Jaume Duch introduces EU fund support for small municipalities

Jaume Duch, the Catalan Minister of European Union and Foreign Action, has introduced a new support program in Lleida designed to help small municipalities access European Commission funds. The initiative aims to assist local governments that often lack the technical resources to identify funding opportunities, prepare complex applications, and manage the necessary bureaucracy.

The program, funded by the Generalitat, provides comprehensive assistance including project drafting, identifying appropriate financial instruments, and managing the justification of grants. This support is particularly critical for smaller towns that may struggle to compete with larger entities like universities or research centers, especially when documentation must be prepared in English.

Priority areas for these funds include climate change mitigation and digitalization, such as renewable energy projects and modernizing technological equipment. The initiative comes as the Next Generation funds period concludes, prompting a search for new competitive funding avenues.