30 Years EEA Grants

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Calouste Gulbenkian hosted the conference 30 Years of EEA Grants organized by the National Focal Point

The National Focal Poin organized a conference at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on October 23rd to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the EEA Grants, which also marked its final event. The meeting brought together important political figures and institutional representatives, highlighting the progress made over three decades of cooperation and support between beneficiary countries and Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

The session was attended by Maria Varteressian, the Norwegian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Hélder Reis, the Secretary of State for Planning and Regional Development, Lídia Bulcão, the Secretary of State for the Sea, Maria de Lurdes Craveiro, the Secretary of State for Culture, and Hanne Brusletto, the Norwegian Ambassador in Lisbon. Representatives from the Financial Mechanism Office were also present to mark this milestone related to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

The event was an opportunity to showcase the results achieved by projects supported by the EEA Grants over the years and to explore perspectives for the next funding cycle. Program operators participated in a panel dedicated to their experiences as managers of the priority areas of this Financial Mechanism, while some beneficiaries shared stories and results from the projects they were involved in. There was also time for a critical analysis of the long-term impacts that the EEA Grants have had in Portugal.

 

The day concluded with the reading of a written message from His Excellency the President of the Republic.