The European Union will supplement the non-reimbursable financial assistance provided under two programmes open to local and central public authorities, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations. The increase in grants comes as an increasing number of potential beneficiaries have applied for these programs. This will bring the total funding to €40 million. The amendments to the financing agreements for these programs were voted by the parliament, IPN reports.
Thus, the Financing Agreement signed with the European Commission and the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration for the Interreg VI-A NEXT Romania – Republic of Moldova Program will be amended. The program is currently worth €77.3 million and targets priority areas such as health, education, tourism, culture, climate change, good governance and border management. Investments in equipment, modernization, training and information campaigns are foreseen. It is proposed to top up the budget by €20 million.
In 2023, under the Interreg VI-A NEXT Romania-Republic of Moldova Program, two calls for small and standard projects were launched, to which 277 proposals were submitted.
The financing agreement with the European Commission and the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration for the Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin Program 2021-2027 will also be amended. Eight countries – Moldova, Armenia, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine – are participating in this Program and may benefit from grants for the implementation of certain projects. The program’s total budget of €65 million will be increased by a further €20 million. In 2023, the first call under this Program was launched. Ten beneficiaries from the Republic of Moldova were selected and will receive a total of €1.5 million in funding. 97 beneficiaries from Moldova applied for the second call.
At the same sitting, the Parliament voted to ratify the Financing Agreement with the European Commission and the Hauts-de-France region for the Interreg Program (Interreg VI-C) Interreg Europe 2021-2027, signed on 27 December 2024. It focuses on improving public policies and institutional cooperation. The program is implemented in the 27 Member States of the European Union, as well as in Norway, Switzerland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.
The total budget of the program represents non-reimbursable assistance of €395 million, which can be used to implement joint projects based on the partnership principle. At the same time, beneficiaries are to provide 20% co-financing for the activities included in the projects. The agreement will be valid for 15 years. Thus, central and local public authorities, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, educational institutions will be able to benefit from non-reimbursable funding.
