EU funds 1 October 2026 6 min read

De minimis scheme for independent culture: second call window, €10,000–40,000 per project, from 2 October

The Ministry of Culture opens the second call window of the de minimis scheme for the independent cultural sector on 2 October 2026 at 12:00. The budget is 1.79 million lei, and between €10,000 and €40,000 can be obtained per project.

Todos & Company editorial team · EU funding consultancy since 2006

De minimis scheme for independent culture: second call window, €10,000–40,000 per project, from 2 October

On 2 October 2026 at 12:00, the Ministry of Culture opens the second call window of the De minimis Aid Scheme for the independent cultural sector. NGOs, companies, cooperatives, PFAs (sole traders) and individual or family businesses working in the cultural field can apply. The budget for the call window is 1,794,438.05 lei, and each project can receive between €10,000 and €40,000 (the equivalent in lei).

The call window closes either at the deadline or earlier, once the total value of the funding requested reaches 2,200,000 lei. In the first call window, opened on 6 July, the 17 applications submitted reached the threshold of 6,205,841 lei set for that window within 3 days (the total amount requested was 6,345,820.93 lei). So here, submitting quickly matters.

In brief

Programme: De minimis aid scheme for the independent cultural sector concerning non-refundable funding for cultural projects (Order of the Minister of Culture no. 2939/2026, published in Official Gazette no. 547 of 3 July 2026)
Authority: the Ministry of Culture, which grants and administers the scheme
Beneficiaries: NGOs, companies, cooperatives, PFAs (sole traders), individual and family businesses established at least 2 years before the launch of the call, operating in the cultural and creative sectors
Call window budget: 1,794,438.05 lei
Value per project: the equivalent of €10,000–40,000, at the InforEuro rate for October 2026
Submission period: from 2 October 2026 at 12:00. The call window closes at the deadline or when applications reach a cumulative total of 2,200,000 lei.
Status: call launched. The guide approved in July has been republished with procedural adjustments.

Who can apply?

According to the order approving the scheme, entities that carry out economic activity in the cultural sectors and have one of the following legal forms can apply:

associations and foundations (GO no. 26/2000);
companies (Law no. 31/1990);
cooperatives (Law no. 1/2005);
authorised natural persons (PFAs), individual enterprises and family businesses (OUG no. 44/2008).

The entity must have been established at least 2 years before the launch of the call. It must also operate in one of the accepted fields, with the corresponding CAEN codes (Romanian NACE codes): architecture, libraries, museums, cinema, multimedia, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design, festivals, music, literature, performing arts, books or visual arts.

As this is de minimis aid, the ceiling of €300,000 over three years for a single undertaking applies. If you have received de minimis aid before, check how much of the ceiling you have left.

How much you receive and how the amount is calculated

In this call window, a project can receive between €10,000 and €40,000. The maximum ceiling is lower than in the first call window, when it reached €100,000. The amount is converted into lei at the InforEuro rate for October 2026.

Funding depends directly on your score. The minimum threshold is 70 points, and the amount awarded is a percentage of the amount requested equal to the score obtained. For example, with 93 points you receive 93% of what you requested.

The initial order provides for an intensity of up to 80% of eligible costs. The remaining 20% is the beneficiary's co-financing, in cash. For costs, the order sets these limits:

staff costs may be at most 20% of the grant;
indirect administrative costs may be at most 5% of the grant;
costs incurred before the contract is signed are not reimbursed, nor is VAT for VAT payers.

In September, the Ministry of Culture put out for public consultation a draft order amending the scheme, with comments accepted until 19 September. The announcement does not say exactly what has changed. Before preparing your budget, check the intensity, co-financing and cost ceilings in the republished guide.

What has changed since the first call window?

The Ministry has republished the guide with a few procedural adjustments:

for tax certificates (ANAF and the local authority) and for the extract from the Register of Associations and Foundations, proof that you have started the process of obtaining them is accepted at submission;
the extract from the Register of Associations and Foundations may be at most 6 months old, rather than 30 days as before;
the final documents are required at contracting. If they are missing at that point, the project is eliminated.

How and by when do you apply?

The call window opens on 2 October 2026 at 12:00. The announcement does not specify the closing date. It only says that the call closes at the deadline or when applications reach a cumulative total of 2,200,000 lei. The budget for the call window is 1,794,438.05 lei, so the closing threshold exceeds the budget by just over 400,000 lei.

In the first call window, applications were submitted exclusively on the fonduri-cultura.ro platform. Check the platform and the list of documents for this call window in the republished guide.

Watch the calendar. The initial order requires projects to be implemented by 5 November of the year in which the call takes place. In the first call window, the deadline was likewise 5 November 2026. If the republished guide keeps this rule, your activities must fit into roughly one month from contracting.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation is to treat this call window as a race against time. Your application must be ready before 2 October, 12:00. In the first call window, applications exceeded the budget within three days.

Calibrate the amount you request. Funding decreases in proportion to your score, so the budget must remain viable even if you receive, for example, 80–90% of what you requested. You also still have to cover the co-financing.
Choose a short project. An event, a production or a launch that can be completed and reimbursed quickly has a better chance than a complex project.
Use the document facility. You can submit proof that you have started the process of obtaining the certificates, but at contracting you need the final documents. Request them right now.
Check your age and CAEN code. Companies with less than 2 years of activity, or without registered cultural activity, are not eligible.

If you are not sure whether your organisation qualifies, you can use the eligibility check.

Frequently asked questions

Can a PFA in the cultural field apply?

Yes. Order no. 2939/2026 includes authorised natural persons (PFAs), individual enterprises and family businesses among the beneficiaries. The conditions are that they were established at least 2 years before the launch of the call and operate in one of the eligible cultural sectors.

What is the maximum amount in the second call window?

The lei equivalent of €40,000, at the InforEuro rate for October 2026. The minimum is €10,000. The amount actually awarded is a percentage of the amount requested equal to the score obtained, and the minimum threshold is 70 points.

Until when can applications be submitted?

Submission starts on 2 October 2026 at 12:00. The announcement does not state the closing date. The call closes at the deadline or when applications reach a cumulative total of 2,200,000 lei, so it may close within a few days.

Which documents can be missing at submission?

The tax certificates from ANAF (National Agency for Fiscal Administration) and from the local authority, as well as the extract from the Register of Associations and Foundations, can be replaced at submission with proof that you have started the process of obtaining them. The final documents are mandatory at contracting, and failing to provide them leads to the project being eliminated.

Do I need co-financing?

The initial order provides for an intensity of up to 80%, so the beneficiary covers at least 20% of eligible costs, in cash. In the meantime, the scheme has gone through an amendment procedure. Check the percentage in the republished guide for the second call window.

Official sources

Information checked on 1 October 2026. Conditions may be changed by the managing authority — check the guide in force before you submit.