horizon 2020 program, in the Slovenian municipality of Luče a renewable energy community was established to increase the local self sufficiency with clean energy and increase the security of supply in this remote mountain valley. Before the project, Luče was a typical case of a rural low voltage network with a weak and unstable...

As part of the storm warning and meteo system, Limanowa county has purchased a weather station and storm detector together with a cell phone application. The application has an innovative functionality of receiving notifications about an approaching storm or other danger. The application allows monitoring conditions conducive to thunderstorms and...

The town of Vsetín ranks among the three greenest towns in the Czech Republic, not only in terms of the share of green areas in the total area but also in terms of its approach to the environment. In recent years, it has been trying to change its municipal waste management in a way that leads to better environmental sustainability. The...

A modern energy source replaced the original heating plant in Planá nad Lužnicí. The unique technology enables the production of electricity and heat with high efficiency and is complemented by a solar power plant and a 4 MW battery. The resulting ecological solution has significantly improved the air quality in the surrounding...

One of the largest and busiest centres of environmental education in the Czech Republic. The low-energy building, supplied almost exclusively from renewable energy sources, links all the innovative technologies used with education. The heating of the premises is solved by ground-water heat pumps combined with a solar system in suitable seasons....

On the boundary of Warsaw city south districts Mokotów and Ursynów runs a small river: Potok Służewiecki. The river was frequently causing flooding due to its high degree of urbanisation and rising area of impermeable surfaces in their catchment. Above the frequently problematic part of the river, where floods were occuring, was a...

In 2013 private investor constructed a biogas power plant and wind farm in Potęgowo municipality (Pomorskie Region in Poland). The investor focused on prodution of electric energy and did not pay attention to the use of heat from biogas plant. Potęgowo municipality had at that time a small heating network, which was powered by coal power plant...

The National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) is developing a package of 9 research and development undertakings supporting implementation of the European Green Deal strategy. These undertakings are based on the problem-driven research model developed in previous years and implemented in the pre-commercial procurement (PCP) mode. 1....

In the Baltic States, Rail Baltica is the largest infrastructure project of the 21st century that will integrate the railway system into the European network. Currently, no train connections exist between all three capitals of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania. The construction phase should be accomplished by 2027, enabling new low-carbon travel mode.

The fish processing enterprise "Unda" acquired a solar PV park located at the shoreline of the Baltic Sea. In 2022, it was one of the largest solar power stations in Latvia (236 kW). The enterprise will use the power for daily operations and freezers.

The overarching goal of the LIFE LOGOS 4 WATERS project – building on the experience and results of the LIFE-MICACC project, which ended in November 2021 and which is also part of this best practice database– is to improve climate adaptation and coordination capacity of local municipalities, and to support the efficient use of EU...

Narrative The current project envisaged the construction of a year-round recreational complex, as well as a next step towards the improvement of the area of Renaissance Park (‘Парк Възраждане’ in Bulgarian). Under the project, more than 18 thousand sqm of land have been added to the parking area of the park with passive...

The program envisages the possibility of subsidizing projects involving the purchase/leasing of new zero-emission vehicles of categories M1, M2, M3, N1, L1e, L2e, L3e, L4e, L5e, L6e, L7e using for propulsion only electricity accumulated by connection to an external power source or electricity generated from hydrogen in fuel cells installed in it,...

The purpose of the program is to increase the production of electricity from photovoltaic micro-installations or to increase the self-consumption of generated electricity through storage (electricity or heat storage) and to increase the efficiency of electricity management in Poland. The projects must contribute to the national target for the...

Woonerf is a term that refers to a way of designing a street in an urbanized zone in such a way that while maintaining the basic functions of the street, special emphasis is placed on traffic calming. The idea emerged in the 1970s in the Netherlands. A woonerf is at the same time a street, a promenade, a parking lot and a meeting place for...

Narrative Mobility in modern societies has a major impact on our everyday life: it determines how people, economies, and countries interact. A large proportion of Europe's citizens live in urban environments, with over 60% living in urban areas with more than 10 000 inhabitants. Urban mobility is vital for European cities and contributes...

