Frequently asked questions

The programme covers an area of more than one million square kilometres at the heart of Europe, and is home to roughly a third of the EU population  (about 148 million of inhabitants in 2019).

Nine EU member states cooperate in the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, including all regions from Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, eight Länder and one region from Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen, and the Braunschweig region within Niedersachsen), and nine regions from Italy (Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardia, Piemonte, the autonomous provinces of Bolzano/Bozen and Trento, Valle d’Aosta, and Veneto).

In total the programme area is made up of 81 NUTS-2 regions and in the 2021-27 period it is extended by Braunschweig region in Germany.

The programme vision is a united central Europe that cooperates – to become smarter, greener and better connected together. Based on shared needs and a common identity in an area long divided by the “Iron Curtain”, the programme aims for a trustful culture of cooperation beyond administrative borders.

The programme mission is to bring regions and cities together beyond borders to find fitting solutions for their citizens – in a fair and equal way everywhere. It encourages and supports transnational cooperation to make regions more resilient to common challenges that know no borders and which cannot be solved alone. These challenges include among others economic transition processes, climate change, and the long-term socioeconomic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The foreseen programme budget for 2021-27 is EUR 224,6 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The maximum ERDF co-financing will amount to 80% for project partners from all participating countries.

For partners from EU Member States that are not part of the programme area the maximum ERDF co-financing will also amount to 80% but has to be duly justified. Partners from outside the EU can participate as observers but cannot receive ERDF co-financing.

The main decision-making body of the programme is the Monitoring Committee (MC), which is composed of representatives of the nine central European programme countries. The Department for European Affairs of the City of Vienna is the Managing Authority (MA) and thus responsible for the operational management of the programme. It is supported by the Joint Secretariat (JS), an international bureau also located in Vienna, and by the Network of National Contact Points (NCPs) in the Member States.

On the national level, general guidance is provided by the network of National Contact Points (NCPs). It functions as a first point of contact for applicants seeking individual guidance.

The call officially opens in a one-step procedure on 15 October 2024 and will close on 10 December 2024.

Around EUR 14 million ERDF will be indicatively earmarked for the third call for proposals.

The call will be limited to the following four specific objectives:

• SO 1.2 Strengthening skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship
• SO 2.5 Greening urban mobility
• SO 3.1 Improving transport connections of rural and peripheral regions
• SO 4.1 Strengthening governance for integrated territorial development

A small-scale project to be implemented under the third call will focus on local and/or regional actions with a strong stakeholder engagement to promote good governance through inclusive and participatory processes, on supporting socio-economic transformation by developing human capital and improving connectivity and governance in the concerned territories.

Partnerships of small-scale project proposals must consist of minimum three partners from three countries. At least two partners have to be located in the programme area. The duration of the small-scale project should be between 12 and 24 months and the budget cannot exceed 640.000 EUR ERDF.

→ Learn more about the small-scale project type

All types of institutions are eligible to participate in project proposals. But in line with the overall aim and territorial focus of the call, we strongly recommend prioritising the involvement of local and regional authorities or related institutions, associations, civil society, NGOs, and similar entities. The participation of research organisations should be limited, they should act mainly as knowledge providers or support local and regional actors. We welcome partners previously involved in our classic project to take over the leading role in the new project proposal.

In order to qualify for the territorial focus of the call, applicants have to demonstrate in the application form that the targeted areas are clearly matching with one or more of the three territorial characteristics: Low economic potential; Poor access to services of general interest (SGI), often affected by demographic change; Lack of relational proximity, decline in significance, influence or connectivity. While the project partnership can be broader, it is essential to involve partners from territories that are relevant for implementing the foreseen activities and achieving the expected change in the targeted areas.

We expect local and regional pilot actions to be at the heart of the project proposals we receive. They should involve local and/or regional stakeholders and promote good governance through inclusive and participatory processes. Project results should have a local dimension, with clear benefits for local communities and target groups, possibly including citizens, in order to strengthen the territorial impact.

Investments above EUR 25.000 as well as items falling under cost category 6 “infrastructure and works” are not allowed within the third call for proposals.

The main reference source is the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme 2021-27 document (IP). The IP provides applicants with information regarding transnational challenges, funding priorities, specific funding objectives, expected results, examples of actions and much more.

