The European Commission has approved the Saxon ERDF/JTF program for the funding period 2021 to 2027. The official document was presented to State Secretary Barbara Meyer (SMR) and State Secretary Thomas Kralinski today (October 21, 2022) by the EU Commission’s Deputy Director General for Implementation and International Relations, Normunds Popens, at the kick-off event for the German JTF funding programs in Naumburg (SMWA) handed over. The Free State can now start using the European funds for funding projects. Around 2027 billion euros are available from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) until 1,95, and around 645 million euros from the Just Transition Fund (JTF).

State Secretary Kralinski is pleased about the approval of the ERDF/JTF program and emphasizes its importance with regard to the major challenges facing our society: “This clears the way for the European funds to be used profitably for Saxony. It is also particularly important that we can now support companies in creating new jobs. Coping with the consequences of the corona virus, climate change, the current energy crisis and the structural change caused by the forthcoming phase-out of coal pose enormous challenges for our country.«

For State Secretary Barbara Meyer, the additional EU support for the lignite regions and the inclusion of the city of Chemnitz in the funding framework is a success: »We were able to convince the European Commission of our funding priorities and the challenges that Saxony faces away from the lignite opencast mines. Structural change can only succeed if it is thought of holistically. Today we reached another milestone.«

With the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the EU supports those areas that have to overcome serious socio-economic challenges due to the transition of the European Union to a climate-neutral economy. According to the specifications of the European Commission, the brown coal areas in Germany should be eligible for funding, which are also taken into account within the framework of the national coal compromise. In Saxony, the rural districts of Bautzen and Görlitz in the Lusatian mining area as well as the rural districts of Leipzig, northern Saxony and the city of Leipzig in the central German mining area will be part of the regional backdrop. Saxony has decided to also include the city of Chemnitz in the regional setting in order to provide on-site support for the challenges of industrial, ecological and demographic change. Since the EU funds can be used for direct company promotion, among other things, the JTF represents a sensible and necessary supplement to the support from the Structural Strengthening Act.

Source: Press release SMR from October 21.10.2022