Narrative Project 11 under Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan targets the municipal outdoor artificial lighting systems with the goal to ensure increased levels of energy efficiency of the latter. The aim of the project is to achieve energy savings in the final energy consumption in order to contribute to and accelerate the achievement...

The project – planned to be financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility – aims at developing the electricity distribution grid to increase its flexibility and facilitate the integration of photovoltaic systems. To connect the photovoltaic capacity planned for 2030 to the grid, a significant expansion of both transmission and...

The main objective of the project is to increase the attractiveness of the border region by complex development of natural heritage areas, nature preservation and way of environmental interpretation. The project focuses on Natura 2000 areas - Senné ponds, Bodrogzug and Bodrog Floodplain and Bodrogzug-Kopasz-hegy-Taktaköz. We plan to...

Project Objective: The aim of the project is to increase the share of the division of transport work in favour of more environmentally friendly modes of transport - cycling on urban mobility in the city of Trenčín, in its urban part Západ - forming the urban districts Záblatie, Malé Záblatie, Zlatovce,...

Project Objective: The goal of the project is to be achieved by revitalizing the urban elements and greening the open space of the park for success with the application of ecological principles of green space creation and protection. The space is to provide a suitable environment for biodiversity, to enable ecosystems to function by linking...

Project objective: The aim of the project is to provide and offer transport solutions that are accessible to all citizens, especially with regard to the major sources and destinations of daily movement of people, to increase traffic safety, to reduce air pollution, noise, greenhouse gases and energy consumption, to ensure cost-effective and...

Project Objective: The aim of the project is to encourage the city and other public entities to adopt low-carbon strategies with clear targets and an emphasis on environmental protection, which is a prerequisite for systematically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account regional allocative conditions, in line with the Energy...

Project Objective: The project objective is to be achieved through the development of one conceptual strategy document - climate change adaptation, is considered a green infrastructure element and a tangible physical output of the project. Defining a systematic set of actions, responding to reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive capacity to...

Main objective: Through the development and adoption of a low-carbon strategy, the City of Trnava will establish a framework of measures to combat climate change in the area. On the basis of the strategy document, the City of Trnava will be able to manage its own approach to the use of practical and financial instruments in the future, which will...

Project Objective: It is to build a system of shading structures, which in combination with climbing vegetation and wooden slats will create shaded places on the footbridge and facilitate the movement of residents, especially in times of heat. Project description:The main activity is the construction of a set of shading structures which, in...

Project Objective: To increase the attractiveness of bicycle transport in the city and to increase safe bicycle parking capacities at the Trnava bus and railway station through the construction of a bicycle parking house. Project description: The project will increase the parking capacity at the railway and bus station, thus contributing to an...

The main objective and characteristics of the project: the main objective of the project "Sustainable Mobility Plan of the Regional City of Trnava and its functional area" was to support the increase of the attractiveness and competitiveness of public passenger transport, especially non-motorised transport, and to contribute to the...

According to data from the Long-term National Strategy to Support the Renewal of the National Building Stock of Residential and Non-Residential Buildings by 2050, certified buildings for administrative services account for over 20%. The analysis shows that 52.2% of the existing administrative buildings were built and commissioned in the period...

The main objective of the project is to achieve a 15% increase in the carbon reduction rate compared to the plans that each of the project partners has committed to achieve by 2022, by significantly involving stakeholders in the whole process. The sub-objectives that will contribute to the achievement of the project's main objective are: 1....

The main objectives of the project are: The main objective of the project was to contribute to the implementation of sustainable land use in the context of integrated environmental management of urban functional areas (UFAs) at the strategic planning level through the development of methodologies, strategies, action plans and materials for...

The Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic has recently published the supported projects from the first ever subsidy scheme aimed specifically at school mobility, namely bicycle racks for parking bicycles at schools. The launch of this financial mechanism is one of the successes of our Go to School on a Bike campaign, as it...

Revitalisation of 2.2 km of the Rudava River, through meander restoration and bank beautification. The restoration of the lower section of the Rudava River was carried out by the Bratislava Regional Conservation Association BROZ in cooperation with the Research Institute of Water Management, the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava and the...

In the context of the EU’s transition towards a green economy, as one of the central themes of the EU, the Recovery and Resilience Plan focuses on decarbonisation and climate neutrality of cities. Buildings in the European Union account for 40% of energy use and 36% of carbon emissions. To achieve the Commission's proposed target...

There are a total of 179 multi-family residential buildings in Smolyan. Many of them do not meet the modern energy efficiency requirements and standards. There is also a large number of public buildings that need to be renovated. Smolyan Municipality has been looking for opportunities to include all these buildings in energy efficiency and...

The objective of the project, planned to be financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, is to create at least 25 000 kWP of renewable community energy production capacity. The revenues from the sale of the energy generated by the small renewable energy power plant will be used for social housing in the 300 most disadvantaged municipalities...

The natural stretches of the Danube and its extensive floodplains are part of our common European natural heritage. The protected areas on the Danube represent unique natural areas within the international ecosystem. Based on the existing partnership within the Danube Protected Areas Network, the international project DANUBEPARKS has been...

The aim of the project is to halt the decline of biodiversity and strengthen the NATURA 2000 system in the project area through active protection of non-forest habitats and species of European and national importance and their favourable condition, implementation of appropriate management practices and promotion of traditional management....

The transboundary floodplain region Morava - Dyje and the adjacent territories Weinviertel, Záhorská nížina and Devínska Kobyla are important areas for joint transboundary protection. More than 50 000 ha are covered by protected areas of different protection categories in this area. Many of them are valuable elements...

The project is a cross-border cooperation between Baia Mare Municipality, the lead partner of the project located in the region of Maramures in Romania, and two cities from southwest Ukraine: Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia. It aims at the intensification and strenghtening of the durable cooperation on a social, economic and environmental plan...

The project was started in 2014 May by CJRAE Bihor (Bihor County Center for Education Resources and Assistance) in partnership with Fundaţia pentru Dezvoltarea Societăţii Civile (Foundation for the Development of Civil Society) and Reper21 Association. It was funded by the European Social Fund through the 2007–2014 Operational Sectoral...

The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the national Regional Operational Program (POR 2014–2020), SMIS code: 115913. The undertaken actions were the thermic isolation of the building, installation of a new heating system with 2 new central heating units and a water heating unit, renewal of the electrical...

The beneficiary of the project is Tîrgu Mureș Municipality (SMIS: 127574), funded through the Regional Operational Program 2014–2020 by the ERDF, with the goal of reducing carbon emission in county center cities. The aim of the project is to reduce the use of private cars and thus carbon emissions through ensuring an efficient public...

The project was funded from a 2007–2013 Operational Program and the beneficiary was an association created in 2009 that joines all the 61 localities from Sălaj county, called ECODES Sălaj. The objective was to ensure a healthier life for local residents and a more ecological environment, as the country assumed this objective with the...

Waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) poses a threat to the environment and to health. It is one of the fastest growing waste sources in the European Union, making up around 4% of municipal waste. According to a 2007 United Nations study, WEEE gathered from across the EU27 amounted to an estimated 8.3 – 9.1 million tonnes per...

Narrative In order to achieve the objectives of the OP “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020, as well as to achieve sustainable and smart growth, integrity and synergistic effect, as a result of a detailed feasibility study, a design decision was approved by decision of the Pleven Municipality, which provides for the replacement of rolling...

Narrative The project “Improving ambient air quality in Burgas Municipality through modernisation of public transport” includes the supply and commissioning of 56 electric vehicles for the needs of public mass transport in the municipality, related charging facilities and infrastructure, as well as integration with existing electronic...

Narrative Stara Zagora has implemented two projects on the development of sustainable urban transport. Thanks to the implementation of the two stages of the transport project, Stara Zagora was able to eliminate the consequences of the depreciated old city buses and significantly improve the air quality in the city. During Phase I of the project,...

Narrative The ambient air quality is of a particular importance when it comes to settlements, located in basin landforms with difficult air drainage. One of these areas is the territory of the Pernik valley. The city of Pernik is currently considered as a polluted city. For example, according to IQAir, just on 31st of August 2022, the PM2.5...

Narrative The Sofia tram network represents a vital part of the public transportation system of Sofia. It has been operative since January 1, 1901 with a standard gauge one-way track. Most of the track is narrow gauge (1,009 mm), with standard gauge (1,435 mm) used on lines 20, 22 and 23 and accounting for approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) of...

Narrative The population of Sofia has been drastically growing over the years. According to statistical data, the inhabitants currently residing the capital of Bulgaria equal around 1,152,556. In its publication from April, 2021, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reports that there are more cars in Sofia than the average for the...

The school in the village of Hrušov is insulated and heated with straw. The insulation has reduced the energy demand for heating by 60%, and by switching to straw heating, the municipality will save up to 50% of the heating costs.

The Biomass Bystricko Association of Municipalities with the support of Friends of the Earth-CEPA built 15 biomass boiler houses in 8 municipalities. The biomass comes from waste from local private or municipal sawmills that buy wood from municipal and urban forests. The association takes care of the whole operation - from purchasing the wood,...

In Mikolajice in the Opava region, the first Wave microelectric power plant was launched in 2019, producing heat and electricity for the local municipal office, grocery store and fire station. The equipment, developed by the University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings at the Czech Technical University in Prague, consists of a so-called...

The subsidy can be used for the actual purchase of the power plant, covering the costs of construction engineering and utilities. The applicants can also use the subsidy to cover ancillary budget costs and equipment, including control HW and SW. The programme is for small and medium-sized enterprises that are likely to be eligible to apply for...

The Ministry of the Environment will give CZK 600 million to purchase cars with alternative propulsion for municipalities, authorities, schools, public institutions or non-profit organisations. They can get up to CZK 300,000 for a personal electric car and up to half a million crowns for an electric truck or a hydrogen-powered passenger car. For...

An example of the only ‘energy-independent’ village in the Czech Republic is Kněžnice. Thanks to its bioenergy centre, consisting of a biogas plant and a biomass heating plant, it can fully cover its energy needs. The biomass boilers burn organic material (mainly wood chips and straw from local farmers) and provide heating and hot...

Road and cycling infrastructure are often strongly connected, especially when cycling paths are not physically seperated from roads. In these cases it is important to clearly separate investments into cycling infrastructure and safety from investments into road renewal and expansion in order to avoid the greenwashing of EU funds. One illustrative...

Sustainable development goes beyond the reduction of environmental impacts and should always include a social dimension. One example where both dimensions can be combined is organic farming. At the Korenika farm in eastern Slovenia organic food production and processing is combined with social entrepreneurship, as the farm employs people with...

In a collaboration of the City of Ljubljana, an energy and an engineering company energy retrofits of 48 public buildings were carried out using the energy performance contracting model. The project helped to generate annual savings of over EUR 1 million. Furthermore, annual CO2 emissions were reduced by approximately 3000 tonnes. The retrofitted...

Eu funds are used to provide co-financing of new solar power plants on business objects. This programme includes commercial solar power plans, solar power for self-consumption of electricity and energy storage devices. The financial incentives, which are granted as state aid, are limited to installations with a power of up to 10 MW. Beneficiaries...

Slovenia is an Alpine country where mountaineering and outdoor recreation are of high importance. These activities are enabled by a network of mountain huts, shelters, bivouacs and mountain training centers. These non for profit facilities are especially suitable for renewable energy and energy efficiency measures as they are often off-grid,...

The goal of the 500 million HUF (~1,3 mil EUR) programme was to rehabilitate the blue-green infrastructure of the town of Enying, a small town of about 7000 inhabitants near, but not adjacent to Lake Balaton (one of the primary touristic destinations of Hungary). The ratio of disadvantaged residents in the town’s population is higher than...

The INNOAIR project addresses urban air quality and transport inefficiency in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital and largest metropolitan area. The project is designed to “test new and unproven solutions to address urban challenges” that are scalable and transferable to other urban hubs across the country and throughout Europe. In Sofia,...

Hell Energy Hungary Ltd. is a privately owned producer of energy drinks that, according to its website, is “one of the fastest growing FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands in the world, as proven by its explosive export expansion and growing global popularity, with an export market of more than 50 countries”. Between 2008 and...

This entails a comprehensive set of projects to help modernise environmental education centers. Projects focusing only on tools or equipment will not be supported in this call. Financing comes from the Operational Programme for the Environment 2021-2027.

This initiative delivers financial support to replace manually fed solid-fuel boilers in family homes (including permanently inhabited buildings for family recreation) and in residential units of apartment buildings. Support is provided through projects carried out in individual regions. Funding comes from the Operational Programme for the...

This initiative delivers subsidies for reconstruction and innovation of urban lighting systems of municipalities to achieve electricity savings. The subsidy covers reconstruction of the public lighting system, including the addition of lighting points to meet the lighting standard requirements. Grants cannot be used to construct a new public...

In the 2014-2020 period, many local authorities decided to carry out joint 'umbrella projects' to finance small renewable installations for private residences. Municipalities were in charge of overall project management, but investments (PV systems, for example) were realised on private properties, with periodic investments being donated...

Because of its range, 44MPA is the only initiative in Europe in which the Ministry of the Environment supports the authorities and local administration in coordinating activities to adapt to the impacts of climate change in several dozen cities at the same time. The preparation of urban adaptation plans for the 44 cities participating in the...

The ADAPTCITY project has laid the foundations for taking actions to adapt to climate change in Warsaw, and has radiated to other large metropolises in our country. It leaves behind very important results, such as: a strategy for adaptation to climate change in the capital city of Warsaw until 2030, with a perspective until 2050; a set of nearly...

A Polish partnership agreement and operational programmes at national level were drafted through public administration and consulted in a process open to anyone. Following a letter from several NGOs (submitted in February 2021) to the Prime Minister, the government agreed to organise public hearings on European Funds prepared by the national...

The railway line connects the capital of the Greater Poland region, Poznań, with Wągrowiec, which has about 25,000 inhabitants. Its modernisation was completed in 2011-2013. Immediate effects of the modernisation include: reduced travel time by 25 minuntes (-40%), and higher maximum speed (up to 120 km/h). The most important outcome is that the...

Filter, in cooperation with Arcon-Sunmark A/S, delivered the largest solar thermal district heating plant in all of Eastern Europe. This award-winning feat of engineering resulted in a 1,720-panel solar field providing an annual output of 12,000 MWH, combined with a 3 MW biomass-based boiler. The main purpose was to reconstruct and convert a...

This is an incentive-based programme for building renovations. An “all in one” combination of EE and RES and other measures (e.g.green roofs) also targets vulnerable groups. This involves not just a change of heat source, but also a renewal with different technology options. Response has been very positive overall. While technologies...

Slovakia plans to set aside EUR 100 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RFF) for bicycle transport. Bicycle transport is a short-distance transport and is therefore especially effective in cities and nearby suburban areas. Existing support schemes did not take this principle into account and thus contributed little to change the...

Regional Centres for Sustainable Energy (hereinafter RCUEs) will ensure the coordination of energy development in self-government at district level (i.e. respective strategic planning regions). They are part of an integrated system of support for the transposition of national climate and energy goals of the Slovak Republic to regional and local...

The project envisages the provisioning of 100% non-refundable support for the installation of photovoltaic systems and the electrification of heating systems in combination with photovoltaic systems for 45,000 households. In the case of electrification of the heating system (heat pump implementation), energy-storage units and the replacement of...

