EEA and Norway Grants: Additional allocation of 64 million kroner for Polish civil society
Norway is increasing support to NGOs in Poland. The aim is to promote democratic values and gender equality and safeguard the rights of vulnerable groups.
“A diverse and strong civil society is a vital component of a well-functioning democracy. The EEA and Norway Grants play a major role in strengthening civil society, both in Poland and in the other beneficiary countries, and this is a good way to use some of the reserve funding,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide said.
In the course of the spring, Norway and Poland have conducted negotiations on the allocation of the remaining reserve funding of NOK 351 million. An agreement has been reached on an increase of over 10% in support to civil society.
This allocation comes in addition to the funding for existing programs in this sector and will be administered by organizations independent of the Polish authorities.
Training of Polish judges
The parties have also agreed to allocate up to NOK 10.3 million for the training of Polish judges under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights.
“Norway is concerned by developments relating to the rule of law in Poland. I am confident that the cooperation with the Council of Europe will help increase knowledge and expertise in the Polish courts on European rule of law and human rights standards,” Eriksen Søreide said.
The EEA and Norway Grants are intended to strengthen cooperation between Norway and Poland in a number of different sectors.
The allocation of the rest of the reserve funding reflects this and prioritizes cooperation on climate change, research, and business partnerships, among other things.
Roughly 5% of EEA and Norway Grants has been set aside as reserve funding in almost all the beneficiary countries. Poland receives a total of NOK 8.3 billion in funding.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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