The conditions for participating

Any country / region can acquire a licence to enter the programme, which will grant it exclusive rights to use the eea instruments in the desired region / nation. In return, the licenceholder must respect all the European eea quality demands related to the implementation of the eea programme. It is recommended that the eea programme be included in an existing national or regional energy or climate protection programme. With this, a long-term anchoring can usually be guaranteed.

The national / regional sponsorship appoints a national / regional office for programme management in the state / region.

The national / regional office is operationally active and responsible for: the formation of appropriate organisation structures in the state / region; adapting the eea instruments and the eea process according to the on-site framework conditions; the training of and quality assurance with the eea advisors and eea auditors; and communication with the interested and participating communities and keeping them informed, and the national / regional benchmark.

During the establishment and implementation of the eea programme, the national office is intensively supported by the eea Office, especially so during the first two years.