The project’s goal is to help secure the ecological water supply of the Hanság Natura 2000 area (which connects to the Rábaköz-tóköz watershed in North-West Hungary), by creating the technical conditions necessary to retain the available water resources and to stop the further lowering of groundwater levels....

Through its public environmental fund Eko Sklad, Slovenia supports the energy renovation of old buildings to benefit energy-poor inhabitants. The fund pays 100% of costs (up to EUR 10,000) for investments in thermal insulation, installation of energy-efficient windows and doors, and installation of solar hot-water panels or heat pumps.

The objective of this project was to improve the conservation status of one of Romania's most beautiful and well-known parks. The main goal was to create conditions to limit the enviornmental impact of locals and tourists visiting the park. The first group to be targeted was park personnel: 12 employees received professional training in park...

The URBforDAN project looks to address actual needs and challenges linked to the sustainable management of natural heritage, especially urban and peri-urban forests within areas of the Danube Region. The project involves seven partner cities: Ljubljana, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Vienna, Zagreb, Belgrade, and Ivano-Frankivsk. An 'urban or...

The Haţeg UNESCO Global Geopark, managed by the University of Bucharest, is the only UNESCO-recognised geopark in Romania. The park was jointly developed along with eight european geoparks under the collective name of 'Danube Geoparks', and the effort was financed through the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme (2014–2020). The...

The project’s goal is to improve the quality and operational efficiency of local and suburban public-transport services and reduce their environmental impact by purchasing new electric buses. Municipalities with a population of at least 25,000 (and the companies responsible for local public-transport services) can apply for a total of 300...

In Hungary, between 2006 and 2013, several municipalities received EU funding to implement geothermal heating systems for households, public buildings, and industrial and agricultural facilities. Hungary has a good geothermal potential, currently ~15% of the potential is in use. Geothermal heating systems provide cheap and clean renewable energy...

Topic: Subsidies for SMEs that invest in new machinery to improve productivtiy and competitiveness, as well as energy and material efficiency. While this public tender at first glance seems to be a good practice and has the potential to contribute to decarbonisation, the environmental criteria are vastly insufficient and only represent 25% of the...

Poland has one of the lowest per capita railway-usage rates in the EU. Many regions have very little rail infrastructure and few trains in operation. A significant number of railways have ceased operations since 1995, with a peak number of closures taking place in 1999. EU funding from 2004 has raised the quality of rail service in many regions,...

Based on available funding from the Recovery & Resilience Programme, Slovenia's Ministry of Environment issued a tender on wastewater treatment for settlements with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. The primary aim of this effort is to address the fact these small settlements did not formerly qualify for programme support in previous years...

Since 2009, different phases of the country-wide Green in Savings programmes have significantly contributed to Czech achievements in the buildings sector in terms of energy efficiency and emission reductions. The programme focuses on reducing the energy consumption of residential buildings (insulation), construction or purchase of houses with...

This is just one of several projects in the Czech Republic funded through the Recovery & Resilience Facility. The 'Sustainable transport' policy objective mainly includes investments in the electrification and security of buildings and railway lines, and thus represents an increase in public investment. This particular investment...

This project aimed to improve the conservation status of bison in Romania's Vânători Neamț National Park and to create conditions for a self-sustaining population of the species in the wild. After vanishing centuries ago from the Carpathian Forest, bison were reintroduced to the area in 2012. The bison serves as an umbrella species in...

The project’s main goal was to test, introduce and foster the integration of sustainable, ecosystem-based water management approaches into natural resources management strategies and land-use planning practice of local governments in Hungary, and thus to improve the resilience of vulnerable municipalities by reducing their risks stemming...

In 2018, the European Investment Bank (EIB) committed EUR 200 million to help finance the development of the Budapest Airport, 16 km from the centre of Budapest. The project comprised a number of measures to alleviate current congestion, accommodate future growth in passenger and cargo traffic, and improve airport safety and security. The project...