Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2017 (97. évfolyam)

2017 / 3. szám - TRANSNATIONAL EFFORTS - Kocsis-Kupper Zsuzsanna: Financing possibilities for water projects in the Danube region in 2017

Hidrológiai Közlöny (Hungarian Journal of Hydrology) 2017. 97. évf. 3. sz.

characterized by balanced partnership between the participating countries on either side of a border, management entrusted to a local - or national - authority in a member state, jointly selected by all countries participating in the programme and that there are common legal framework and implementation rules. CBC has three main objectives: promoting economic and social development in border areas

addressing common challenges (environment, public health, safety and security) putting in place better conditions for persons, goods and capital mobility.

The programmes differ in their approach of collecting projects. Some operates with an open-end system, some with periodic Calls and some of them also plan strate- gic/restricted Calls. Eligible partners are public or public equivalent bodies from the programme areas; the ratio of financial support is the maximum 85% ERDF with an additional 10-15% government co-financing (depending on the legal form of the partner).

The related transnational programmes relevant

also for the Danube stakeholders

Interrez Europe helps local, regional and national governments and public authorities across Europe develop and deliver better policy by sharing solutions with each other through interregional cooperation projects. In its third call that was closed on 30 June 2017 Interreg Europe aimed to approve more projects dealing with water management and other environment and resource efficiency topics. The Programme received 234 proposals in the third call, out of which 41% was submitted for environment and resource efficiency, including water. The programme can offer up to 85% co-financing for project activities such as study visits, peer reviews and action plan development. Depending on the number of partners involved (minimum 3, from at least 2 EU countries) and the project duration (3-5 years), the average total budget of a project is expected to be around EUR 1-2 million. To be eligible forinterreg Europe financial support, at least half of the project partners must work on Structural Funds operational programmes.

Interrez CENTRAL EUROPE with its Priority Axis 3, requiring at least 3 partners and in general financing projects in a range of € 1-5 million, builds on existing knowledge to deliver realistic results, driving a measurable change (improvement) of the initial situation in the area. With its upcoming call, Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE will offer around 60 million EUR ERDF for new transnational cooperation ideas as of 21 September 2017. The programme seeks project ideas that help to improve capacities for urban and regional development in four priority areas: innovation and knowledge development, C02 reduction, natural and cultural resources, and transport. In some areas, the third call will be exclusively focused on pre-de- fined topics. It will stay open until 25 January 2018.

Interrez Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) promotes economic, social and territorial cohesion in the Danube Region through policy integration in selected fields. The Danube Transnational Programme finances projects for the development and practical implementation

of policy frameworks, tools and services and concrete small-scale pilot investments. Strong complementarities with the broader EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) are sought. The DTP’S second call for proposals was officially launched on 9th May 2017 and it was closed on 6th June 2017 with 127 applications were received. The Specific Objectives 1.2 (Increase competences for business and social innovation) and 2.2 (Foster sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage and resources) were the ones receiving the highest number of proposals. 1322 institutions from all the Danube region were involved as project partners in the AF considered for assessment. Concerning the distribution of Lead Applicants (LA) per country, most LA came from Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. Programme results of the second call of DTP are not yet disclosed, however, within the first call two important projects strategic for the Priority Area Water Quality - one is dealing with sediment balance of the Danube River (Dan- ubeSediment project) and another with sub basin - Tisza - integration issues (JOINTISZA project) were approved for funding and could commence their activities in January 2017.

Beside territorial cooperation and cohesion possibilities, there are also sector specific EU programmes, which are managed centrally: HORIZON 2020 and LIFE.

Sector specific, centrally managed programmes

Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest ever programme for research and innovation with its budget of €79 billion. It aims at securing Europe's global competitiveness, strengthening its position in science and its industrial leadership in innovation by providing major investment in key technologies, greater access to capital and support for SMEs. The programme aims at tackling societal challenges by helping to bridge the gap between research and the market. Horizon 2020 is designed to be a different kind of EU research programme - funding the entire value creation chain from fundamental research through to market innovation, and with drastically less red tape.

The LIFE Prozramme is the financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU. The priority areas of its sub-programme for environment are: environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, environmental governance. The programme contributes to the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon and climate resilient economy, to the protection and improvement of the quality of the environment and to halting and reversing biodiversity loss. The current LIFE call is open till the first part of September 2017 (with different deadlines for various brands).

Danube- specific financial instruments

To serve the needs of the EUSDR stakeholders, there are Danube- specific instruments assistinz funding. Notably, there is a database within the Danube Implementation Facility called EURO ACCESS that is an online information and search tool on EU-funding available in the Danube Region, that can be used as support for the implementation of the Action Plan of the EUSDR in the period 2014-2020. EuroAccess lists current calls for proposals under EU programmes that are open for applicants in the Danube Region.