The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration has recently announced the launch of the Interreg NEXT Romania-Ukraine program for the period 2021-2027, which targets European funds for the development of communities located on the border between the two participating states.
The Interreg NEXT program has a budget of EUR 54 mln in non-refundable funds, to which the national contribution will be added. Projects that bring benefits to border communities in the counties of Satu Mare, Maramureș, Botoșani, Suceava, and Tulcea (Romania) and in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpatska, Cernăuți, and Odesa oblasts (Ukraine) will be eligible for funding, according to Economedia.
The areas targeted by this program are health, education, tourism and culture, adaptation to climate change, and border management. The program aims to equip and modernize medical facilities and educational institutions, rehabilitate tourist attractions, and carry out projects to improve border management.
Additionally, personnel in these areas will benefit from joint training and instruction and sharing of best practices. Awareness campaigns for disaster prevention and response will be organized for the local population.
To be eligible for funding, a project must have at least one partner from the two participating states, with details on the conditions for accessing the funds to be published on the program's website.
Representatives of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, the European Commission, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Embassy in Bucharest, the Representation of the European Commission in Bucharest, as well as representatives of central and local public authorities from Romania attended the launch event.
The first meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg NEXT Romania-Ukraine Program took place in a hybrid format on the same day, with representatives of the two partner countries in the program.
