6TH CALL _CALL FOR TARGETED PROJECT PROPOSALS_ SMALL PROJECTS FUND UNDER PRIORITY 1 & RSO2.6

The small project fund (SPF) constitutes an operation within the meaning of point 4 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/ 1060, which shall be managed by a beneficiary, taking into account its tasks and remuneration. The beneficiary shall be a cross-border legal body, an EGTC or a body which shall have legal personality.

The SPF Beneficiary should have the following characteristics:
– Sound managerial capacity, supported by sufficient and experienced personnel, established and certified administrative procedures and capacity for project management and implementation.
– Previous experience in Cross-Border Cooperation and established links and communication with organisations of the eligible area from both sides of the borders will be beneficial.

The final recipients within a small project fund shall receive support from the ERDF through the SPF Beneficiary and implement the small projects within that small project fund (‘small project’). The SPF beneficiary shall select the small projects which are implemented by the final recipients within the meaning of point (18) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. Where the SPF beneficiary is not a cross-border legal body or an EGTC, a body involving representatives from at least two participating countries, of which at least one is a Member State, shall select the joint small projects.

Types of Actions to be financed within the framework of the SPF:

• Support of micro /small enterprises’ capacities to transit to Green Circular and Resource Efficient business models.
• Support of micro /small enterprises’ capacities in the field of circular economy for upskilling, growth of digital competencies and modernisation of their organisational capacity (mentoring, coaching etc.).

There is a sole beneficiary (SPF Beneficiary), the one invited by the Present Call, namely the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

The target groups / Final Recipients are :

As for the S.O. 2.6 in the Programme Document, it is foreseen that direct support to SME’s will be granted in order to enhance their capacities to transition to Green and Circular business models. The Project will aim to mostly support micro and small enterprises. In general, final recipients will be existing SMEs registered and operating in the eligible cross-border area, for at least 2 years prior to the Call for Proposals.

Selection of final recipients
The SPF Beneficiary :
–  will establish a non-discriminatory and transparent selection procedure of the final recipients with a balanced distribution of support between the partnering countries, to the greatest extent possible, to ensure the cross-border effect; any significant imbalance shall be duly justified based on the quality of applications and their contribution to the objectives of the call;
–  will apply objective criteria for the selection of final recipients, which avoid conflicts of interest;
–  will establish the  Common Steering Committee, a body involving representatives from both participating countries, which will assess applications and select  the final recipients;
–  will fix the amount of support for each final recipient, taking into account the target value of indicators under this call;
–  will attract and engage the final recipients.

In addition to the above-mentioned responsibilities, the Single Beneficiary will also be fully responsible and accountable for:
– guiding the final recipients during the application phase;
–  the implementation of the operation and will keep at its level all supporting documents required for the audit trail in accordance with Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060;
–  the public availability of the list of the final recipients who benefit from the operation;
–  the management verification of final recipients’ expenditures; respectively, the projects’ outputs and results;
–  the implementation of the controls and the on-site visits;
–  the capitalisation among the final recipients;

Additionally, the Single Beneficiary will take the necessary measures to ensure that the final recipients will comply with the requirements set out in Art. 36 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/1059. (Publicity).

All the above elements shall be thoroughly and clearly described in methodology documents, submitted by the applicant, and will be evaluated by the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat according to the approved by the MCP “Project Selection Methodology for SPF Projects”. During providing and exercising the above tasks and duties, the SPF Beneficiary will fully and closely cooperate – within the framework of goodwill and due diligence – with the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat. However, it should be very clearly stated and taken into consideration that the award of a Small Project Fund to the applicant shall not constitute a delegation of tasks from the Managing Authority to an intermediate body as referred to in Article 71(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.

Projects should be concluded within a maximum period of thirty-six (36) months after the signing of the Subsidy Contract (SC) between the Managing Authority/ Alternate Minister of Economy and Finance and the  Small Project Fund Beneficiary (SPF Beneficiary), but no later than 31.12.2029.

The Alternate Minister of the Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance invites the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace to submit a project proposal as outlined in the present Terms of Reference and apply specifically to the present Call for Project Proposals, to be included and financed in the context of:
• Cooperation Programme: (Interreg VI-A) Greece-Bulgaria
• European Fund: ERDF

The Programme will allocate approximately 3.000.000,00 EUR (EU & National Funds) to the present Call for Project Proposals under Priority 1 – A more Resilient and Greener Greece-Bulgaria Cross Border Territory and Specific Objective RSO2.6. – Promoting the transition to a circular and resource-efficient economy of the Programme. The EU contribution rate is 80%. The 20% national co-financing for both Bulgarian and Greek beneficiaries is ensured from the respective state budget. The beneficiary shall ensure their own needed contribution (public and/or private, if applicable).

The legal framework of the Small Projects Fund (SPF) is outlined in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1059. The Small Project Fund constitutes an operation within the meaning of point 4 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/ 1060 and will be managed by a Single Beneficiary (with legal personality), taking into account its tasks and remuneration. The SPF beneficiary shall be a cross-border legal body, an EGTC or a body which shall have legal personality. The SPF beneficiary shall select the small projects which are implemented by the final recipients within the meaning of point (18) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.

The final recipients within a small project fund shall receive support from the ERDF through the beneficiary and implement the small projects within that small project fund (‘small project’).
In general, final recipients will be existing enterprises registered and operating in the eligible cross-border area, for at least 2 years prior to the Call for Proposals.
Each final recipient may be granted between 20,000€ and 50,000€ 

The project proposal is submitted to MIS at the following website https://logon.ops.gr/ from 15/05/2026 (start date for submission of proposals), time  12.00 Eastern European Time (CET+1)  until, exclusively, 22/06/2026 (deadline for submission of proposals 14.00 Eastern European Time (CET+1) by the SPF Beneficiary’s legal representative (personal user account of the legal representative).

After the successful submission of the proposal, the Beneficiary is informed about it through the MIS.  Before the deadline for submitting proposals, it is allowed to resubmit a new proposal after cancelling the original proposal. The proposal is evaluated based on the last successful/valid submission.

The beneficiary is required to have two types of personal user accounts (username and password) to access the MIS:
1. the Beneficiary’s officers to fill in the forms and
2. the SPF Beneficiary’s legal representative for submitting proposals, or another user of the system authorised for submission.

If the Beneficiary does not already have a “Body Code” in the MIS from the period 2014-2020, they should apply for a Body Code. Instructions for obtaining a Body Code and/or User Account in MIS can be found in the Applicant’s Package.

The programme provides the following support measures and tools to assist applicants (potential beneficiaries) in submitting quality project proposals. In particular:
– Questions: applicants may pose questions in writing (at interreg@mou.gr) via an e-mail to the Managing Authority, no later than ten (10) calendar days before the deadline for the submission of proposals. Answers shall be replied no later than five (5) calendar days before the deadline for the submission of Project Proposals.
– Helpdesks for technical support – For questions related to the application system, contact MIS helpdesk (ikalaitzoglou@mou.gr) by email or consult the MIS user manual.
– National support by  Info Points (IPs) – Applicants can also reach out to the Info Point (IP) in Bulgaria. National support is offered regarding the calls and information is provided in national languages on primarily national application issues

Applicants are invited to regularly consult the official Programme website for updates and further details regarding all support measures.