Analysis | Can the Czech state distribute the just transition fund? Analysis of its capacities at the national level

The aim of this research report is to determine, through interviews with officials and other relevant stakeholders, whether the Czech public administration has sufficient capacity and organisational capability to effectively draw down funds from the Just Transition Fund. The author of the publication is Klára Votavová, researcher at EUROPEUM Institute.

 

Through interviews with public officials and other relevant stakeholders, this research report aims to establish whether the Czech public administration has sufficient capacity and organisational skills to draw on the EU Just Transition Fund effectively. It highlights that creating a new fund at the EU level will inevitably bring administrative and financial burdens on the member states and that it takes time to get the distribution of money underway. In the Czech Republic, it also took time to set up the necessary ministry departments and recruit qualified officials. Despite this, the Czech Republic has been successful in terms of speed of drawing compared to other countries, thanks in particular to the existence of previous structures and strategies dedicated to coal regions. According to most respondents, the establishment of a dedicated fund and operational program for just transition has been beneficial, as it made coal regions more active and also strengthened cooperation between the state and regions. The speed and correct focus of the potential Just Transition Fund 2 could be helped by using the existing, albeit slightly perfected bureaucratic structures in the next program period. To conduct a successful just transition in the Czech Republic, it is imperative to dedicate enough human and financial capacities for this task.

The full analysis can be found here

Klára Votavová
Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: Social policies, EU digital policies, Just Transition, Central and Eastern Europe