FAQ

Which countries are eligible for IPA funding under the SEE Transnational Cooperation Programme?

In the Call Announcement and in the Programme Manual, sub-chapter 3.2 Partners and partnerships, 3.2.1 Eligibility of partners, IPA funding, line four, the provisions "be nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia; a Member State of the European Union or Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Turkey" do not apply alone but in coordination with the provisions of sub-chapter 2.5 of the Programme Manual "Programme area". Therefore only partners from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia are eligible for IPA funding under the SEE Transnational Cooperation Programme.

Which is the IPA allocation for the first call for proposals?

IPA allocation for the first call for proposals is distributed in the following way: Albania: 200,020 euro; Bosnia and Herzegovina: 453,020 euro; Croatia: 400,000 euro; former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: 453,020 euro; Montenegro: 670,000 euro; Serbia: 1,114,228 euro.

Is it possible to have an IPA Lead Partner as applicant and overall coordinator of the partnership?

Yes, it is the role of what the SEE transnational cooperation programme defines as "functional Lead Partner". However, due to the heavy administrative burdens the project may face, it is strongly recommended that the ERDF lead partner is undertaking the overall coordination of the project.

If there are no more IPA funds available but the project is accepted, is it possible to finance partners in IPA countries by using the 10% rule? Would it be necessary to subcontract these IPA partners by an ERDF project partner? Does this ERDF partner have to take care about the national co-financing?

Yes, it?s possible to finance partners only applying the 10% ERDF. However, this option is limited to specific cost categories. Expenditure must be borne by the ?sponsoring? ERDF partner who can subcontract activities to be implemented outside the EU but cannot directly subcontract the ?sponsored? 10% partner. The ERDF partner has to cover the national co-financing as well, so that the 10% partner benefits with 100% of the needed amount. Furthermore, this rule is applicable only if there is a clear benefit of the regions of the Community and the need for the activities outside the EU or the involvement of non-EU PPs for the implementation of the project and the achievements of its objectives is clearly demonstrated. The Monitoring Committee has the possibility to suggest the shift to the 10% flexibility rule in case of non EU partners of projects requesting IPA funds, if IPA funds are not available anymore