The signing of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on the allocation of the funding for the Czech Republic under the EEA and Norway Grants for the period 2014-2021 took place in Prague on September 4, 2017. The MoU were signed by Milena Hrdinková, Head of Office of the Czech Minister of Finance, and by Elsbeth Tronstad, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is already the third period when the Czech Republic can draw the EEA and Norway Grants, this time up to the amount of EUR 184.5 million (EUR 95.5 million from the EEA Financial Mechanism, and EUR 89.0 million from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism). The Czech allocation has been distributed across 11 programmes. The largest instalments are earmarked for Research and education (EUR 36 million), Climate change and environment (EUR 30 million), Culture (EUR 28 million), Human rights (EUR 19 million), Civil society (EUR 15 million), Health (EUR 14 million), and Correctional services and international police cooperation (EUR 11 million). By 2021, the grand total of all EEA and Norway Grants allocated to the Czech Republic will have made EUR 427.2 million since 2004.

Norway provides some 98 per cent of this funding, which makes up for a significant tool for deepening the Czech-Norwegian bilateral cooperation. In the years ahead, the Research Council of Norway will play a key role together with the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic in the implementation of the research programme. Not only will the research be limited to theoretical experiments, but also to applied research where private enterprises will participate. Norway and the Czech Republic will further the joint research in the area of carbon capture and storage (CCS) so that a functional platform is created.

Historically, the EEA and Norway Grants have sponsored cultural exchange. Apart from restorations of historical monuments, the grants will promote Roma and Jewish cultural heritage. In the field of human rights, the focus will be on anti-discrimination efforts and domestic violence.

The Czech Ministry of Finance as the National Focal Point for the EEA and Norway Grants will map out the individual programmes following the signing of the MoU. By late 2018, the first calls for bids will be published and Czech applicants will be able to lodge their projects. One of the conditions for accessing the EEA and Norway Grants is the minimum 15 per cent threshold for self-financing. All projects shall be completed by April 2024.