The first Information Meeting organised within the scope of the Zero Waste Grant Programme (ZWGP)—for which the Contracting Authority is the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Directorate General for European Union and Foreign Affairs, the Final Beneficiary is the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, and the Co-Beneficiary is the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Directorate General of Environmental Management, Department of Zero Waste Practices—was held in Ankara on 23 July 2025 with the broad participation of public institutions, local authorities and relevant stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Raci BAYER, Head of the EU Investments Department stated that Türkiye has realised significant investments in the fields of environment and climate by benefiting from IPA funds. He noted that more than EUR 1 billion had been invested in environmental infrastructure during the IPA I and IPA II periods, and emphasised that technical assistance projects have gained priority under IPA III. He also highlighted that, with a total budget of EUR 6.3 million, the Zero Waste Grant Programme is the third direct grant programme implemented under IPA III.

During the meeting, the scope of the call for proposals, application conditions, evaluation criteria, and the role of the programme in Türkiye’s waste management sector were discussed in detail.

In his presentation on the technical aspects of the grant programme and application procedures, Mehmet Yunus İnan, Head of the Procurement Affairs Unit at the EU Investments Department, stated that the Zero Waste Grant Programme aims to strengthen capacity at the municipal level, improve waste management infrastructure, and increase public awareness. Emphasising that the programme would be highly competitive due to the high grant amounts, he invited participants to develop innovative, feasible and high-impact project proposals.

Esra Öztürk, EU Grant Expert at the EU Investments Department, provided detailed information on the application process during the afternoon session of the information meeting.

Havanur Çiftçi, EU Procurement Expert at the EU Investments Department, presented the main eligibility and evaluation criteria related to the application process and responded to questions from participants.

👥 250+ on-site, 142 online attendees.
📽 Closed with a gender equality video