CHAPTER III

The European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) shall be implemented through Interreg programmes under shared management with the exception of Interreg D programmes, which may be implemented as a whole or partially under indirect management in agreement with the Member State or Member States concerned after consulting stakeholders. The participating Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries, OCTs, or regional integration and cooperation organisations shall prepare an Interreg programme in accordance with the template set out in the Annex for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. The participating Member States shall prepare an Interreg programme in cooperation with the programme partners referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. In the preparation of Interreg B programmes, covering macro-regional or sea-basin strategies, the Member States and the programme partners shall take into account the thematic priorities of the relevant macro-regional and sea-basin strategies and consult the relevant actors, as well as ensure that these actors at macro-regional and sea-basin level are brought together at the start of the programming period in line with that Article. The participating third countries or partner countries or, where applicable, OCTs shall also involve the programme partners, including regional integration and cooperation organisations, equivalent to those referred to in that Article. The Member State hosting the prospective managing authority shall submit an Interreg programme to the Commission by 2 April 2022 on behalf of all participating Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries or OCTs, or regional integration and cooperation organisations. However, where an Interreg programme covers support from an external financing instrument of the Union, the Member State hosting the prospective managing authority shall submit the Interreg programme to the Commission not later than nine months after the adoption by the Commission of the relevant multi-annual strategy documents provided for in Article 10(1) or in accordance with the respective basic legislative act of that external financing instrument of the Union. The participating Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries or OCTs shall confirm in writing their agreement to the contents of an Interreg programme prior to its submission to the Commission. That agreement shall also include a commitment by all participating Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries or OCTs to provide the co-financing necessary to implement the Interreg programme and, where applicable, the commitment for the financial contribution of the third countries, partner countries or OCTs. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, in the case of Interreg programmes involving outermost regions and third countries, partner countries or OCTs, the Member States concerned shall consult the respective third countries, partner countries or OCTs before submitting the Interreg programmes to the Commission. In that case, the agreements to the contents of the Interreg programmes and the possible financial contribution by the third countries, partner countries or OCTs may be expressed instead in the formally approved minutes of the consultation meetings with the third countries, partner countries or OCTs concerned or of the deliberations of regional integration and cooperation organisations. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 62 to amend the Annex in order to adapt to changes occurring during the programming period for non-essential elements thereof. Each Interreg programme shall set out a joint strategy for the programme’s contribution to the policy objectives set out in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and, where relevant, to the Interreg-specific objectives set out in Article 14(4) and (5) of this Regulation and the communication of its results. Each Interreg programme shall consist of priorities. Each priority shall correspond to a single policy objective or, where applicable, to one or both Interreg-specific objectives, respectively, and shall consist of one or more specific objectives. More than one priority may correspond to the same policy or Interreg-specific objective. Each Interreg programme shall set out: the programme area, including, whenever possible, a map thereof as a separate document; a summary of the main joint challenges, taking into account: economic, social and territorial disparities as well as inequalities; joint investment needs and complementarity and synergies with other funding programmes and instruments; lessons learnt from past experience; macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies where the programme area as a whole or partially is covered by one or more strategies; a justification for the selected policy objectives and Interreg-specific objectives, corresponding priorities, specific objectives or actions under the Interreg-specific objectives and the forms of support, addressing, where appropriate, missing links in cross-border infrastructure; the specific objectives or actions under the Interreg-specific objectives for each priority; for each specific objective or for each action under the Interreg-specific objectives: the related types of actions and their expected contribution to those specific objectives or actions under the Interreg-specific objectives and, where appropriate, to macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies; output indicators and result indicators with the corresponding milestones and targets; the main target groups; an indication of the specific territories targeted, including the planned use of integrated territorial investments (ITI), community-led local development or other territorial tools; the planned use of financial instruments; and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources by type of intervention; a