4. Application Form & Required Documents

The online application form is integrated into the EUCF website user zone and accessible for applicants who have successfully completed the eligibility check. After the eligibility check, eligible applicants receive per email the login details to the EUCF website user zone. Potential applicants can take a look at the questions of the application form in advance, available on the EUCF website.

The application form consists of a set of questions, grouped into three sections. For each of the sections, the following information has to be provided in English language by the applicant:

This section comprises general information about the applicant, such as contact details, contact persons as well as Local administrative units (LAU) and Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) 3 codes. For groupings, the name of the lead applicant, as well as the LAU and NUTS 3 codes of each participating municipality/local authority have to be provided. In the case of local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities, the NUTS 3 area code in which the entity is located must be provided. Moreover, the total population size (absolute number, not displayed as thousands or millions) of the municipality/local authority, grouping or of the area covered by the local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities needs to be stated in this section.

In this section, information has to be provided on how the municipality/local authority, grouping, or local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities plans to develop the investment concept in the scope of the EUCF. This concerns the period for which the successful applicant receives the EUCF grant. The required items are presented in more detail in the  Guidelines for Applicants.

This section presents preliminary information on the proposed investment project for which an investment concept should be developed within the EUCF. The requirements for this section include the 1) Investment sector(s) targeted, 2) Intended measures, 3) Expected size of the investment, 4) Expected impacts, and 5) Potential for replication and/or up-scaling. More details are described in Guidelines for Applicants.

The investment size provided by the applicant in the application form should only cover the investments in sustainable energy of the planned project, not any other potential components of the project which are not related to sustainable energy. Moreover, the investment size does not refer to the EUCF grant amount of EUR 60,000, but to the total investments in sustainable energy for the planned investment project.

Please note that there is no minimum or maximum threshold for investment size to apply to the EUCF. In the evaluation process, the level of ambition of the expected size of investment of the planned investment project is set into relation to the other submitted applications in the regional call as well as to the (local) context (e.g. population number of municipality/local authority, grouping or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities). Moreover, bundling/pooling of investments is appreciated and the overall coherence and plausibility of the elements are assessed.

For the calculation of the expected energy savings and/or renewable energy production of an investment project, applicants must use the template for Annex D – Estimation of Energy Savings and/or Renewable Energy Production. An audio/video book is available on the EUCF website with step-by-step information on how to fill the template. There is no minimum or maximum threshold for energy savings and renewable energy production to apply to the EUCF. In the evaluation process, the level of ambition of the expected energy savings and/or renewable energy production generated by the planned investment project is set into relation to the other submitted applications in the regional call as well as to the (local) context (e.g. population number of municipality/local authority, grouping or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities). Moreover, the overall coherence and plausibility of the elements are assessed.

The applicant must indicate, in GWh/y, the approximate energy savings and/or renewable energy production expected to be generated by the planned investment project. In order to receive EUCF support, investment projects must present higher impacts on energy savings (in GWh/y) than on renewable energy production (in GWh/y). Applications in which the impacts on renewable energy production represent more than 50% of the total foreseen impacts will not be accepted. The template for Annex D – Estimation of Energy Savings and/or Renewable Energy Production must be submitted with the application to allow for an understanding of the provided value and the parameters used for the estimation. An audio video book can be found on the EUCF website with more information on how to fill the template.

If available at this stage, the applicant can state further impacts expected from the investment project such as avoided CO₂ emissions, job creation, etc. and attach the corresponding calculations/supporting documents. The template for Annex D can also be used to estimate the CO₂ emission reductions of the investment project.

In case specific values for the investment size and energy savings/renewable energy production cannot be determined yet, the applicant can use approximate values instead, which still allows the EUCF evaluation team to understand its level of ambition and potential impacts. Any comments on the values and calculations can be added in the comments section in the templates for Annex D (Energy Savings and/or Renewable Energy Production) and Annex E (Investment Size).

Submission of applications is only admitted online through the application portal. You create, complete and submit your application online in the EUCF website user zone.

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Annex A.1:Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) or plan of similar ambition

A SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition has to be submitted together with the application form to show that the municipality/local authority, grouping of municipalities/local authorities, or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities already have an overall climate/energy strategy in place.

The SEAP defines concrete actions, responsibilities and timing to achieve long-term energy consumption and CO₂ emissions reduction targets as well as demonstrates how the 20% CO₂ emissions reduction commitment by 2020 for Covenant of Mayors signatories is reached. The SECAP is the key document that describes how CO₂ emissions can be reduced by at least 40% by 2030. More information on the SEAP and SECAP can be found on the Covenant of Mayors – Europe website: https://www.covenantofmayors.eu/en/. SEAPs and SECAPs must be approved both by the local council and EU Commission to be eligible to receive EUCF support.

In case municipalities/local authorities or local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities do not have a politically approved SEAP or SECAP, a plan of similar ambition can be submitted. A plan of similar ambition is considered equivalent to SEAP/SECAP if it includes energy and climate targets at least for the year 2020, formally approved by the Mayor or similar.

