More than 600 million euros, non-refundable money, will be made available from the European Commission for projects related to sustainable soils, and Romania’s agriculture should benefit as much as possible from these opportunities, state councilor Laszlo Borbely, coordinator of the Department for Sustainable Development within the Government said on Wednesday.

The Department for Sustainable Development and the Ernest Lupan Circular Economy and Environmental Research Institute (IRCEM) organized the „NATI00NS – SUSTAINABLE SOILS” conference on Wednesday at the Victoria Palace.

According to a release from the Department for Sustainable Development, the event was organized within the „NATI00NS” project, as a first step to support the launch of the European Commission’s mission „A Soil Deal for Europe”, and has the role of supporting and promoting the processes awareness of the importance of protecting and conserving terrestrial ecosystems.

NATI00NS acts as a messenger of the mission, raising awareness among national and regional stakeholders, providing access to capacity-building materials and information, stimulating discussions on the best configurations of Living Labs (LL) and beacon projects, to respond regional soil needs and encouraging collaboration.

IRCEM will be, among others, responsible for capacity building activities and the development of Living Labs in Bulgaria, Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, according to the press release.

„The projects are feasible especially for consortia that can include a variety of actors: universities, NGOs, research institutes, farmers’ associations. The condition that at least three states are involved in an application is also very important,” the release informs.

AGERPRES