Analysis | Conditions for Regional Preparedness to Draw on the Just Transition Fund

Through interviews with officials and other relevant actors at national and regional level, this research report identifies conditions for regional preparedness to draw on the Just Transition Fund. Researcher at EUROPEUM Institute Klára Votavová compares the situation in two of the three Czech regions that are drawing on the Fund: Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary Region.

The analysis notes that the Moravian-Silesian Region is better prepared to draw on the Fund for two main reasons. The first is the significantly higher human and institutional capacity of this region of 1.2 million people. A broad regional development system, including local universities, executive agencies, private companies and individuals, has therefore been involved in the preparation and implementation of the fund. In contrast, the Karlovy Vary Region, with a population of 250,000, lacks such a system. The second important condition is human and institutional continuity: respondents agreed that the Moravian-Silesian Region was better prepared for disbursement of the fund because it was able to set and subsequently implement a long-term regional development strategy, despite changes in political leadership. The report concludes that the Just Transition Fund alone can hardly compensate the regions for these unequal starting conditions. Therefore, the national government should assist regions in preparing projects to be supported by the fund and provide them with sufficient financial resources to build regional public administrations capable of absorbing EU subsidies in general.

The whole analysis can be found under the PDF button.

Klára Votavová
Associate Research Fellow

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