financing plan containing the following tables without any division per participating Member State, third country, partner country or OCT, unless specified otherwise therein: a table specifying, by year, the total financial allocation for the ERDF and, where relevant, for each external financing instrument of the Union for the whole programming period; a table specifying, for each priority, the total financial allocation by the ERDF and, where relevant, by each external financing instrument of the Union by priority and the national co-financing and whether the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing; the actions taken to involve the relevant programme partners referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 in the preparation of the Interreg programme, and the role of those programme partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of that programme; the envisaged approach to communication and visibility for the Interreg programme through defining its objectives, target audiences, communication channels, including social media outreach, where appropriate, planned budget and relevant indicators for monitoring and evaluation; and an indication of support to small-scale projects, including small projects within small project funds. When a Member State submits the programme, it shall ensure that the programme is accompanied for information purposes by a list of planned operations of strategic importance and a timetable. As regards the information referred to in paragraph 3 for the tables referred to in point (f) of that paragraph and as concerns the support from external financing instruments of the Union, those financial allocations shall be set out as follows: for Interreg A programmes supported by IPA III and NDICI as a single amount (IPA III CBC or NEXT CBC) combining the contribution from Heading 2 ‘Cohesion and Values’, sub-ceiling Economic, social and territorial cohesion and Heading 6 ‘Neighbourhood and the World’; for Interreg B and C programmes supported by IPA III, NDICI or the OCTP as a single amount (‘Interreg funds’) combining the contribution from Heading 2 and Heading 6 or split per financing instrument ERDF, IPA III, NDICI and OCTP, pursuant to the choice of the programme partners; for Interreg B programmes supported by OCTP split per financing instrument (ERDF and OCTP); for Interreg D programmes supported by the NDICI and by the OCTP split per financing instrument (ERDF, NDICI and OCTP, as appropriate). With regard to point (e)(vi) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article, the types of intervention shall be based on a nomenclature set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. The Interreg programme shall: identify the programme authorities and the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission; lay down the procedure for setting up the joint secretariat; set out the apportionment of liabilities among the participating Member States and, where applicable, third or partner countries or OCTs, in the event of financial corrections imposed by the managing authority or the Commission. The managing authority shall communicate to the Commission any changes in the information referred to in point (a) or (b) of paragraph 6 without requiring a programme amendment. With regard to an Interreg A, B or D programme, where an A programme covers long borders with heterogeneous development challenges and needs, Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries and OCTs participating in an Interreg programme may define sub-programme areas. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, the content of Interreg C programmes shall be adapted to the specific character of those Interreg programmes, in particular as follows: the information referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 is not required; the information required pursuant to points (b) and (g) of paragraph 3 shall be given as a short outline; for each specific objective, the following information shall be given: with regard to INTERACT and ESPON, the definition of a single beneficiary or a limited list of beneficiaries and the granting procedure; the related types of actions and their expected contribution to the specific objectives; output indicators and result indicators with the corresponding milestones and targets; the main target groups; and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources by type of intervention. The Commission shall assess each Interreg programme and its compliance with Regulations (EU) 2021/1060 and (EU) 2021/1058 and this Regulation and, in the case of support from an external financing instrument of the Union and, where relevant, its consistency with the multi-annual strategy documents pursuant to Article 10(1) of this Regulation or the relevant strategic programming framework pursuant to the respective basic legislative act of one or more of those instruments. The Commission may make observations within three months of the date of submission of the Interreg programme by the Member State hosting the prospective managing authority. The participating Member States and, where applicable, third or partner countries or OCTs shall review the Interreg programme taking into account the observations made by the Commission. The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving each Interreg programme not later than five months after the date of the first submission of that programme by the Member State hosting the prospective managing authority. With regard to external cross-border Interreg programmes, the Commission shall adopt its decisions in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article after consultation of the ‘IPA III Committee’ in accordance with the relevant provision of the IPA III Regulation and of the ‘Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation instrument committee’ in accordance with Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947. Following