SEE Grants and the RO-CULTURA Programme

The European Economic Area (EEA) was created in 1994 as a Free Trade Area between the European Community (EC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The EEA brings together the Member States of the European Union (EU) and three of the EFTA States (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) in an internal market based on the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

The EEA Grants represent the financial contribution from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein to reduce economic and social disparities in Europe and to strengthen

The 3 Donor States cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area, so that the financial support granted between 1994 and 2014 exceeds 3 billion EUR.

For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to 1.5 billion EUR. The priorities for this period are:

  • Innovation, research, education and competitiveness
  • Social inclusion, youth employment and poverty reduction
  • Justice and home affairs
  • Culture, civil society, good governance and fundamental rights
  • Environment, energy, climate change and low carbon economy

The EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whose contributions are based on their GDP.

Within the period 2014 – 2021, Romania benefits from a total budget amounting to 500 million euro, the second largest financial allocation through EEA and Norway Grants.
 

Learn more about EEA Grants on www.eeagrants.org and Facebook.

 

PA14 Programme „Cultural entrepreneurship, cultural heritage and cultural exchange” (referred to as RO-CULTURE Programme) aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management.

Total budget of the Programme amounts to 33,956,471 €, as follows:

  • 28,863,000 € – financial contribution of the EEA Grants;

  • 5,093,471 € – co-financing from the national budget.

At least 10% of the total eligible costs of the Programme will target the improvement of the situation of the Roma population.

The expected OUTCOMES and OUTPUTS of the Programme are:

Outcome 1 – Cultural heritage management enhanced: 

  • Monuments restored and revitalized

  • Innovative cultural exhibitions of restored objects supported

  • Roma cultural heritage revived  

Outcome 2 – Access to culture increased:

  • Cultural entrepreneurship enhanced

  • Larger audience developed

  • Roma cultural initiatives developed  

Another cross-cutting OUTCOME of the Programme refers to enhancing collaboration between entities from Romania and the Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) in the cultural sector. The following OUTPUTS are to be considered:

  • Bilateral output 1: International cultural cooperation in the field of cultural heritage supported

  • Bilateral output 2: International cultural cooperation in the field of contemporary arts supported

There are 6 calls for proposals which were launched between 2019 - 2021, amounting to 31.280.294 euro, as follows:

Outcome 1 - Cultural heritage management enhanced: 

  • Monuments restored and revitalized (19,501,176 €);

  • Innovative cultural exhibitions of restored objects supported  (1,285,000 €);

  • Roma cultural heritage revived (1,394,118 €).

Outcome 2 – Access to culture increased

  • Cultural entrepreneurship enhanced and Larger audience developed (7,100,000 €) - 3 calls;

  • Roma cultural initiatives developed (2,000,000 €).

 

The ANIMEST+ project meets the urgent needs of the Romanian animation industry, young animators, future-educated cinephiles, and communities lacking in film culture. ANIMEST Association runs the project in partnership with Kool Produktion. Throughout 2023 the project proposes a series of activities: education through culture in rural areas of Romania, a summer school for high school students, itinerant cinema in Romanian cities and a conference dedicated to professionals and young people interested in the film industry. The project's total budget is 979.185,85 lei (199.066,02 euro), out of which 952.781,52 lei (193.698,09 euro) is the value of the non-reimbursable financial support.