1ST CALL FOR COMMON PROJECT PROPOSALS – STAGE B

a) national, regional or local public bodies
b) bodies governed by public law (as defined in Article 2(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU) meaning bodies that have all of the following characteristics:
1. they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;
2. they have legal personality; and
3. they are financed, for the most part, by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law; or are subject to management supervision by those authorities or bodies; or have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law;
c) bodies governed by private law, non-profit organisations founded according to private law can be eligible under the following conditions as a whole:
1. they are not established with the goal to obtain profit,
2. they do not distribute profits to the shareholders,
3. they should have at least completed one accounting year of operation before the launch of the specific call for proposals.
This rule is also applicable for the local-regional subsidiary/branch offices.
It should be noted that private companies, not falling under the conditions listed at point (c) are not eligible.

d) international organisations registered under the national law of the Member States of the Programme can be considered as eligible if they fulfil the criteria foreseen for the non-profit bodies governed by private law. However, international organisations operating under international law are not eligible
e) European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). Eligible EGTC must be governed by the law of one of the participating countries where the EGTC has its registered office. EGTCs located outside the Programme area and not registered in one of the Member states participating in the cross-border Programme are not eligible for funding. An EGTC cannot be a sole beneficiary of a project proposal

Bodies governed by public law (under category b. above) and private organisations (under category c. above) and EGTC (under category e. above) should have at least completed one accounting year of operation before the launching of the Call for proposals. If a body governed by public law or a private organization is participating through a branch located at the Programme area, the branch must be operational for at least 12 months before the launching of the call for proposals.

See ANNEX ΙI: INDICATIVE ACTIONS PER SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE of STAGE A for more information.

Financing Activities located outside the Programme area

The Programme area covers geographical areas in the two participating countries as above. In principle, all activities of a project should take place within the Programme area. If a project plans to finance activities or events outside the programme area, this is possible in the context of cooperation Programmes. Exceptions to this principle may be granted for beneficiaries from outside the Programme area in duly justified cases. If a project plans to finance activities or events outside the Programme area, this is possible in the context of cooperation Programmes. If activities (including travel and accommodation) and/or events are planned outside the Programme area, the following conditions need to be satisfied:

a) the activity and/ or event are for the benefit of the Programme area;
b) the activity and/ or event are essential for the implementation of the project;
c) the implementation and/ or the relevance of the activity and/ or the event have been approved by the Programme beforehand (foreseen in the Application Form or, if not, have been previously authorised by the MA/JS).

Infrastructure located outside the Programme area, even if it is directly related to the project either for development or for implementation, shall not be eligible.

In the context of the 1st Call for Project Proposals – Stage B, only and exclusively the Partnership Schemes of the proposals approved and invited for participation. As a minimum requirement, the project partnership must involve 2 partners one from each Member State. The partnership scheme must not exceed 5 partners.

In line with Article 2(9) of the CPR, beneficiaries are responsible for initiating and/or implementing projects. They can be public or private legal entities of both participating countries; and shall cooperate in the development and implementation of operations, as well as in the staffing or financing of operations, or both in accordance with Article 23(4) of the ETC Regulation.

An activity may be implemented in a single country, provided that the impact on and the benefits for the programme area are identified in the application of the activity, in accordance with Article 23(2) of the ETC Regulation.

Projects should be concluded within a maximum period of twenty four (24) months after the signing of the Subsidy Contract (SC) between the Managing Authority/ Alternate Minister of Economy and Finance and the Lead Beneficiary. Projects that have started their implementation before the signing of the contract, and in any case after 1/1/2021, should not have been concluded before the application for funding at the present Call for Project Proposals.  This limit applies for the operative phase of the project and does not include the preparation phase.

The present Call concerns Stage B – Submission by the beneficiaries of their detailed proposal (Application Form with all mandatory documents).

In the framework of the present Call, the potential Lead Beneficiaries, referred to the Concept Notes, which were positively assessed in Stage A. are invited to submit their detailed Application Form with all mandatory documents, as described in the present Call, exclusively via MIS.