The Programme Manual outlines the main rules, requirements and procedures for organisations that plan to apply for funding from the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE programme and for beneficiaries of selected projects.

The Application Package will be published after the call launch. Part of the package are Terms of Reference which lay down all the specific call requirements.

All mentioned documents, along with related complementary tools can be found in the Library section.

The funding decision is expected in the summer of 2025. However, this depends among others on the number of applications received.

More detailed information on the timing for the selection of project proposals will be published after the closure of the call.

Applications can only be submitted through the Joint electronic monitoring system (Jems) after the call launch on 15 October 2024.

For more information on Jems, please read the Jems User Manual. A helpdesk for technical support specifically dedicated to Jems can be reached via email at jems@interreg-central.eu.

When searching for information, applicants are recommended to consult the programme website, where they can find all relevant call information, including documents and templates.

In addition, audio-visual applicant support measures are available. These measures include third call-specific video explainers that introduce the territorial and thematic scope of the call and concrete actions that new projects are expected to address in their project application. These are complemented by recordings of live Q&A webinars.

In the third call, individual consultations with the Joint Secretariat are compulsory for each proposal. As a consequence, proposals submitted without prior consultation will be ineligible and not assessed. It is recommended to request your consultation already at an early stage of project development, but your project idea should be sufficiently mature. Consultations can be requested between 17 October and 3 December 2024.

In addition, an English-language helpdesk team can be reached during office hours at +43 (1) 8908088 2403 and at helpdesk@interreg-central.eu

For inquiries on the national level, the network of National Contact Points provides support in national languages.

There are no limitations in the number of project proposals an organisation can be involved in as a partner or lead partner, however, we recommend taking into account the resources available and prioritise according to the capacities of the organisation.

The Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Applicant Community has been developed to facilitate transnational matchmaking. This community brings together organisations from all over central Europe and aims to facilitate partner search and project idea generation. It helps applicants to effectively present project ideas and build project partnerships.

Organisations interested in joining an existing partnership can register with the platform and search project ideas created by other organisations in the “Browse ideas” section. This section gives an overview of public project ideas and the type of partners that are still needed to build a successful partnership. Once you find a project idea which could benefit from your competences, you can contact its holder directly on the platform and exchange bilaterally on a potential cooperation and joint project development.

The Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Applicant Community has been developed to facilitate transnational matchmaking. This community brings together organisations from all over central Europe and facilitate partner search and project idea generation. It helps applicants to effectively present project ideas and build project partnerships.

Organisations looking for partners to join their project idea can register with the platform and submit their project idea in the “Browse ideas” section. In order to find suitable partners from a specific field of expertise or country, you can also browse organisation profiles in the section “Find partners” and get in touch directly on the platform.

The individual consultations in the third call are mandatory. They can be requested by the  lead applicants from 17 October until 3 December. The aim of these consultations is to advise lead applicants on the relevance of their project ideas and to clarify technical questions related to contents, communications and finances.

Individual consultations will take place as virtual meetings and can be booked exclusively based on project ideas uploaded in our applicant community.

Please note that only one consultation is granted per project idea. Ideas should therefore be in a more mature stage when requesting the consultation.

On the transnational level, English-language inquiries are answered by an experienced helpdesk team that can be reached by phone +43 (0) 1 8908 088 2403 or at helpdesk@interreg-central.eu

Selection criteria are grouped in two categories, strategic (“Relevance” and “Partnership”) and operational (“Implementation”).

The quality assessment is performed along these three criteria by applying guiding questions to all project proposals and it is based on a standardised procedure, to safeguard the principles of transparency and equal treatment. The assessment criteria will be presented in detail in the Terms of Reference.

Upon completion of the desk assessment of submitted proposals, shortlisted proposals will be invited to online hearings. Hearings will give you the opportunity to explain your proposals “in your own words”.

Prior to the hearing, you will have to deliver a pitch deck (set of 5 slides) following a pre-defined structure prepared by the programme. The hearing will be held in English.

When devoloping a project partnership, the following minimum requirements have to be met:

• At least three financing partners;
• From at least three countries;
• With at least two of the partners located in the programme area.

Furthermore, the lead partner shall be located in the programme area.

The project partnership, however, should ideally range from 5 to 12 partners.

