On 1 April 2025, the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE monitoring committee met online to advance key decisions for the programme’s next phase. The meeting marked an important milestone in preparing the next call, while also continuing strategic discussions on the future of Interreg cooperation beyond 2027.
The committee agreed on the main elements of the upcoming strategic call for capitalisation, which will open in late September 2025 with a total ERDF budget of indicatively 23 million EUR. Targeting all four programme priorities and nine specific objectives, the call will aim to tailor existing outputs and results of both Interreg transnational and cross-border projects to current and emerging needs. Its goal is to maximise territorial and policy impact by reducing the effects of borders on flows and functional linkages among central European regions. A preview of the call will soon be published on our website. At the programme conference “From Results to Impact: Cooperation Takes Synergies Forward” that will take place in Vienna on 27 May 2025, transnational and cross-border project holders will then have the opportunity to connect with other Interreg project partners in view of submitting proposals.
In light of recent updates from the European Commission, the committee also exchanged views on the future of Interreg beyond 2027, including national perspectives and the strategic direction of transnational cooperation. All participating countries expressed support for the continuation of the Interreg transnational strand and acknowledged its strategic role. The conversation then focused on the programme’s geographical scope, with members agreeing to explore a possible enlargement of the cooperation area towards western regions of Ukraine.
The meeting further reviewed ongoing programme developments. The third call assessment is currently entering a second phase, with online hearings taking place in the coming weeks. The final funding decision is expected to be made at the next monitoring committee meeting scheduled to take place in Croatia on 22–23 September 2025.