Subsidy guide to bring European subsidies to Flemish local authorities

At the request of the N-VA, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon gave an overview of the planned actions of the Liaison agency Flanders-Europe (VLEVA). Among other things, the agency will work on a European subsidy guide for cities and municipalities. “Thanks to this support from VLEVA, our local authorities can obtain more European subsidies. In 2020, this concerned 113 local EU subsidy applications,” the N-VA said.

“For local authorities, Europe is still too often very distant, as a result of which we miss out on a lot of European investments in Flanders,” according to the N-VA. Minister-President Jan Jambon gave more information in the Foreign Policy Committee about the plans of the VLEVA to do something about this.

Complete overview of European subsidy lines

“For 2020, the VLEVA facilitated 113 EU grant applications from local authorities. That is already a lot, but the VLEVA itself also seems to indicate that we can do even better here,” the N-VA says. Minister-President Jan Jambon therefore also said that VLEVA is working on an exhaustive subsidy guide for local authorities to have a complete overview of the European subsidy lines. In addition, investments will be made in an even more intensive collaboration with the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), and the agency is investing in a local pilot project in Limburg to close the gap with the local authorities.

Making Europe concrete in cities or municipalities

“We know how important it is to receive subsidies from higher authorities to realise important projects in the region. Rural municipalities in particular have neither the resources to finance these projects nor the staff to properly follow up all the various subsidy channels,” the N-VA says. “It is also the ideal way to make Europe concrete for the people in your municipality or city. Together with the Minister-President, we look forward to the concrete elaboration of the VLEVA’s plans.”