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Planned Projects
The projects are evaluated in two phases. The below-mentioned projects are planned, meaning only the concepts of the projects have been approved. Chose a country on the map below to see the corresponding planned projects.
The approved Projects you can find here.
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All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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Hungary |
All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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Lithuania |
All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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Slovak Republic |
All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
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All planned projects have been approved. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
| Cyprus |
All planned projects have been approved. The Swiss Contribution for Cyprus has been allocated for the three projects, which are undergoing implementation. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
All planned projects have been approved. The Swiss Contribution for Malta has been allocated for the two projects, which are undergoing implementation. For further details, see the rubric approved projects
Environment and Infrastructure:
- Energy Cities/European Energy Award (eea) for Romania
Given a tradition of central planning and access to low cost power and heat, Romanian cities are singularly inefficient in their use of energy and consequently heavy producers of CO2. While the issue is being addressed on a national level by conforming legislation to EU requirements, the Romanian cities need support to adjust to these new standards. Also known as the “European Energy Award”, the label of “Energy City” is awarded to a municipality which stands out for its efforts and achievements to use energy in an efficient and as far as possible climate neutral way. The aim of this project is therefore to enhance the sustainable energy management in four selected cities (Arad, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava). It is forseen to work out Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP) and outlines of priority infrastructure projects for each beneficiary city. The program will trigger the financing of up to 10 priority infrastructure projects with a total Swiss contribution of CHF 37 million. The main beneficiaries of the program are the selected Romanian municipalities and their citizens.
Executing Agency: Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI)
Sector: Energy
Amount: CHF 430'0000 (Swiss contribution CHF 388'000)
Duration: 1 year
Project start: tbd
- Forest Management Information System
The Romanian forests - about 6.5 million hectares, of which 49% were restituted by the Romanian State to pre-communist era owners, are an important source of income of otherwise poorly endowed regions. At the same time these forests need protection to conserve biodiversity and maintain their capacity for carbon storage as well as for soil and water protection. The conflict between economic and social interests on one side and protection needs on the other side notably leads to illegal activities as logging and hunting with serious consequences to the forestry resources. The aim of this project is to implement a centralized dynamic and interactive information system, eventually building up a forest cadaster and linking it to the National Forest Inventory, notably using the data of the Geographic Information System (GIS). In two key components (inventory of forest ownership and identification of forest surface with illegal logging), the project will focus on three pilot counties: Suceava, Bihor and Calarasi. It will enable a more sustainable management of forest resources in Romania. The direct beneficiaries are the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the Territorial Inspectorates for Forest Regime and Hunting. Indirect beneficiaries are local authorities, forest owners, forestry and hunting enterprises, as well as the Romanian people.
Executing Agency: Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
Sector: Improvement of the environment
Amount: CHF 6'500'000 (Swiss contribution CHF 5'500'000)
Duration: 2014 - 2019
Promotion of Private Sector:
- Export Promotion
Romanian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) suffer from a lack of competitiveness and innovation when it comes to export and, despite good endowment with internal factors, few of them have managed to enter international markets. Particularly needed in this area are business skills and managerial abilities. Some initiatives have recently been implemented, and this project builds on a previous Swiss experience. With the aim of strengthening export in the sectors of wooden furniture and organic farming food, the project concentrates particularly on low developed regions of Romania with the goal of inserting at least 80 new enterprises in the export market, with an export growth for these regions expected at 15%. The project foresees to set up a network of Integrated Export Services, creating two regional Export Business Centers (EBC) endowed with internationalization services, as well as export oriented Romanian brands, trademarks and eco-labels. Two Export logistic and Promotion Centers (EPC) will also be set up in target countries and the trade portal serving potential exporters with information and knowledge (http://www.portaldecomert.ro/) will be upgraded. The project seeks to increase the number of exporting SMEs and thereby the Romanian export itself, thus contributing to reduce disparities among regions in the country as well as other EU members.
Executing Agency: Directory for Export Development (DE), Ministry of Economy ME
Sector: Private Sector / Promotion of exports of SMEs and promotion of standards
Amount: CHF 2’941’176 (Swiss contribution CHF 2’500’000)
Duration: 2014-2019
- Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing are global phenomena. Due to its geographical location, Romania is especially vulnerable to financial activities associated with Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. Therefore, it is foreseen to support Romania in its fight against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. The main objective of this project is to strengthen the Romanian Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) institutional system. In particular, the project will focus on strengthening the professional capacity of the Romanian Financial Intelligence Unit and other main actors in the fight against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing through specialised trainings. Furthermore, it will improve the analysis capabilities of financial intelligence data by the Romanian Financial Intelligence Unit through the procurement of a comprehensive IT solution. The direct beneficiary is the Romanian Financial Intelligence Unit as the institution responsible for the implementation of the project, as well as reporting entities, law enforcement authorities and supervision bodies. The indirect beneficiary is the general public in Romania.
Executing Agency: National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering (the Romanian Financial Intelligent Unit)
Sector: Improvement of the regulation of the financial sector and strengthening of financial markets and institutions
Amount: CHF 1'522'700 (Swiss contribution CHF 1'294'295)
Duration: 2 years
Project start: tbd
- Romanian-Swiss Program for SMEs
Micro, small and medium sized enterprises account for about 99.6% of the companies, and 64% of employment in Romania. However, they generate only about 42% of value-added of non-financial companies in the economy. Local commercial banks and microfinance institutions are extending loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises but the cost of credit in terms of interest and collateral is still very high in comparison to other EU countries. The relevant Romanian authorities are committed to ensure a favourable business environment for small and medium sized enterprises (SME), including by implementing a number of SME support programmes and facilitating their access to finance. However, there still exists a considerable gap on the market in terms of the availability of investment loans for SMEs in sectors with a high growth potential. The main aim of this program is, therefore, to provide investment loans, which are backed by preferential guarantees, to SMEs in the productive, medical services, tourism and clean-tech sectors. Thereby, the Romanian-Swiss Program for SMEs will contribute to increase the access to long-term finance for promising Romanian SMEs and make them bankable so that they can tap and enhance their growth and ultimately competitiveness potential.
