JTP Newsletter: June 2024

Thanks again to more than 1,000 of you who joined us for the 9th edition of the Just Transition Platform (JTP) Conference in Brussels and online on 16-17 April.

If you missed the event, you can catch up on the discussions in our event report, which includes summaries of each session. You can also find the presentations from the sessions on our website and re-watch the recordings of the event on the EUinmyRegion Youtube channel.

Following another successful gathering of the JTP community, we are also delighted to announce that the 10th JTP Conference will take place on 15-17 October 2024!

Save the date and make sure you are subscribed to this newsletter to stay informed on the opening of registrations.

Panellists at the 9th JTP Conference in April © HNakos/Babylonia

In this new feature of the JTP Newsletter, we are shining a spotlight on Just Transition Fund (JTF) projects that are making an impact in EU regions.

In this issue we are looking at Ida-Viru, Estonia, and Konin, Poland, both of which were recently featured in a France 24 film. Co-financed by the DG Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), the film delves into Europe’s green transition, including one of the key pillars of the European Green Deal: the JTF.

European Commissioner Elisa Ferreira during a project visit – TALKING EUROPE © FRANCE 24

This project will help to reduce strategic dependencies in the area of rare earth magnets in the EU. Thanks to an EU grant of €18.75 million, the factory will also create 1,000 new jobs in one of Estonia’s most deprived regions. This will support the economic diversification of the region, whose economy has traditionally been focused on the carbon-intensive extraction of oil shale.

The project provides targeted assistance to support participants on their path towards new, sustainable employment. A bottom-up initiative of trade unions, it has the potential to set a precedent for supporting the transition in other coal-dependent regions.

Watch the France 24 film to find out more (FR version)

Co-funded by the EU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or DG REGIO. Neither the EU nor DG REGIO can be held responsible for them.

First workshops for this year’s participants

In another new feature of our newsletter, we look at the latest news from the JTP’s two capacity building services for JTF regions aiming to advance their just transition.

JTP Groundwork provides tailored support with regions’ needs, ranging from project development to stakeholder engagement and communication strategies. JTPeers gives regions the opportunity to learn from each other by way of exchanges between different JTF regions as well as between regions and JTPeers Experts listed on our online database.

The first activities under the current round of JTP Groundwork and JTPeers took place in May. Participants from Médio Tejo, Portugal and JTPeers Expert Corina Murafa exchanged on monitoring and evaluating the just transition. Dr Murafa shared best practices from regional development monitoring in Romania, and the group worked on a framework to monitor the just transition in Médio Tejo.

JTP Groundwork is assisting Megalopolis, Greece in identifying projects that can be financed under the Public Sector Loan Facility, the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism, which aims to mobilise public investments. The first of four workshops brought together interested partners for an introduction to the Public Sector Loan Facility and an initial brainstorm on project ideas.

Interested in JTP Groundwork and JTPeers for your region?

The next call for JTPeers is scheduled for September 2024, and the next call for JTP Groundwork will follow in January 2025. If you are interested in applying, make sure you are subscribed to this newsletter and keep an eye on our calls for expressions of interest.

Many EU funding and support initiatives have great potential to make rural areas more prosperous. But how can potential beneficiaries identify the most appropriate schemes? Where can they find tips and guidance?

The Rural toolkit is the first comprehensive online guide to EU funding and support opportunities for rural areas in the European Union. It helps local authorities, institutions, NGOs, businesses and individuals to take advantage of EU programmes, fostering development in rural territories.

The Rural toolkit is an initiative of the European Commission’s DG REGIO and the Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. It is part of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas.