ENPI Black Sea Basin Cooperation Programme is one of the two cross border cooperation programmes in the course of financial cooperation between Türkiye-European Union. This multilateral cooperation programme involves 8 countries, namely Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine, and it is jointly financed from ENPI (for participant countries excluding Türkiye) and IPA (for Türkiye) funds.

The Joint Managing Authority (JMA) has been established in Romania by the Ministry for Development, Public Administration. Ministry for EU Affairs acts as the National Authority in Türkiye.

The programme, which aims to provide a stronger and sustainable economic and social development of the regions of the Black Sea Basin, is a framework to finance the projects that meet the following criteria: to be implemented in cooperation with partners from other countries and to have a cross border impact. In Türkiye, Programme's Eligible Area covers 25 cities: Amasya, Artvin, Bartın, Bolu, Çankırı, Çorum, Düzce, Edirne, Giresun, Gümüşhane, İstanbul, Karabük, Kastamonu, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sinop Tekirdağ, Rize, Tokat, Trabzon, Yalova, Zonguldak.  

The objectives of the grants to be awarded under this programme, are as follows:
1. Promoting economic and social development in the border areas,
2. Working together to address common challenges,
3. Promoting local, people-to-people type actions.

The priority axes that are defined for the selection of projects, act as a transmitter while attaining the overall objectives of the programme. These axes are described below:

1. Supporting cross border partnerships for economic and social development based on combined resources,
2. Sharing resources and competencies for environmental protection and conservation,
3. Supporting cultural and educational initiatives for the establishment of a common cultural environment in the Basin.

INTERREG NEXT BLACK SEA BASIN PROGRAMME FIRST CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The first call for project proposals of the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme, for which Directorate for EU Affairs is the National Authority, was launched on 30 March 2023. (https://www.blacksea-cbc.net/communication/news/news-2023/the-first-calls-for-project-proposals-of-the-interreg-vi-b-next-black-sea-basin-programme-are-now-open-with-deadline-4-july-2023 ;

https://cbc.ab.govtr/duyuru/50723/interreg-next-karadeniz-havzasi-programi-2021-2027-donemi-birinci-teklif-cagrisi-yayinlandi?lang=tr)

Eligible institutions which are defined as potential beneficiaries in the Guidelines for Applicants shall be able to apply for project submission until July 4, 2023. Project applications can only be submitted online via the Joint Electronic Monitoring System (JeMS) of the Programme.

Timetable for Submission of Applications

Eligible Applicants

Within the scope of this call, projects submitted through partnerships established by potential beneficiaries from Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Türkiye, Ukraine and Greece in the Program area will be accepted. The provinces included in the program area in our country are as follows: İstanbul, Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova, Zonguldak, Karabük, Bartın, Kastamonu, Çankırı, Sinop, Samsun, Tokat, Çorum, Amasya, Trabzon, Ordu, Giresun, Rize, Artvin, Gümüşhane.

Potential beneficiaries who can submit projects are listed below:

1. Local entities of public authorities (Governorships, District Governorships, Provincial Directorates, Regional Directorates)
2. Local Authorities (Municipalities including Municipality Undertakings, Provincial Special Administrations)
3. Bodies Governed by Public Law (Development Agencies/Administrations/Unions, Chambers, Commodity Exchanges, Cooperatives)
4. Educational and Research Institutions (Universities, Research Centres, Institutes, State Owned Schools)
5. Non-profit Organizations (Associations, Unions, Foundations and other NGOs)

Project Priorities and Topics

Projects to be submitted under the first call for proposals must comply with one Specific Objective of one of the two Policy Objectives of the Programme. The priorities of the program for the period 2021-2027 are:

Policy Objective 1- A smarter Europe and its neighbourhood

• Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies

Policy Objective 2- A greener, low-carbon Europe and its neighbourhood

• Promoting climate change adaptation, and disaster risk prevention, resilience, taking into account eco-system based approaches
• Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity, and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution

Budget of the Call and Projects

The overall budget for two project types (Regular Projects and Small Scale Projects) under the first call is 35,77 million EUR (EU grant is 32,52 million EUR). Lead/project partners are required to provide at least 10% co-financing for the total eligible costs of the project.

Project Duration

Implementation periods are up to 18 months for small-scale projects and up to 30 months for standard projects. No minimum period has been determined for implementation of the projects.

Partnership Criteria

For projects involving applicants or partners from Türkiye, there should be at least one partner from EU member states (Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) and at least one partner from EU partner countries (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). Number of partner institutions/organizations within projects are indicated in the table below.