EUCF - Application process

Application Process

The EUCF application process consists of 2 steps: The eligibility check and the full application.

Before applying, please check the full Guidelines for Applicants, that include all the relevant information about the EUCF.

Municipalities/local authorities, groupings of municipalities/local authorities, and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities located in the EU Member States (EU-27), in one of the EEA-EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), and in the UK are able to apply to receive EUCF support. If you want to know whether you are eligible for EUCF support, scroll down and access the eligibility check directly online.

After successfully passing the eligibility check, you can complete the online full application form (PDF version) in the EUCF website user zone. Please make sure you use the templates below to upload the supporting documents. Applications have to be submitted in English language only.

Eligibility Check

The short eligibility check tells you at the beginning of the process whether you are eligible for EUCF support. This may save you precious time and resources. You are eligible if you can reply with YES to all questions of the check (see image). Supporting documents are not required at this stage.

After completing the check, you will immediately be informed about your results and the next steps. If you want to know whether you are eligible for EUCF support, start your application here.

Online application

SUMMARY OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Type of eligible applicants:

Municipality/local authority with a Local Administrative Units (LAU) code or their groupings;
Local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities

Countries of eligible applicants:

The EU-27 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden;
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
One of the EEA-EFTA States of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

Existence of energy and climate plans:

Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) developed within the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy initiative, formally approved both by the local council (or equivalent decision-making body) and Joint Research Centre of the European Commission;
plan of similar ambition: a politically approved climate and energy plan with energy and climate targets at least for the year 2020.

Political commitment:

EUCF applicants must be able to demonstrate political commitment to the project through a letter of support by the Mayor or by another relevant political representative.

Commitment to monitoring period:

EUCF applicants must demonstrate commitment to the monitoring period of two years after the final submission of the investment concept.

Table of required documents

Document	Requirements	Templates
Annex A.1: SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition [to be submitted in PDF] Annex A.2: SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition – Summary [to be submitted in PDF]	SEAPs, SECAPs or plans of similar ambition can be submitted in national language or English. SEAPs and SECAPs must be approved both by the local council (or equivalent decision-making body) and by Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. A plan of similar ambition is considered equivalent to a SEAP/SECAP if it includes energy and climate targets for at least 2020 and has been politically approved. In Annex A.2, applicants need to state when and by whom the plan was politically approved and provide an overview of the main energy/climate targets established by the plan.	Annex A.2: SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition – Summary
Annex B: Letter of support to the project by the Mayor or other relevant political representative [to be submitted in PDF]	The letter of support to the proposed investment project must be signed by the Mayor or other relevant political representative of the municipality/local authority, grouping, or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities.	Annex B: Letter of support to the project
Annex C: Self-declaration form by a legal representative of the municipality/local authority, groupings or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities [to be submitted in PDF]	The self-declaration form must be signed by the legal representative of the municipality/local authority, grouping, or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities. The applicants identified in the Self-declaration form must be exactly the same as those indicated in the application form. In case the different applicants are identified, the application cannot be considered. Local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities need to declare in the self-declaration form that: they are officially recognised as a tier of local government (different from the regional and provincial levels) by the national law with the obligation for municipalities/local authorities to join the supra-municipal organisation; they are composed only by municipalities/local authorities; they have a specific political and administrative structure.	Annex C Self-declaration form for municipalities/local authorities or groupings Annex C Self-declaration form for local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities
Annex D: Calculation log – Expected energy savings and/or renewable energy production [to be submitted in Excel or PDF]	The Excel spreadsheet must be filled by the applicants to estimate the total energy savings and/or renewable energy production generated by the investment project. The expected impacts on energy savings (in GWh/y) foreseen to be achieved by the investment project must be higher than the expected impacts on renewable energy production (in GWh/y).	Annex D: Calculation log – Expected energy savings and/or renewable energy production SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR ANNEX D
Annex E: Calculation log – Expected size of investment [to be submitted in Excel or PDF]	The Excel spreadsheet must be filled by the applicants to estimate the total investment size of the investment project.	Annex E: Calculation log – Expected size of investment SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR ANNEX E

Full Application

After successfully passing the eligibility check, you can register to the EUCF website user zone and complete your online full application there.

For the required supporting documents, it is mandatory to use the templates below:

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We remind you that it is mandatory to submit your application and supporting documents (with the exception of the SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition) in English language only.

Applications are evaluated by a dedicated evaluation team. Within the limit of the available budget, the best scored applications are selected to receive EUCF support. Details on the evaluation process can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants.

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Applications by groupings of municipalities/local authorities

In line with EUCF objectives, you are strongly encouraged to join forces and resources with your partners and submit joint applications. This may increase the ambition of your application and, consequently, increase the chances of a successful application. Please note that all the municipalities/local authorities participating in the grouping must be identified in the application form and in Annex C- Self declaration form. You want to apply as a grouping? Check the image and see what you should consider when applying as a grouping.

Applications by local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities

Local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities may vary from country to country. Applicants included in this category must submit a self-declaration (Annex C) confirming their eligibility. Applicants are encouraged to check their potential eligibility before preparing the application by contacting the EUCF Country Experts and EUCF Helpdesk.

The list below provides a set of examples (non-exhaustive list, in national languages)of potential eligible applicants included in this category.

Please note that the entities included in this list are examples only. Entities not listed in this table but fulfilling the criteria set above are considered potential eligible applicants. The EUCF considers as eligible applicants any equivalent entity to those listed in the table officially defined by the laws and lists included in this table or by any further modification in force prior to the closing date of the EUCF Call.

Country	Examples of eligible public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities
Croatia	Urbane aglomeracije: urbana aglomeracija Zagreb, sa sjedištem u Zagrebu; urbana aglomeracija Split, sa sjedištem u Splitu; urbana aglomeracija Rijeka, sa sjedištem u Rijeci; urbana aglomeracija Osijek, sa sjedištem u Osijeku
Finland	Seutukunta
France	Communautés des communes. The list of Communautés des communes can be found here Communautés d'agglomération. The list of communautés d'agglomération can be found here Communautés urbaines. The list of communautés urbaines can be found here Métropoles. The list of Métropoles can be found here
Germany	Landkreise. The list of Landkreise can be found here
Hungary	Budapest Főváros, Kistérség
Italy	Unioni dei Comuni, Comunità Montane, Unioni Montane, Comunità isolane o di arcipelago. The list of Unioni dei Comuni can be found here Città metropolitane, as defined by art. 1, comma 5, L. n. 56/201 or any further modification in force prior to the closing date of the EUCF Call, and any other città metropolitana officially defined in any of the “Regioni a statuto speciale” prior to the closing date of the EUCF Call
Portugal	Área Metropolitana and Comunidade Intermunicipal, as defined Lei n.º 75/2013, de 12 de setembro, and any further modification in force prior to the closing date of the EUCF Call. The list can be found here
Spain	Mancomunidad, áreas metropolitanas
United Kingdom	Combined Authorities