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The Central European Initiative (CEI) announced its annual Call for Proposals of the CEI Cooperation Fund with the deadline of Friday, 29 May 2026, 12:00 noon (midday) CEST
Public and private institutions registered in a CEI Member State, NGOs/CSOs as well as international organisations, are invited to apply to the CEI Cooperation Fund, which is financed by annual contributions of all CEI Member States, for innovative actions favouring mobility and networking. Proposals need to focus on capacity building by transferring and sharing know-how.
IMPORTANT: Under this Call for Proposals an applicant institution can apply only once.
CEI members include also the enlargement countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraina as well as several other countries from Central Europe such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (for the full list please check the following link: Member States CEI).
The overall indicative budget of this Call for Proposals is 442,000 EUR. The CEI contribution cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the application. Applications requesting a CEI contribution exceeding this maximum percentage, will be automatically rejected.
Thematic Agenda
Up to 342,000 EUR overall budget, including proposals that meet, over the evaluation phases, with the requirements set for CEI Flagship Events (Section 5.4. of the Call for Proposals). Applicants can request a CEI contribution of up to 15,000 EUR.
The CEI Action Plan is available here and outlines the key priorities which include Advancing good governance and institutional development; Empowering youth, women and other vulnerable groups; Fostering better health and well-being; Promoting connectivity and sustainable mobility; Scaling up renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy security; Enabling circular bioeconomy; Enhancing environmental protection, risk-reduction and resilience; Encouraging sustainable communities, cities and territories; Improving business environment and entrepreneurship; Boosting research and innovation through science diplomacy; Safeguarding media freedom and pluralism; Supporting cultural cooperation
Types of short-term eligible activities include meetings, workshops, conferences, trainings (events in general) aimed at creating longer term relations, networks, and partnerships within the region. These activities could also be instrumental to project preparation.
Focused Section
Up to 100,000 EUR overall budget. Applicants can request a CEI contribution of up to 25,000 EUR
The proposals to be submitted within this segment shall be aimed at contributing to develop forward looking initiatives and projects, within the specific objectives listed in the call for proposals (e.g. capacity-building programmes to strengthen preparedness for European integration; capacity building programmes to reinvorce resilience, emergency preparedness and response, with a view to supporting Ukraine’s recovery. Proposals within this second section should primarily support efforts related to reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. Emphasis should be placed on strengthening the capacities of local professionals, public officials, and practitioners to address reconstruction-related challenges, enhance local resilience, and improve crisis management and emergency response, in line with the relevant priority of the CEI Plan of Action concerning Ukraine.
Types of medium-long term eligible activities: on‐the‐job training, staff secondment, study visits, peer review missions, assistance in the preparation of strategic documents (development plans, reforms, strategic studies, etc.), technology transfer, technical and capacity building assistance.
For more information please refer to the source page of this announcement CEI Cooperation Fund Call for Proposals now open! | CEI and the call documentation and application package: CEI Cooperation Fund [br] Call for Proposals 2026 – CEI Application, in particular CEI-CF-Call-for-Proposals-2026.pdf