The SEAP/SECAP or plan of similar ambition can be submitted in national language or in English.

Annex A.2: SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition - Summary

Together with the SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition, applicants are required to complete the template for Annex A.2 – SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition – Summary to provide an overview of the main energy/climate targets established by the respective plan. Moreover, applicants need to state in the summary, when and by whom the plan was politically approved. While the plan can be submitted in national language, the summary must be filled in English.

Annex B:Letter of support to the project by the Mayor or other relevant political representative

To demonstrate political support to the development of the investment concept, the EUCF applicant has to submit a letter of support, signed by the Mayor or other relevant political representative of the municipality/local authority, grouping or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities. The applicants must use the corresponding template for Annex B for submission. The letter of support must be submitted in English.

Annex C:Self-declaration form by a representative of the municipality/local authority,grouping, or local public entity aggregating municipalities/local authorities

In the self-declaration form, the EUCF applicant confirms the authenticity of the general information provided in the application form. Two different templates for Annex C are provided by the EUCF to be filled according to the type of applicant:

• Municipalities/local authorities or groupings must confirm the authenticity of the information provided in the application form, such as the contact details, NUTS 3 and LAU code.
• Local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities must declare 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.

The self-declaration form must be signed by the applicant and submitted in English.

Annex D:Calculation log - Expected energy savings and/or renewable energy production

In order to allow for an understanding of the energy savings and/or renewable energy generation figure provided and parameters used for the estimation, the EUCF applicants have to submit the corresponding calculation log together with the application in English. The template for Annex D must be used for the estimation and submission. A tutorial video is available on the EUCF website with step-by-step information on how to fill the template.

 Please note that the submission of this template is mandatory.

If available, the supporting documents and/ or calculations for any further expected impacts can also be handed in to support the provided figures. The template for Annex D allows also to estimate the reduction of CO₂ emissions achieved by the investment project.

Annex E: Calculation log - Expected size of investment.

In order to allow for an understanding of the investment size figure provided and parameters used for the estimation, the EUCF applicants have to submit the corresponding calculation log together with the application in English. The template for Annex E must be used for the estimation and submission. A tutorial video is available on the EUCF website with step-by-step information on how to fill the template. Please note that the submission of this template is mandatory.

For more details on the requirements for the supporting documents please see the Guidelines for Applicants (2.4.2.). All the Annexes are provided and accessible on the EUCF website.

Annex A.1 (SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition and corresponding summary of the plan), Annex A.2 (SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition – Summary), Annex B (Proof of political commitment), Annex C (Self-declaration form), Annex D (Estimation of Energy Savings and/or Renewable Energy Production) and Annex E (Estimation of Investment Size) must be submitted for the application to be considered in the evaluation process. For the submission of the supporting documents, the templates provided by the EUCF must be used. It is not mandatory to submit any supporting documents or calculations for additional expected impacts.

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All the required documents are uploaded to the online application in the EUCF website user zone. The required documents must be submitted in pdf and/or excel format. Templates are provided for the submission of the supporting documents and can be downloaded on the EUCF website.

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The application form must be completed in English. Please note that applications submitted in a different language than English will be rejected. It is possible to submit the SEAP, SECAP or plan of similar ambition in national language. All other supporting documents must be submitted in the English language. To facilitate this, the EUCF provides templates for the required documents.

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Yes, the use of the EUCF templates is mandatory for the submission of the supporting documents to the application. The following templates for the supporting documents can be found on the EUCF website:

• 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

• Annex C: Self-declaration form by a legal representative of the applicant; two templates are available:

(a) For municipalities/local authorities and groupings;

(b) For local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities.

• Annex D: Estimation of Energy Savings and/or Renewable Energy Production

• Annex E: Estimation of Investment Size

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The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a territorial classification that subdivides the territory of the European Union, the UK and the EEA-EFTA States into three different hierarchical levels (NUTS 1, NUTS 2 and NUTS 3) for statistical and planning purposes. The NUTS 3 classification corresponds to small regions for specific diagnoses at a regional level.

Concerning the local level, a system of Local Administrative Units (LAUs) is maintained in compatibility with the NUTS system. LAUs are subdivisions of the NUTS 3 regions, covering the whole economic territory of each EU Member State, the UK and the EEA-EFTA States.

The respective NUTS 3 and LAU codes can be found on the yearly updated list, available on the Eurostat website:

The most recent (validated) LAU code at the moment of writing the FAQs applies, which is included in the LAU-NUTS table 2019 for all eligible countries (except for Norway). For Norway, the most recent version at the moment of writing the FAQs, i.e. the LAU-NUTS table 2017 applies.

For municipalities/local authorities and groupings, the NUTS 3 codes can be selected from a drop-down list in the application form and the corresponding LAU codes are assigned automatically based on the postal codes provided. Local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities must indicate through the drop-down list the NUTS 3 area code in which they are located. The NUTS 3 code is only asked for statistical reasons.

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Municipalities and local authorities, their groupings and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities can apply for the EUCF grant several times, but the grant can be awarded only once. Applicants can submit only one application per each call, either alone or in a group.

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