Sustainable Development Policy and Guide for the Eea Financial Mechanism & the Norwegian Financial Mechanism
Sustainable Development Policy and Guide for The EEA Financial Mechanism & The Norwegian Financial Mechanism
Adopted: 07 April 2006
Page 1 of 8
1
Introduction
1.1 Policy Statement
Sustainable development is of fundamental importance to the donor states of the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The donor states consider the primary goal of the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms (the EEA Grants), the reduction of social and economic disparities in the European Economic Area (EEA), as being essential part of sustainable development. Sustainable development describes an approach to planning and decision-making that aims at achieving a real and lasting reduction of social and economic disparities, as well as protecting the environment. The donor states therefore consider sustainable development as a fundamental principle underlying the EEA Grants. Based on this, projects supported by the EEA Grants should be regarded as sustainable and the project portfolio as a whole should contributes strongly to sustainable development.
1.2 Scope
This sustainable development policy is intended to be complementary to the strategies of other actors with similar objectives, in particular the European Union, other international organisations, the donor states, the beneficiary states and NGOs. The policy has been developed based on the legal framework of the EEA Grants, combined with input from representatives of a number of these organisations. The purpose of this document is to provide practical guidance on how the activities under the EEA Grants shall contribute to sustainable development. Furthermore, this document, as with the other cross-cutting policy documents, is intended to give applicants a better understanding of the cross-cutting issues. Together, these documents indicate how sustainable development considerations, and the considerations of the cross-cutting issues, will be evaluated by
Adopted: 07 April 2006
Page 1 of 8
1
Introduction
1.1 Policy Statement
Sustainable development is of fundamental importance to the donor states of the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The donor states consider the primary goal of the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms (the EEA Grants), the reduction of social and economic disparities in the European Economic Area (EEA), as being essential part of sustainable development. Sustainable development describes an approach to planning and decision-making that aims at achieving a real and lasting reduction of social and economic disparities, as well as protecting the environment. The donor states therefore consider sustainable development as a fundamental principle underlying the EEA Grants. Based on this, projects supported by the EEA Grants should be regarded as sustainable and the project portfolio as a whole should contributes strongly to sustainable development.
1.2 Scope
This sustainable development policy is intended to be complementary to the strategies of other actors with similar objectives, in particular the European Union, other international organisations, the donor states, the beneficiary states and NGOs. The policy has been developed based on the legal framework of the EEA Grants, combined with input from representatives of a number of these organisations. The purpose of this document is to provide practical guidance on how the activities under the EEA Grants shall contribute to sustainable development. Furthermore, this document, as with the other cross-cutting policy documents, is intended to give applicants a better understanding of the cross-cutting issues. Together, these documents indicate how sustainable development considerations, and the considerations of the cross-cutting issues, will be evaluated by