Executing Agency: The Economic and Services Support Department of the Agency for Implementing Projects and Programs for SMEs (AIPPIMM)
Sector: Private Sector / Access to capital for SMEs
Amount: CHF 28'5000'000 (Swiss contribution CHF 20'000'000)
Duration: 6 years
Project start: tbd
Environment and Infrastructure:
- Disposal of obsolete pesticides
Bulgaria has about 14’000 tons of obsolete pesticides and other crop protection products, leftovers from the Communist era, affecting 264 municipalities nationwide, constituting a serious environmental issue and potential hazard for public health. As a result of earlier environmental programs, 55% of these dangerous toxic substances were packed in hermetically closed concrete containers. Of the remaining storage facilities (381 warehouses) one half are in poor state, putting at risk the environment and public health in their surroundings. The project objectives are the environmentally sound disposal of up to 6’400 tons of obsolete pesticides, the closure of pesticide storages in up to 60 municipalities and the concentration of remaining chemicals, stored in safe concrete containers, in a limited number of centralized storage areas. The environmentally sound disposal of these chemicals will in most cases involve the destruction by incineration. The final beneficiaries are the concerned municipalities and their population. The direct beneficiary is the Bulgarian government.
Executing Agency: EMEPA (Enterprise for Management of the Environment Protection Activities)
Sector: Rehabilitation and modernization of basic infrastructure and improvement of the environment
Amount: CHF 23'400'000 (Swiss contribution CHF 19'900'000)
Duration: 2014-2019
Project start: tbd
- Pilot Models for Hazardous Household Waste Collection
In Bulgaria, the municipalities and the municipal mayors in particular, are responsible for household waste management. The Bulgarian state has recognized that there is a huge discrepancy between the capacity of individual municipalities and waste operators and the requirements set by the prevailing regulatory framework. The toxic nature of the concerned substances implies special treatment with considerable logistic efforts involved while respecting strict environmental and health standards. The overall quantity of hazardous household waste (HHW) in Bulgaria is approximately 30 000 tons annually, presently dumped along with other type of household waste and causing potentially large damage to the environment and public health. The aim of this project is to study and develop pilot models for the management of hazardous household waste (HHW) - collection, transportation and temporary storage - according to the local and regional peculiarities. The project objective is to achieve a citizens-oriented, legally compliant and economically viable system for managing hazardous household waste in different types of (pilot) municipalities in an environment friendly manner by applying existing best practices. The final beneficiaries are Bulgarian municipal administrations and their citizens. The direct beneficiary is the Bulgarian government (EMEPA and Ministry of Environment and Water).
Executing Agency: EMEPA (Enterprise for Management of the Environment Protection Activities)
Sector: Rehabilitation and modernization of basic infrastructure and improvement of the environment
Amount: CHF 9'090'0000 (Swiss contribution CHF 7'500'000)
Duration: 2014 – 2019
Promotion of Private Sector:
- Export Promotion
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in less developed regions of Bulgaria have yet to enter into the EU common market space, which they tend to see rather as an obstacle than a potential for growth, and remain largely or solely dependent on the national market. Bulgarian SMEs lag behind in competitiveness to larger enterprises: in 2010, only 12% of them made important transactions and a mere 5% exported goods and services. The project focuses on increasing export in two key sectors chosen because of their competitive advantages and on social considerations: Machinery and Electrical Engineering, and Textile and Clothing. The clothing sector in particular provides employment to almost 100’000 persons, whilst showing the lowest remunerations in the country with an average monthly salary of 215.- CHF. An Export Consultation Center (ECC) and a web-platform “E-Marketplace” will be set up to ensure high quality individual consultation services for Bulgarian companies and business associations. Direct beneficiaries are a group of 40 of SMEs active in both selected sectors and the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA).
Executing Agency: Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA)
Sector: Private Sector / Promotion of exports of SMEs and promotion of standards
Amount: CHF 1’500’000 (Swiss contribution CHF 1’275’000)
Duration: 2014-2017 (36 months)
- Green Public Procurement
Bulgaria is at a very early stage of Green Public procurement (GPP) market development with some experience only in a limited number of areas, e.g. public contracts for energy saving street lighting, delivery of recycled paper for the needs of the state administration and construction of waste treatment plants. In this context, the recently implemented “National action plan for the promotion of GPP for the period 2012-14” provides a framework for GPP procedures in Bulgaria and imposes certain obligations in a number of areas. The action plan, however, is general in nature and lacks specific information and instruments. The project seeks to fill this gap by providing useful, practice-oriented information to authorities through the elaboration of a practical handbook and targeted trainings for 200 to 300 experts, which will in turn include 8 training events, 6 visits of foreign (including Swiss) experts to Bulgaria and 2 working visits to Switzerland. Beneficiary of the project is the Bulgarian Public Procurement Agency at the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism and its regional branches. The project will also benefit to contracting authorities and to businesses providing goods and services with high standards of environmental protection.
Executing Agency: Bulgarian Public Procurement Agency (PPA), Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism
Sector: Private Sector / Promotion of standards
Amount: CHF 545’000 (Swiss contribution CHF 463’250)
Duration: 2014-2016 (24 months)