During the seventh meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg IPA Romania-Serbia Programme, held online on 22 July, six concept note proposals were selected, with a total value of €22.9 million.

The second call targeted Specific Objective 1.2 – Promoting energy from renewable sources in accordance with Directive (EU) 2018/2001, including its sustainability criteria, and Specific Objective 1.3 – Promoting energy-efficiency measures and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Launched on 17 December 2024, this call sparked remarkable interest: 25 concept notes were submitted, through which potential beneficiaries from the two countries requested more than €68 million in EU funding, over seven times the budget available for the call, clear proof of the strong interest in Romanian-Serbian cross-border cooperation on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The total budget available for the call was €10.3 million, out of which 85%, namely €8.8 million, represents the European Union contribution.

Due to the over-contracting mechanism, which maximises the absorption rate of EU funds at programme level, the value of the projects selected is much higher than the initial budget allocated to this call for proposals. For Romanian beneficiaries, the Government of Romania covers 13% out of the 15% national contribution, while the remaining 2% represents each Romanian partner’s own contribution

The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration is the Managing Authority for the Interreg IPA Romania-Serbia Programme 2021–2027, which has a total budget of €87,725,681 and funds projects related to environmental protection and climate change adaptation, health and education, tourism and culture, as well as border management.