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Czech Republic – A partner country for Switzerland’s contribution to EU enlargementLocal Website with information about Switzerland's contribution to EU enlargement: www.swiss-contribution.admin.ch/czechrepublic
The
Swiss contribution to the Czech Republic amounts to CHF 110 million. Between now and 2017, 38 projects designed to reduce economic and social disparities in the Czech Republic will be implemented.
Roughly 40% of the funding will be allocated to structurally weak regions in eastern Czech. A Swiss contribution office has been etablished in Prague for the purpose of working closely on project
implementation with the national coordination unit (NCU) within the Czech Ministry of Finance.
Areas of Activities
Security, stability and support for reforms.
Switzerland will promote regional development initiatives in peripheral or disadvantaged regions to support
municipalities, create revenues and strengthen decentralised structures. To this end, specific projects in the field of education, social services as well as in the tourism sector will be financed.
An important part will be the support of seniors according to the Hungarian Social Services Act. Furthermore, Switzerland will assist the Czech institutions in modernising the judiciary and in
combating economic and organised crime. Additional funds will be provided to enhance the prevention and management of disasters.
Environment and infrastructure.
The rehabilitation and modernisation of basic infrastructure and the improvement of the environment constitute the focus of this activity area.
In particular projects which contribute to improve the management, the safety and the reliability of public transport systems as well as the air quality will be supported. Moreover, in order to
support the Czech authorities, a fund for policy studies in the environmental field will be established, facilitating knowledge transfer between Swiss and Czech experts.
Promotion of the private sector.
In order to promote employment creation, the access to financing for SMEs shall be improved. To this end, Switzerland will, on the one hand,
support the provision of guarantees for investment credits to SMEs and, on the other hand, promote measures aiming at institutional and regulatory capacity-building for corporate sector financial
reporting and auditing, thereby supporting the effective implementation and enforcement of the Acquis Communautaire of the European Union.
Human and social development.
Switzerland will contribute to strengthen primary and secondary health care, with particular emphasis on the elderly, the handicapped and the
disadvantaged. Non-governmental organisations are important service suppliers in the health sector and may also be supported. In addition, in order to strengthen the scientific potential, applied
research and access to higher education, Swiss funds will be used to grant scholarships and to finance joint research projects.
Furthermore, initiatives of the civil society contributing to social service provision as well as to environmental concerns will be supported.
Focus Areas
In addition to the thematic focus indicated below, part of the enlargement contribution is also to be geographically concentrated. The regions „Moravia-Silesia“ und „Olomouc“, possibly
later also the region of „Zlin“ are vested with priority. With a per capita gross domestic product lying at approx. 35% of the EU-25 average, these regions boast the lowest development
indicators in the Czech Republic. At least 40% of the enlargement contribution to the Czech Republic is to go to the benefit of these regions either directly or indirectly.
Projects
A complete list of all projects in the Czech Republic with detailed information you can find here:
Planned Projects
Approved Projects
Project selection and contract award procedures
General information regarding project selection and contract award procedures in the ten partner countries:
more
Information regarding project selection and contract award procedures in the Czech Republic in English and Czech:
more 
(Website of the Swiss contribution office in Prague)
Calls for project proposals in English and/or Czech:
more (Website of the Czech
NCU)
The bilateral Framework Agreement with the Czech Republic
The Framework (core) Agreement basically sets down the objectives of the contribution, its amount, the form, and the utilization of the financial support, together with the key
stipulations on the contribution's implementation which are more specifically detailed in the Annexes.
[en] (55 KB)
Annex 1 of the Framework Agreement contains the principles upon which cooperation is based, describes the main strategic guidelines in implementing the contribution, and specifies
the geographic and thematic focuses.
[en] (129 KB) modified Version
of 11 February 2011
Annex 2 defines the practical rules and procedures agreed upon, i.e., the procedures for project submission, project approval, project implementation, payment, controlling, and
audits – all are described in detail along with specification of the respective responsibilities.
[en] (55 KB) modified Version of 5 May
2009
Finally, Annex 3 contains the procedures for the special financing facilities such as the so-called Block Grants, the
Project-Preparation (Seed Money) Facility, the Technical Assistance Fund, and the Scholarship Fund.
[en] (55 KB) modified Version of 5 May 2009
The Project Preparation Facility Agreement with the Czech Republic
The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) Agreement shall be used for the elaboration of the documentation for the Final Project Proposals resulting from Project Outlines approved by Switzerland. The PPF Agreement between Switzerland and the Czech Republic has been signed on January, 7 2010 in Prague.
PPF Agreement with the Czech Republic
Key figures about the Czech Republic
Source: Eurostat, Swiss Foreign Trade Statistics (april 2013) Contacts
Swiss embassy in the Czech Republic |
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Additional Information and Documents
DocumentsInternal Links
- Further research fellowships in ten EU member states
- Transparent financial reporting in five new EU member states
- Modernisation of the judiciary in the Czech Republic
- Construction of a trolley bus line in Czech Republic
- NGO fund in eleven EU member states
- Partnership funds in the new EU member states
Articles and Press releases
- Partnership Fund in the Czech Republic: Project Submission Kick-off
- Swiss Enlargement Contributions: Kick-off of the Scholarship Fund Programme in the Partner Countries
- Launch of the first project in the Czech Republic
- Erweiterungsbeitrag: Überblick zu Forschungsprojekten