The following institutions can participate in transnational project partnerships:

• National, regional and local public bodies (including EGTCs);
• Private institutions, including private companies, having legal personality;
• International organisations acting under the national law of any Member State participating in the programme or, with restrictions, under international law.

The participation of partners located outside the programme area in Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE projects is allowed only if it brings clear benefits to central European regions. Funds can be granted to partners in EU Member States outside the programme area upon conditions. Partners from outside the EU can participate as observers but cannot receive ERDF co-financing.

The “lead partner principle” means that each partnership appoints one organisation to act as lead partner. The lead partner takes full financial and legal responsibility for the implementation of the entire project.

The following institutions can act as lead partners if located in the programme area:

• Public bodies;
• Private institutions;
• International organisations acting under national law.

Private bodies can take the lead partner role. Private lead applicants, however, must meet minimum financial capacity requirements in order to be eligible as lead partners.

Other than in the previous programming period, private lead applicants are not requested to submit a bank guarantee in the contracting phase, if the project is selected for funding.

Private bodies planning to apply as lead applicant shall carefully check the financial capacity requirements in chapter II.4.2 of the programme manual and fill in the financial capacity self-assessment tool.

Each project can target only one programme priority and within the priority only one programme specific objective.

The types of results achieved by transnational projects can be classified as follows:

• Improved policy development, learning, and change;
• Increased knowledge and capacity, including the knowledge transfer and exchange;
• Better coordinated cooperation and enhanced governance at different levels;
• Reduced barriers;
• New or better services;
• Behavioural change;
• Leverage of public and private funds, including the preparation for follow-up investments.

For more information regarding the expected results for each specific objective (SO), please consult the relevant section of the IP – Chapter 2.

To find out more about the results achieved in the previous programme, you are invited to browse our results page.

Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE has pre-defined the following categories of project outputs, which focus on policy support and implementation activities.

• Cooperations
• Strategies and action plans
• Pilot actions
• Solutions

More specific information on supported actions for each Specific Objective (SO) and related thematic fields and examples of actions can be consulted in the IP document – Section 2. The programme supports pilot investments as part of pilot actions and projects can contribute to the preparation of large scale investments.

Project activities are the main implementation steps that contribute to the development of project outputs and/or their subsequent roll-out or upscaling.

A deliverable captures the implementation of project activities, e.g. analysis reports, feasibility studies, strategy documents, pilot action reports, training documentations. It presents in an aggregated form outcomes of intermediate steps of a certain activity. A deliverable has to be sufficiently comprehensive. It is recommended to limit the number of project deliverables.

An output is a product that results from the implementation of project activities.

Transnational cooperation actions will have to respect the horizontal principles of equal opportunity, non-discrimination, gender equality and environmental sustainability during project design and implementation.

In particular, all actions financed by the programme will follow an “environmental sustainability by design approach”. This means that partnerships are strongly encouraged to identify and consider any potentially significant environmental and health issues during project design and integrate them from the beginning into all activities.

A pilot action is an implementation-oriented activity which tests novel approaches and leads ultimately to the implementation of newly gathered knowledge and related solutions.

A pilot action should have an experimental or demonstration character, be limited in scope, be jointly developed, implemented and evaluated in terms of results as well as jointly exploited and transferred to other institutions and territories.

In the third call, pilot actions are mandatory.

Pilot actions can include pilot investments, which are implemented at a small scale and are necessary for the successful implementation of a pilot action.

A pilot investment must clearly contribute to the project specific objectives as well as to the project overall objective: it must have a demonstration, model or pilot character and show a clear transnational implementation dimension and effect that the partnership evaluates together. The investment should ideally pave the way to large-scale investments, thus increasing the impact of the project.

Investments above EUR 25.000 as well as items falling under cost category 6 “infrastructure and works” are not allowed within the third call for proposals.

From a time-wise perspective, expenditure is eligible according to the following three phases:

• Project Preparation and Contracting Phase: Costs for the preparation and contracting of an approved project can be compensated through a lump sum.
• Project Implementation Phase: Costs for the implementation of an approved project are eligible from its start date until its end date as set in the approved application form.
• Project Closure Phase: Costs referring to these activities are eligible and must be paid by the deadline for submitting the last joint progress and joint finance reports as set in the subsidy contract.

