4th call European City Facility: More than 120 applications

The European City Facility (EUCF) supports municipalities and local authorities in creating investment concepts to achieve their climate and energy goals. The fourth EUCF call for applications closed on 30 September 2022 with a total of 129 applications from all over Europe.

The fourth call of the European City Facility (EUCF) was open from 9 June to 30 September 2022 for municipalities and local authorities, their groupings and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities to submit their applications. As the first three EUCF calls, the fourth call for applications was organised in parallel in three geographic regions in Europe: Central and Eastern Europe, Nordic countries & Western Europe and Southern Europe. Eligible applicants must be located in the EU-27 Member States, EEA-EFTA States or the United Kingdom. The majority of submitted applications in the 4th call came from Central and Eastern Europe (52%), followed by Southern Europe (27%) and Nordic countries and Western Europe (21%). Countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Italy and Belgium can be highlighted with the highest number of applications.

48 investment concepts supported

Out of the 129 applications, 48 successful applicants will be selected to become EUCF beneficiaries and receive the financial support in the form of a EUR 60,000 grant as well as technical support and capacity building services for the development of investment concepts in the field of sustainable energy. Among the activities that can be funded with the EUCF grant are feasibility studies, engineering analysis, legal analysis, social studies, market studies, financial analyses and further supporting tasks necessary for the development of the investment concept by the beneficiary.

In total, 788 applications have been submitted across the four EUCF calls, demonstrating the relevance of the support provided by the EUCF to support municipalities and local authorities in transforming their climate and energy action plans into sound investment packages. In the first three calls, 165 successful applicants became beneficiaries of the EUCF and received support from the facility to develop their investment concepts.

Next steps

During the next months the dedicated evaluation team of the EUCF will conduct the evaluation of the applications submitted in the fourth call. More information about the evaluation process and the evaluation criteria can be found on the EUCF website and on the Guidelines for Applicants. The results of the fourth call will be announced in December 2022.

Next events

In October 2022, the EUCF has announced the participation in two events:

• In the EU Regions Week, online event on 11 October 2022, the EUCF will be presented with focus on the topic of EU technical assistance to cities, including the participation from representatives of the European Commission's LIFE programme and the EIB. More information on the session and registrations can be found here.
• In the Covenant of Mayors Investment Forum (COMIF), held in Brussels on 18 October 2022, the EUCF will hold a session with beneficiary municipalities as well as an information stand for visitors. Please find more info and the registration to the event here.

Further information

EUCF website

Fourth EUCF call 

Guidelines for Applicants 

Contact person: barckhausenadelphi [dot] de (Anton Barckhausen)