Status of the Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe (3 March Update)

photo: : Andrei Dudea/Greenpeace Romania

Briefing    |    3 March 2021

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Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) are a precondition for European Union Member States to access the Just Transition Fund (JTF), worth EUR 17.5 billion. The documents must outline the expected transition process; the most affected territories and all types of impacts; what operations are envisaged; and how the process will ensure participation, monitoring and evaluation.

In this paper, we analyse the state of the TJTPs’ design in six central and eastern European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. We describe the formal design of the processes in each country; how the working groups are currently functioning and what they need to effectively influence the plans; and the instruments used in each region to ensure participation. The paper concludes with recommendations for national authorities and the European Commission, based on the three biggest threats to the quality of the TJTPs: poor participation, a disproportionate influence of industry and a narrow focus on job creation.