the consultation of and the approval by the monitoring committee and in compliance with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the managing authority may submit a reasoned request for an amendment of an Interreg programme together with the amended programme, setting out the expected impact of that amendment on the achievement of the objectives. The Commission shall assess the compliance of the requested amendment with Regulations (EU) 2021/1060 and (EU) 2021/1058 and this Regulation and may make observations within two months of the submission of the amended programme. The participating Member States and, where applicable, third countries, partner countries or OCTs shall review the amended programme and take into account the observations made by the Commission. The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving the amendment of an Interreg programme not later than four months after its submission by the managing authority. Following the consultation of and the approval by the monitoring committee and in compliance with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the managing authority may transfer during the programming period an amount of up to 10 % of the initial allocation of a priority and no more than 5 % of the programme budget to another priority of the same Interreg programme. Such transfers shall not affect previous years. The transfer and related changes shall not be considered substantial and shall not require a decision of the Commission amending the Interreg programme. They shall, however, comply with all regulatory requirements. The managing authority shall submit to the Commission the revised table referred to in point (f)(ii) of Article 17(3) together with any related changes in the programme. The approval of the Commission shall not be required for corrections of a purely clerical or editorial nature that do not affect the implementation of the Interreg programme. The managing authority shall inform the Commission of such corrections. For Interreg programmes, the relevant territorial authorities or bodies responsible for drawing up territorial or local development strategies as listed in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or involved in the selection of operations to be supported under those strategies as referred to in Article 29(5) of that Regulation, or for both, shall represent at least two participating countries, of which at least one is a Member State. Where a cross-border legal body or an EGTC implements an integrated territorial investment pursuant to Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or another territorial tool pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 28 of that Regulation, it may also be the sole beneficiary pursuant to Article 23(6) of this Regulation, provided that there is a separation of functions inside the cross-border legal body or the EGTC. Community-led local development (CLLD) provided for in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 may be implemented in Interreg programmes, provided that the relevant local action groups are composed of representatives of public and private local socio-economic interests, in which no single interest group controls the decision-making, and of at least two participating countries, of which at least one is a Member State. Interreg operations shall be selected in accordance with the programme’s strategy and objectives by a monitoring committee set up in accordance with Article 28. That monitoring committee may set up one or, in particular in the case of sub-programmes, more steering committees which act under its responsibility for the selection of operations. Steering committees shall apply the partnership principle as set out in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. When all or part of an operation is implemented outside the programme area inside or outside the Union, the selection of that operation shall require the explicit approval by the managing authority in the monitoring committee or, where applicable, the steering committee. When the operation involves one or several partners located in the territory of a Member State, third country, partner country or OCT which is not represented in the monitoring committee, the managing authority shall condition its explicit approval to the submission of a written acceptance by the concerned Member State, third country, partner country or OCT to reimburse any amounts unduly paid to these partners, in accordance with Article 52(2). When the written acceptance referred to in the fourth subparagraph of this paragraph cannot be obtained, the body implementing all or part of an operation outside the programme area shall obtain a guarantee from a bank or another financial institution for the corresponding amount of the Interreg funds granted. Such a guarantee shall be included in the document provided for in paragraph 6. For the selection of operations, the monitoring committee or, where applicable, the steering committee shall establish and apply criteria and procedures which are non-discriminatory and transparent, ensure accessibility to persons with disabilities, gender equality and take account of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the principle of sustainable development and of the Union policy on the environment in accordance with Article 11 and Article 191(1) TFEU. The criteria and procedures shall ensure the prioritisation of operations to be selected with a view to maximising the contribution of Union funding to the achievement of the objectives of the Interreg programme and to implementing the cooperation dimension of operations under Interreg programmes, as set out in Article 23(1) and (4) of this Regulation. At the request of the Commission the managing authority shall notify the selection criteria to the Commission prior to their initial submission to the monitoring committee or, where applicable, the steering committee. The same