Official Launch of the NGO Fund

More than 170 Romanian and Norwegian participants from non-governmental organisations and social partners have taken part today in the launching seminar of the new EEA NGO Fund for Romania, organised by the Norwegian Embassy in Romania and Civil Society Development Foundation (FDSC), at Hotel Intercontinental Bucharest. Mrs. Heidi Sørensen, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, Mr. Eugen Orlando Teodorovici, State Secretary in the Romanian Ministry of Economy and Finances, and Mr. Øystein Hovdkinn, the Ambassador of Norway, gave the official remarks at the launching seminar. 

The purpose of the Fund is to strengthen the civil society in Romania, with the overall objective of ensuring participation of NGOs in the reduction of social and economic disparities in the EEA countries. The Fund makes available 5 million Euros for NGOs by supporting projects within certain thematic areas. The Operator of the Fund in Romania is FDSC (Civil Society Development Foundation) in partnership with the Carpahtian Foundation and the Romanian Environment Partnership Foundation (REPF).

- Civil society and NGOs are crucial actors in nation building and democratic processes. They are arenas for broad public participation and critical corrections to the state, said State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Heidi Sørensen.

- Focus areas for the NGO Fund will be the protection of human rights, anti-discrimination and social inclusion, support to children and youth, social services, environment, and conservation of cultural heritage. The Norwegian Government is happy to contribute to strengthening the important role of the NGOs within these sectors in Romania, Mrs. Sørensen continued.

- I hope that this fund of 5 Million Euros will facilitate closer cooperation between Norwegian and Romanian NGOs. Norway has long traditions with developing skilled and strong NGOs, stated H.E. Øystein Hovdkinn, Ambassador of Norway to Romania.
 
- Romania’s accession to European Union generated new needs and constrains for the NGO sector due to the withdrawal of the traditional donors, generating an increased competition for new funds. NGO Fund arrives in a key moment for the non-governmental sector, in which the development perspective is changing. We are confident that this time too we will have a first-rate competition and we will receive valuable propulsions for projects, said Ionuţ Sibian, the Executive Director of the CSDF, NGO Fund Operator in Romania.

The EEA NGO Fund which is promoted today, concerns 5 million Euros of the total EEA contribution to Romania. The EEA NGO Fund is especially designed for NGOs to obtain support for up to 125.000 Euro per project. The first call for proposals will be launched by the Operator of the NGO Fund - FDSC (Civil Society Development Foundation), and is expected in July this year. Further information about the EEA NGO Fund is available on www.fdsc.ro.

Background: The agreement to include Romania in the European Economic Area (EEA) was signed in July 2007. The EEA agreement makes the non-EU countries Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein part of the common market. Another consequence is that almost 100 million Euros are made available for projects in Romania. The EEA Financial Mechanism and the

Norwegian Cooperation Programme are designed to contribute to social and economic cohesion in Europe through economic growth and sustainable development. Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein provide  €50,5 million to Romania through the EEA Financial Mechanism, out of which  €48,5 million comes from Norway. The EEA Financial Mechanism operates by the same guidelines that apply to other recipient states through the EEA Financial Mechanism. 

The Norwegian Cooperation Programme is financed by Norway, and makes an additional €48 million available for projects in Romania. This programme, which is administered by Innovation Norway, has partnerships between actors from Norway and Romania as a prerequisite for funding.

More information is available on www.norwaygrants.org,  www.eeagrants.org, www.norvegia.ro and www.fonduri-ue.ro/eeagrants.

Contact information:
Ciprian Ciucu, PR Manager,  CSDF , Mobile: 0722-304.509. ciprian.ciucu@fdsc.ro
Monica Popa, Commercial and PR Officer, Norwegian Embassy. Mobile: +40 751 303 331, mopa@mfa.no.