4th Call for Proposals: Cross-border Programme Albania - Kosovo

Deadline: 22-May-23

The European Commission (EC) is accepting the 4th Call for Proposals Cross-border Programme under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).

The programme is implemented jointly by both countries. In Albania, the responsible institution is:

The State Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination (SASPAC), in charge of the overall coordination of the programme, is the operating structure (OS) in this country;

In Kosovo, the responsible institution is:

The Ministry of Local Government Administration, responsible for the overall coordination of the programme, is the OS in this country.

Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

In line with the objectives specified in the programme document, the overall objective of this call for proposals is to promote socioeconomic development and strengthening of the neighbourly relations in the cross border area through the implementation of cross-border cooperation operations. As a result of a decision made by the JMC of the programme on the 10th of November 2022, out of the three thematic priorities of the programme document, the following two (2) thematic priorities of the programme document are covered with this Call:

Priority 1: Protecting the Environment, Promoting Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Risk Prevention and Management,
Priority 2: Encouraging Tourism and Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The following are the specific objectives and the corresponding results that the applications submitted under this call will contribute to attaining:

Specific Objectives Results
- Protection and preservation and valorisation of environmental resources in the Programme area.
  - Result 1.1 Environment resources and biodiversity better managed and promoted.
- Tourism, cultural and natural heritage is valorised as a way to promote the economic development of the area.
  - Result 2.1 The quality of tourism services and products is improved to become more competitive.
  - Result 2.2 Cultural, historical and natural heritage is better preserved and promoted.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,280,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
Indicative EU-funded allocations by specific objective or lot:
- Protecting the Environment, Promoting Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Risk Prevention and Management: € 1,200,000.
- Encouraging Tourism and Cultural and Natural Heritage: € 1,080,000.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must: Indicate the relevant criteria with due regard for the objectives and priorities of this call for proposals, complying with the principles of transparency and non-discrimination.
- Be a legal person, and
- Be non-profit-making, and
- Be effectively established in either Albania or Kosovo, and
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary, and
- Be one of the following institutions or organisations:
  - Central, regional and local government units (ministries, municipalities, departments, agencies),
  - Tourism organisations,
  - Civil society organisations,
  - National Parks,
  - Chambers of Commerce and Chambers of Crafts and Trades,
  - Cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, orchestras, etc.,
  - Research, development and innovation (RDI) institutions,
  - Agencies for local or regional development,
  - National and regional centres for disaster management and monitoring.
Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations.
- Lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entities and, in case of legal entities, persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or control over the lead applicant, the co-applicants and the affiliated entities are informed that, should they be in one of the situations of early detection or exclusion of the practical guide, personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal person) may be registered in the early detection and exclusion system, and communicated to the persons and entities concerned in relation to the award or the execution of a grant contract. In this respect, provisionally selected lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities are obliged to declare that they are not in one of the exclusion situations through a signed declaration on honour to be sent together with the full application. For grants of EUR 60 000 or less, no declaration on honour is required.
Co-applicant(s)
- The lead applicant must act with at least 1(one) co-applicant as specified hereafter.
- If the lead applicant is established in Albania, at least 1 (one) co-applicant must be established in Kosovo, and vice versa.
- Additionally, whenever either the lead applicant or the co-applicant are neither effectively established in the eligible area nor have an office in the eligible area, they must ensure that in the partnership there is at least one legal entity effectively established in the eligible area of both participating countries.
- In addition, each application must include at least one public body (national, regional, local) per country (i.e. one from Albania and one from Kosovo), either as lead applicant, or as one of the co-applicants.
- The maximum number of co-applicants that could be involved in the action is 4 (FOUR). However, CBC partners must carefully bear in mind the most appropriate conditions to ensure an intra-project efficient coordination when deciding on this. The number of partners and the composition of the partnership should be coherent with the envisaged objectives and activities of the action.
- In genuine cross-border operations, the lead applicant and co-applicant(s) shall cooperate in the development and implementation of action. In addition, they shall cooperate in either the staffing or the financing of operation or both.
- Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
- Co-applicant(s) must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.