When a project partner selects this SCO for the reimbursement of costs, this partner does not need to document that the expenditure in cost categories 2-6 has been incurred and paid out. Only expenditure claimed on a real costs basis has to be supported by relevant documents. In this case staff costs are the calculation basis and the beneficiary’s controller checks the eligibility of staff costs (cost category 1) solely, in compliance with general and specific provisions on eligibility of expenditure, as outlined in the programme manual.

If the equipment is used for project purposes only, then the full cost is eligible. However, if an institution is not allowed to account the full cost due to national or internal rules on the matter, depreciation can be an eligible cost.

In principle, since associated partners are not financing partners, they can be sub-contracted. However, procurement rules have to be applied and the principle of transparency has to be ensured.

It is stated in the programme manual chapter I.4.3.1 that “The percentage of the assignment has to reflect an employee’s related tasks, responsibilities and functions to be performed in the project and shall be individually fixed for each employee.” 

The percentage should be allocated for the whole project duration. This percentage may change provided this is justified due to changes in tasks or responsibilities of the employee. However, the percentage shall remain fixed for an entire financial reporting period.

If a body can be considered as in-house and fulfils all the requirements that are stated in chapter I.4.4.1 of the programme manual, then this body can be contracted by the beneficiary through a direct award.

Costs of the contracted in-house body will always have to be charged on a real costs basis or using simplified cost options (SCOs) in the same way as the project partner. Such costs shall be accounted under each relevant cost category according to the nature of the service provided, as well as under the same general and specific provisions on eligibility, reporting and audit trail as provided for in the programme manual.

The co-financing can either be provided through own resources or through other schemes that might be set up at the national, regional or local level. This means that the 20% financing can be covered by funding received from the national, regional or local level if there is such possibility.

However, it is important to note that the programme only reimburses costs incurred and paid by the beneficiaries. This means that each beneficiary must fully pre-finance its project expenditure. Then, once verified by the controller and included in a joint finance report, the MA reimburses 80% (ERDF) to the lead partner who in turn has to transfer the respective amount to the beneficiary.

The sum of the ERDF and co-financing received by a beneficiary can never exceed 100% of the costs occurred for the concerned item(s).

External communication that is driven and coordinated by an experienced communication manager is essential for a successful project. Well-defined communication objectives support the achievement of thematic objectives and communication activities complement thematic activities.

If done well, communication raises the necessary awareness and provides information on thematic activities. It might even help to change the attitude of relevant stakeholders towards the changes aimed for by the project. Communication activities furthermore contribute to the capitalisation of achieved project outputs and results and aim at their roll out into broader policies, strategies and action plans.

All projects have to implement a set of standard communication channels and activities (project website, poster, etc.). At project start-up and then during the project lifetime, the communication manager and all other partners have to ensure that at least the following communication channels and activities are implemented:

• Project website hosted on programme website
• Project information on beneficiary websites and their social media channelsite
• Posters displayed at all partner premises
• Branding and visibility requirements

Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE grants direct State aid to affected project partners under General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) Article 20. The aid granted by the Programme amounts to the whole ERDF budget of the concerned partner(s), up to a ceiling of 2 million EUR of total public contribution per partner and per project. 

For project partners who intend to receive external public co-financing to their budgets and are State aid relevant, as an exception, the Programme may award the ERDF under the de minimis regime.

De minimis aid would then be granted to the project partner(s) by the Member State Austria and it amounts to the whole ERDF budget of the concerned partner(s). Applicable de minimis threshold applies (per Member State and per undertaking), which may result with the reduction of ERDF contribution from the Programme. Moreover, external public co-financing to be received by the project partner is also State aid relevant.

All partners intending to receive external public co-financing or wishing to apply for it, must include information on additional public co-financing in the application form, section “Origin of partner contribution”.

When project activities result in advantages given to undertakings outside the project partnership (which they would not have obtained under normal market conditions), State aid is granted to third parties – final beneficiaries of project activities. This is called indirect State aid.

Indirect State aid is granted to final beneficiaries of State aid under GBER Article 20a. Value of indirect aid cannot exceed EUR 22.000 per recipient of aid and per project. 

Prior to starting implementation of project activities affected by indirect aid, concerned project partners have to determine the amount of indirect aid to be granted to each undertaking final beneficiary and obtain a MA/JS verification for calculated aid value.