Following a shift in political priorities, inter alia due to the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that there will be a substantial reduction of development funds for the Western Balkan countries in 2024 and in the coming years. The reduction in available funding will affect regional cooperating partners contracted through the second public call and planned projects.
A new contingent of aid for areas in need will be provided through the redesign of existing budget allocations of Norway. This redesign of financial resources has an impact on the SMART Balkans project in 2024.
SMART Balkans funds will be reduced in amount of 54 770 000 NOK, and this means that in 2024 the dynamic of public calls shall be alternated as well as that the total amounts of available funds for 2025 will change, and for some of the existing grant beneficiaries this reduction in the budget will mean a reasonable decrease in their budgets. Each second call regional grant lead applicant will be contacted and informed about the impact of this decision on their specific grant agreement.
Activities (other than grants) under the project in 2024 will be significantly reduced.
The SMART Balkans consortium invests additional efforts in the redesign of the project so that the entire approach to the new situation has as lower impact as possible on the SMART Balkans project, grant beneficiaries and expected results.
