Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Funds

“The last project to be funded was the reconstruction of the Päikese Nursery School in Narva, in the amount of MEEK 13.5,” said Kair Tammel, Director of the Living Environment Division of Enterprise Estonia. “With this, European Structural Support for the development or reconstruction of infrastructure objects, significant from the viewpoint of local development, was used in full,” Tammel added.
 
From the programme implemented by the Ministry of the Interior and Enterprise Estonia, local governments, non-profit associations and foundations were able to apply for grants on the basis of the local government investment support plan (KOIT-plan) approved by the Government of the Republic. Altogether, 117 projects in the amount of MEEK 464.5 were supported in the EU funding period 2004-2006. Of the support, 82% was used for general education schools and nursery schools, 11% for the repairing of boiler houses, heating networks and street lighting, the rest for developing sports infrastructure and activation centres for the unemployed. By today, most of the projects have been completed; construction works are still in progress on six sites.
 
For the EU funding period 2007-2013, a measure has been stipulated for developing local public services, which will be co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund in the amount of EEK 2.1 billion. The measure will be implemented on the entire territory of Estonia, except in the towns of Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Kohtla-Järve, Narva, Saue and Maardu, and the Viimsi Rural Municipality. As a result of the assessment, lists of priority sites will be completed in all counties, on the basis of which the KOIT-plan for the years 2007-2010 will be compiled. The government has currently approved this for 11 counties. The plan for the years 2010-2013 will be compiled on the basis of similar principles in 2009.
 
Support can still be applied for by local government units, non-profit associations and foundations for investing into the construction or reconstruction of schools and nursery schools, leisure and sports centres, day centres and care homes and bus stations or stops. Investments into diversification and reorganisation of the use of the existing public infrastructure are favoured. The minimum amount of support is MEEK 5 per project and up to 85% of the cost of a project will be compensated.