The Application Form with all the attached mandatory documents, is submitted via MIS, by the Lead Beneficiary’s legal representative (personal user account of the legal representative), from 29/05/2025(start date for submission of proposals), time 13:00 Eastern European Time (CET+1) until, exclusively, 30/06/2025 (deadline for submission of proposals), time 14:00 Eastern European Time (CET+1) at the latest. After the successful submission of the proposal, the Beneficiaries are informed about it through the MIS. No proposals submitted afterwards will be accepted

Project applicants are invited to submit in Stage B their detailed proposals under one (1) of the Specific Objectives, as submitted in Stage A and under one (1) Intervention Field. In case of multiple intervention fields declared in Stage A, the one having the biggest budget must be selected and declared in Stage B. The project objectives and the proposed activities shall be clear and in line with the Programme priorities, contribute to the achievement of Programme indicators and both shall have an impact on the Greece-Bulgaria area.

The bodies that have successfully passed the evaluation of the Concept Note (Stage A) of this call will receive an automated notification to return the ‘MIS Application Form.’ This will enable them to re-process and complete the Application Form based on the instructions provided in Annex 16 “Guidelines for Applying in MIS 2021-2027”. Bodies that are not yet registered in the MIS Registry (i.e. do not have a “MIS Body Code”) must apply for a Body Code, following the instructions in Annex 16 before submitting the proposal.

The Application Form with all the attached mandatory documents, is submitted via MIS, by the Lead Beneficiary’s legal representative (personal user account of the legal representative). The project proposal is submitted to MIS at the following website https://logon.ops.gr/
from 29/5/2025 (start date for submission of proposals), time 13:00 Eastern European Time (CET+1)  until, exclusively, 30/6/2025 (deadline for submission of proposals), time 14:00 Eastern European Time (CET+1)  at the latest. After the successful submission of the proposal, the Beneficiaries are informed about it through the MIS. No proposals submitted afterwards will be accepted.

The beneficiaries are required to have two personal user accounts (username and password) to access the MIS:
1. the Beneficiary’s officer to fill out forms and
2. the Beneficiary’s legal representative for submitting proposals, or another user of the system authorized for submission.

If the Beneficiary does not already have a “Body Code” in the MIS from the period 2014-2020, the Beneficiary should apply for a body code according to the instructions. Instructions for obtaining a Body Code and/or User Account in MIS can be found at in the Applicant’s Package Annexes 16 and 17. Τhe Application Form (AF) is the Beneficiary’s proposal and is completed exclusively in the electronic format available at the MIS.   Instructions for filling in the fields of the Application Form are attached to the present Call (Annex 16). The submission of proposal also constitutes an application for funding of the potential beneficiary.

For information with regard to the Programme, the Management and Control System, the institutional framework for the implementation of the actions within the Programme, the eligible expenditure costs for the actions, as well as any information related to the submission of proposals (such as instructions for the completion of the Application Form, monitoring indicators, specification of the project proposal evaluation criteria and other documents, which are necessary for the examination of the proposal) please visit the Programme website https://www.greece-bulgaria.eu/. You may also find relevant information on the Managing Authority’s website (www.interreg.gr ).

The programme provides the following support measures and tools to assist applicants (potential beneficiaries) in submitting quality project proposals. In particular:

• Information Events / Info-Days – Applicants can attend informative events in both participating countries with regard to the present Call for Project Proposals related to the Call ToRs (Stage B), Programme features, objective/s and actions, partnership requirements, communication, project finances, etc. in the context of their project proposal (idea). Specific information (date, time, etc.) about the events is posted on the Programme website.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – In a dedicated section on the programme website, applicants are provided with answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding the programme funding and application process. Questions may be submitted in written via an e-mail to the Managing Authority (at interreg@mou.gr), no later than twenty (20) calendar days before the deadline for the submission of proposals. Answers shall be published no later than ten (10) calendar days before the deadline for the submission of Project Proposals. As the FAQ is regularly expanded and updated, please revisit the programme website regularly for retrieving the most up-to-date information.
• 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 Antenna and Info Points (IPs) – Applicants can also reach out to Antenna and Info Points (IP) in both programme countries. They offer national support regarding the calls and provide information 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.