Interreg NEXT and Europe: grants for Ukraine

Over 20 years of cooperation along the Polish-Ukrainian border, partners from both countries delivered 293 joint projects: new roads, hospitals, water treatment plants and nature protection. In one 2023 call alone, the programme selected 64 projects worth 121.8 million euros. So that is just one programme out of seven where Ukrainian organisations can already take part. Most Ukrainian communities and universities have heard of Interreg, yet few understand how this money actually reaches them. The logic differs from an ordinary donor grant, because the programme co-finances cooperation rather than handing out aid. Below we break down what Interreg NEXT and Interreg Europe are, who can be a partner, which priorities receive funding, and how to describe the cross-border effect that decides whether your application passes.

What territorial cooperation is, and why it follows its own logic

Interreg is the part of EU cohesion policy that funds cooperation between regions across borders. For 2021-2027 it holds roughly 10.1 billion euros across 86 programmes. First, they split into four strands: cross-border (neighbouring regions on both sides of a border), transnational (larger macro-regions such as the Danube), interregional (regions from across Europe with no shared border), and a strand for outermost territories.

Two formats matter most for Ukraine. Interreg NEXT covers cross-border cooperation along the EU external border: Poland-Ukraine, the four-country Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine programme, and Romania-Ukraine. Interreg Europe is the interregional programme, and Ukrainian organisations joined it as full members in July 2024, on equal footing with regions from every EU country.

The money here is not structured as a charity grant. Instead, it is co-financing: the programme covers part of the project cost (up to 90% in cross-border NEXT, 70-80% in Interreg Europe), while partners contribute the rest. As a result, the requirements are stricter and the application logic changes. The programme does not care about your separate need, because it funds a shared result that two sides could not achieve alone.

Interreg NEXT programmes where Ukraine is already inside

Three cross-border NEXT programmes reach the western regions of Ukraine. Non-profit organisations from the eligible area can apply: local self-government bodies, universities, hospitals, cultural institutions, NGOs and chambers of commerce.

Poland-Ukraine: the largest by budget

This programme has 235.9 million euros of EU funding and covers up to 90% of project cost. On the Ukrainian side, six regions qualify: Volyn, Lviv, Zakarpattia, Rivne, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk. On the Polish side, the Podkarpackie, Lubelskie, Podlaskie voivodeships and part of Mazowieckie qualify.

There are six priorities: environment, health, tourism, cooperation, borders and accessibility. Projects come in three scales. First, large infrastructure projects (an infrastructure component from 2.5 million euros, selected non-competitively). Then regular competitive projects (EU funding from 100 thousand to 2.5 million euros), and micro-projects (up to 100 thousand euros). The Polish Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy manages the programme, while the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers coordinates the Ukrainian side. The joint secretariat sits in Warsaw, and a branch office works in Lviv.

Here is how it looks in practice. The RehabHelp-UA project provides rehabilitation services to patients in Białystok (Poland) and Volodymyr (Ukraine) using AI-based solutions. One result, two locations on opposite sides of the border, a shared team. Separately, the programme runs two Small Project Funds under the cooperation and environment priorities. Notably, the first small-projects call for cooperation drew 126 applications in 2025, and an environment call is planned for 2026.

Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine (HUSKROUA)

This four-country programme includes Zakarpattia on the Ukrainian side. Its second call had a budget of 28.5 million euros, with co-financing up to 90%. Small-scale projects (SSP) receive from 70 to 300 thousand euros, while regular projects (RSP) receive from 300 thousand to 1.5 million euros. The priorities cover a resilient and ecological border region (climate adaptation, biodiversity), equal access to healthcare, culture and tourism, and good neighbourly relations. Applications go through the INTERREG+ system. Because the second-call deadlines fell in late 2025 and early 2026, it is worth tracking announcements for the next rounds.

Romania-Ukraine

This smaller programme holds about 54 million euros of EU funding. Its main focus is inclusive education (infrastructure, educational plans, partnerships between institutions) and quality healthcare. So it suits communities and institutions in Chernivtsi and neighbouring border regions that work with Romanian partners.

Interreg Europe: a different format and a wider geography

In July 2024, Interreg Europe welcomed Ukraine and six other candidate countries as full members. So there is an important difference here: no requirement to sit near a border. An organisation from any region of Ukraine can apply, from Lviv to Dnipro.

The point of the programme is not construction or equipment, but the exchange of experience between regional policymakers. Partners from different countries work together on a shared topic for four years: renewable energy, digital public services, business support, environmental protection. First, three years go to exchanging practices, and the fourth year goes to applying the lessons in local policy. A typical project draws 1 to 2 million euros from the ERDF, with co-financing of 80% for public bodies and 70% for private non-profits.

The partnership runs larger here: 5 to 16 partners are recommended, with at least 3 countries and at least 2 from the EU. Ukrainian cities already use the Policy Learning Platform tool, and free expert peer reviews have gone to Lviv, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Voznesensk and Verkhnodniprovsk, for example on energy-efficient street lighting. So this is a free way to enter the programme before you submit a full application.

Who can be a partner, and which priorities receive funding

Cross-border NEXT follows a simple rule: every project needs at least one partner from the EU and one from Ukraine. Eligible bodies are mainly non-profit: communities and their municipal enterprises, universities, hospitals, museums, NGOs and regional development agencies. In Interreg Europe, the core target group is the authorities responsible for regional policy, so communities and regions fit well. A private non-profit can be a partner, but it cannot be the lead partner of a project.

The thematic priorities repeat from programme to programme, and the money follows them directly:

Ecology and climate. Climate adaptation, disaster prevention, access to clean water, water treatment, nature and biodiversity protection, and the move to a circular economy.

Medicine. Equal access to care, specialist and emergency medicine, rehabilitation, hospital equipment and staff training. Because of the war, this area carries special weight in the Poland-Ukraine programme.

Tourism and culture. Sustainable tourism, cultural heritage restoration, joint routes and products that bring economic benefit to the border area.

Safety and borders. Border management, mobility, neighbourly relations and people-to-people contacts between communities. In NEXT, the Solidarity Lanes between the EU and Ukraine are a topic of their own.

How to describe the joint cross-border effect

This is where most weak applications fail. The assessor reads the project and asks one question: could you have done exactly this without a partner from the other country? If yes, the project is not cross-border, so the score drops. A joint effect means a result that is impossible, or much weaker, when each side works alone.

Here are a few specific tips that work during assessment.

Describe one shared problem, not two separate ones. So instead of “we have an old hospital and they have an old hospital”, write “a river basin shared by two countries floods, and the response must come from both sides at once”.

Combine soft and hard components. Pair equipment or small infrastructure with training, staff exchange and joint protocols. In fact, the programmes openly recommend this mix.

Show what remains after the project. A joint response protocol, trained staff, a network of institutions that keep cooperating. The assessors score sustainability separately, so it matters.

Split roles and budget honestly. Because the programme rests on equal partnership, a project where Ukraine only receives and Poland only gives looks weak. Each partner needs its own share of work, responsibility and result.

Look for a partner early. The programmes run partner-search forums, keep databases of organisations, and Interreg Europe has a dedicated community for matchmaking. Since this is a long process, start a few months before the call rather than a week before.