shall apply for any subsequent changes to those criteria. In selecting operations, the monitoring committee or, where applicable, the steering committee shall: ensure that selected operations comply with the Interreg programme and provide an effective contribution to the achievement of its specific objectives; ensure that selected operations do not conflict with the corresponding strategies established pursuant to Article 10(1) or established for one or more of the external financing instruments of the Union; ensure that selected operations present the best relationship between the amount of support, the activities undertaken and the achievement of objectives; verify that the beneficiary has the necessary financial resources and mechanisms to cover operation and maintenance costs for operations comprising investment in infrastructure or productive investment, so as to ensure their financial sustainability; ensure that selected operations which fall under the scope of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 1). are subject to an environmental impact assessment or a screening procedure and that the assessment of alternative solutions has been taken in due account, on the basis of the requirements of that Directive; verify that where the operations have started before the submission of an application for funding to the managing authority, the applicable law has been complied with; ensure that selected operations fall within the scope of the Interreg fund concerned and are attributed to a type of intervention; ensure that operations do not include activities which were part of an operation subject to relocation within the meaning of point (27) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or which would constitute a transfer of a productive activity within the meaning of point (a) of Article 65(1) of that Regulation; ensure that selected operations are not directly affected by a reasoned opinion by the Commission in respect of an infringement within the scope of Article 258 TFEU that puts at risk the legality and regularity of expenditure or the performance of operations; and ensure that, for investments in infrastructure with an expected lifespan of at least five years, an assessment of expected impacts of climate change is carried out. The monitoring committee or, where applicable, the steering committee shall approve the methodology and criteria used for the selection of Interreg operations, including any changes thereto, without prejudice to point (b) of Article 33(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 with regard to CLLD and to Article 24 of this Regulation. For each Interreg operation, the managing authority shall provide a document to the lead or sole partner setting out the conditions for support of that Interreg operation, including the specific requirements concerning the products or services to be delivered, its financing plan, the time-limit for its execution and, where applicable, the method to be applied for determining the costs of the operation and the conditions for payment of the support. That document shall also set out the lead partner’s obligations with regard to recoveries pursuant to Article 52. Those obligations shall be defined by the monitoring committee. Operations selected under Interreg A, B and D programmes shall involve partners from at least two participating countries or OCTs, at least one of which shall be a beneficiary from a Member State. Operations selected under the Interreg Europe and URBACT programmes shall involve partners from at least three participating countries, at least two of which shall be beneficiaries from Member States. Beneficiaries receiving support from Interreg funds and partners participating in the operation but not receiving any financial support under those funds (jointly referred to as ‘partners’) constitute an Interreg operation partnership. An Interreg operation may be implemented in a single country or OCT, provided that the impact on and the benefits for the programme area are identified in the operation application. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to operations under the PEACE PLUS cross-border programme where the programme is acting in support of peace and reconciliation. Partners shall cooperate in the development and implementation of Interreg operations, as well as in the staffing or financing, or both, thereof. For Interreg operations under Interreg D programmes, the partners from outermost regions and third countries, partner countries or OCTs shall be required to cooperate only in two of the four dimensions listed in the first subparagraph. Where there are two or more partners, one of them shall be designated by all the partners as the lead partner. A cross-border legal body or an EGTC may be the sole partner of an Interreg operation under Interreg A, B and D programmes, provided that the members thereof involve partners from at least two participating countries. The cross-border legal body or EGTC shall have members from at least three participating countries under the Interreg Europe and URBACT programmes. A legal body that implements a financial instrument, a fund of holding funds or a small project fund, as applicable, may be the sole partner of an Interreg operation without the application of the requirements for its composition set out in the first subparagraph. A sole partner shall be registered in a Member State participating in the Interreg programme. Interreg A, B and D programmes shall support projects of limited financial volume, either: directly within each programme; or within one or more small project funds. Where an Interreg B or D programme is unable to fulfil the obligation laid down in paragraph 1, the reasons why the obligation cannot be fulfilled shall be set out in the programme document in accordance with point 6 of the template set out in the Annex. The total contribution from the ERDF or, where applicable, an external financing instrument