As part of the second Swiss Contribution to selected EU member states, the Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme contributes to the implementation of national strategies in Estonia and aims to strengthen cohesion and reduce social and economic disparities. Switzerland and Estonia have a shared interest in addressing global challenges, such as ensuring equal opportunities for all members of society and focusing on actions to counter climate change and preserve biodiversity. The second Swiss Contribution will create new momentum and provide an entry point for further areas of collaboration.
The Framework Agreement between Switzerland and Estonia was signed on November 21, 2022. Switzerland will provide 26 million Swiss francs for the implementation of two Programmes. In addition, Estonia contributes 15% as co-financing for both Programmes.
Supporting Social Inclusion Programme (SSIP)
The Supporting Social Inclusion Programme (SSIP) aims to improve the opportunities for all people living in Estonia, especially people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, to participate more actively in Estonian society – focusing on improving the availability and quality of integration, education, social welfare services and promoting social innovation. Switzerland will allocate 18.6 million Swiss francs for the implementation of this Programme.
The Programme contributes to the national strategy “Estonia 2035” and to the objectives of sectoral strategies. SSIP is coordinated by the Ministry of Culture in close collaboration with three other ministries – the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Interior - to improve social inclusion in Estonia.
Biodiversity Estonia
The Biodiversity Programme, with the Swiss support of 6.9 million Swiss francs, seeks to contribute to the improvement and preservation of the conservation status of species and habitats through a decision-making process that relies on high-quality data, including innovative monitoring solutions.
Estonia protects a significant part of its nature. However, more emphasis needs to be put on the protection of species and habitats. National Action Plans and site-specific management plans outline how to protect species and habitats. Further plans need to be established and existing ones need improvements because they often lack up-to-date data due to limited resources and fragmented information systems, making analysis challenging. Thanks to more comprehensive and better quality data, the Programme helps to identify threatened species and habitats more reliably and to protect them better. The improvement in data is achieved by adding modern technologies, such as 3D cameras, drones, sensors and artificial intelligence, and is complemented with the feedback from civilians via smartphone apps. The Programme will also help make data more user-friendly and easier to use for officials and citizens.
