Iceland agrees new EU cohesion grant
The agreement will have to be ratified by the Icelandic Parliament. Photo: Ómar
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have reached an agreement with the European Union (EU) on the level of their contribution to strengthen social and economic cohesion in Europe.
The ‘EEA Grants’ are a sum of money paid over a given period by the three members of the European Economic Area to reduce economic and social disparities in less prosperous countries of the EU.
€221.2 million a year till 2021
The latest agreement provides for a total of €221.2 million (approx. ISK 32.5 billion) each year in grants over the eight-year period 2014-21. If conditions remain the same as for the previous funding period, Iceland will be expected to pay 3% of this amount.
The expansions of the EU in 2004 and 2007 brought a 20% increase in the EU’s population, but only a 5% increase in GDP, and gaps in economic development and living standards persist. The aim of the EEA Grants, together with the separate Norway Grants funded exclusively by Norway, is to close this gap by means of direct grants.
Social and economic cohesion
“This is a very good deal,” according to the Norwegian Minister for EEA and EU Affairs Vidar Helgesen. “The Grants should concentrate on stimulating growth through innovation, research and education and greater mobility in the European job market. In this way we can help tackle the high youth unemployment in Europe. We will also focus on strengthening Europe's energy security and contributing to an ambitious climate policy.”
EEA Grants will go to help strengthen social and economic cohesion in fifteen of the EU’s less prosperous countries. The agreement must now be ratified in the Icelandic Parliament (‘Alþingi’) and in the other EEA and EU national parliaments.
You can read the full EEA and Norway Grants press release here.