of the Union, to small project funds within an Interreg programme shall not exceed 20 % of the total allocation of the Interreg programme. The final recipients within a small project fund shall receive support from the ERDF or, where applicable, the external financing instruments of the Union through the beneficiary and implement the small projects within that small project fund (‘small project’). The small project fund 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 or an EGTC or a body which shall have legal personality. The 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 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. The document setting out the conditions for support to a small project fund shall, in addition to the elements laid down in Article 22(6), set out the elements necessary to ensure that the beneficiary: establishes a non-discriminatory and transparent selection procedure; applies objective criteria for the selection of small projects, which avoid conflicts of interest; assesses applications for support; selects projects and fixes the amount of support for each small project; is accountable for the implementation of the operation and keeps at its level all supporting documents required for the audit trail in accordance with Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060; and makes available to the public the list of the final recipients which benefit from the operation. The beneficiary shall ensure that the final recipients comply with the requirements set out in Article 36. The selection of small projects 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. Staff and other costs corresponding to the cost categories in Articles 39 to 43 generated at the level of the beneficiary for the management of the small project fund or funds shall not exceed 20 % of the total eligible cost of the small project fund or funds, respectively. Where the public contribution to a small project does not exceed EUR 100000, the contribution from the ERDF or, where applicable, an external financing instrument of the Union shall take the form of unit costs or lump sums or flat rate financing, except for projects for which the support constitutes State aid. Where the total costs of each project do not exceed EUR 100000, the amount of support for one or more small projects may be set out on the basis of a draft budget which is established on a case-by-case basis and agreed ex ante by the beneficiary managing the small project fund. Where flat-rate financing is used, the categories of costs to which the flat rate is applied may be reimbursed in accordance with point (a) of Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. The lead partner shall: lay down the arrangements with the other partners in an agreement comprising provisions that, inter alia, guarantee the sound financial management of the respective Union funds allocated to the Interreg operation, including the arrangements for recovering amounts unduly paid; assume responsibility for ensuring implementation of the entire Interreg operation; and ensure that expenditure presented by all partners has been paid in implementing the Interreg operation and corresponds to the activities agreed between all the partners, and is in accordance with the document provided by the managing authority pursuant to Article 22(6). If not otherwise specified in the arrangements laid down pursuant to point (a) of paragraph 1 the lead partner shall ensure that the other partners receive the total amount of the contribution from the respective Union fund in full and within a timeframe agreed by all partners and following the same procedure applied in respect of the lead partner. No amount shall be deducted or withheld and no specific charge or other charge with equivalent effect shall be levied that would reduce that amount for the other partners. Any partner in a Member State, third country, partner country or OCT participating in an Interreg operation may be designated as the lead partner. The amount of the funds allocated to technical assistance shall be identified as part of the financial allocation of each priority of the programme in accordance with point (f) of Article 17(3) and shall not take the form of a separate priority or a specific programme. Technical assistance to each Interreg programme shall be reimbursed as a flat rate by applying the percentages set out in paragraph 3 of this Article to the eligible expenditure included in each payment application pursuant to point (a) or (c) of Article 91(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 as appropriate. The percentage of the ERDF contribution and the external financing instruments of the Union to be reimbursed for technical assistance shall be as follows: for internal cross-border cooperation programmes supported by the ERDF: 7 %; for external cross-border cooperation programmes supported by IPA III CBC or NDICI-CBC, for strand B programmes where the support from the ERDF is 50 % or less and for strand D programmes, both for the ERDF contribution and for one or more of the external financing instruments of the Union: 10 %; and for strand B programmes where the support from the ERDF is more than 50 % and for strand C programmes, both for the ERDF contribution and, where applicable, for one or more of the external financing instruments of the Union: 8 %. For Interreg programmes with a total ERDF allocation between EUR 30000000 and EUR 50000000 the amount resulting from the percentage for technical assistance shall be increased by an additional amount of EUR 500000. The Commission shall add that amount to the first interim payment. For Interreg programmes with a total ERDF allocation below EUR 30000000, the amount needed for technical assistance expressed in EUR and the resulting percentage shall be fixed in the Commission decision approving the Interreg programme concerned pursuant to Article 18.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.