Deadline: 23 June 2016
The Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme invites public and private organisations established in the central Europe regions to submit applications in the framework of the second call for proposals.
The Programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the European Territorial Cooperation objective which supports regional cooperation among central European countries during the programming period 2014-2020.
The overall objective of the programme is “to cooperate beyond borders to make central European cities and regions better places to live and work” by implementing smart solutions answering to regional challenges in the fields of innovation, low-carbon economy, environment, culture and transport.
Thematic Areas
The program focuses on the priority axes with the specific objectives summarized below:
- Cooperating on innovation to make CENTRAL EUROPE more competitive
- To improve sustainable linkages among actors of the innovation systems for strengthening regional innovation capacity in central Europe
- To improve skills and entrepreneurial competences for advancing economic and social innovation in central European regions
- Cooperating on low carbon strategies in CENTRAL EUROPE
- To develop and implement solutions for increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy usage in public infrastructures
- To improve territorially based low-carbon energy planning strategies and policies supporting climate change mitigation
- To improve capacities for mobility planning in functional urban areas to lower CO2 emissions
- Cooperating on natural and cultural resources for sustainable growth in CENTRAL EUROPE
- To improve integrated environmental management capacities for the protection and sustainable use of natural heritage and resources
- To improve capacities for the sustainable use of cultural heritage and resources
- To improve environmental management of functional urban areas to make them more liveable places
- Cooperating on transport to better connect CENTRAL EUROPE
- To improve planning and coordination of regional passenger transport systems for better connections to national and European transport networks
- To improve coordination among freight transport stakeholders for increasing multimodal environmentally-friendly freight solutions
Funding Availability
The programme will allocate around EUR 90 Million ERDF to the second call for proposals.
Eligibility Criteria
- In the framework of the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, eligible applicants are:
- National, regional and local public bodies (including EGTCs in the meaning of Article 2 (16) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013);
- Private institutions, including private companies, having legal personality;
- International organisations acting under the national law of any CENTRAL EUROPE Member State or, with restrictions, under international law.
- Projects supported by the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme must involve in the partnership:
- at least three financing partners,
- from at least three countries and
- being at least two of the partners located in CENTRAL EUROPE regions
- Applicants located outside the programme area but within the EU can also apply for funding as project partners. Please note that ERDF allocated to a single project for such partners, together with the ERDF spent outside the programme area, cannot exceed 20% of the total ERDF contribution to such project. The involvement of partners from EU regions outside the programme area shall bring a clear benefit to the regions of the programme area. Their involvement is considered as exceptional and must be duly justified.
- Applicants can also be located outside the EU, but they will not receive ERDF funding from the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme.
How to Apply
Applicants are required to submit their applications through an online process.
Eligible Countries: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
For more information, please visit Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme.