EU funds 27 September 2026 6 min read

EEA and Norway Grants 2021–2028: €596.3 million for Romania, nine programmes and their operators

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are allocating €596.3 million to Romania through nine programmes. The only calls open now are those for NGOs, until 8 October 2026. The donors will approve the programmes for companies and town halls by 14 May 2027 at the latest.

Todos & Company editorial team · EU funding consultancy since 2006

EEA and Norway Grants 2021–2028: €596.3 million for Romania, nine programmes and their operators

The EEA and Norway Grants are non-refundable funding provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For 2021–2028, the three donor states are allocating a total of €596.3 million to Romania, split across nine programmes. The Memoranda of Understanding were signed in May 2026. For now, only the Civil Society Fund calls, aimed at NGOs, are open, with a deadline of 8 October 2026. The programmes for companies, town halls and institutions are still at the programming stage, and the donors will approve them by 14 May 2027 at the latest.

In brief

What they are: grants provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to lower-income EU Member States, through a mechanism separate from the EU structural funds.
Legal framework: the Memoranda of Understanding between Romania and the donor states, signed on 13 May 2026 (according to MIPE), and the Implementation Regulations issued by the donor states.
Allocation for Romania: €596.3 million from the donor states, for nine programmes. Of this amount, €10,624,505 is reserved for bilateral relations.
National Focal Point: the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE).
Programmes for companies: Green Business and Innovation (€50 million) and Clean Energy Transition (€40 million), both operated by Innovation Norway.
Open now: 7 calls under the Civil Society Fund, worth €34,496,682, for NGOs. The deadline is 8 October 2026.
Status: the programmes are at the concept note stage. No calls for companies or local authorities (UAT) have been announced yet.

What are the nine programmes and who manages them?

The table in the MIPE note on next steps lists the operator and total budget for each programme:

Local Development: Romanian Social Development Fund (FRDS), €110,117,647. It funds resilient and inclusive communities, Roma inclusion, public health, education and training.
Green Transition: Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, €98,823,529. Areas: sustainable mobility, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, circular economy, green governance and support for green cities.
Justice: Ministry of Justice, €60,000,000.
Research and Innovation: UEFISCDI, €52,941,176. It funds basic and applied research, and the careers of young researchers and women researchers.
Home Affairs: Ministry of Internal Affairs, €51,058,824.
Culture: Ministry of Culture – UMP, €47,058,824. At least 30% of the funds go to independent cultural creation.
Institutional Cooperation and Capacity Building: MIPE, €37,647,059. Areas: modernisation of public administration, information integrity, press freedom, digital citizenship.
Green Business and Innovation: Innovation Norway, €50,000,000. Areas: green value and competitiveness, start-ups, women entrepreneurs, circular economy and blue economy.
Clean Energy Transition: Innovation Norway, €40,000,000. Areas: renewable energy communities, hydropower, geothermal energy, CO2 capture, energy security in the Black Sea region, cooperation with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.

MIPE and the FMO report different amounts for the same programme. For example, for Green Transition the FMO indicates €84 million, while MIPE indicates €98.8 million. The FMO figures represent the donor states' contribution. The MIPE figures represent the programme's total budget. Neither source officially explains where the difference comes from. The amount requested in your project must respect the budget in the actual call.

What is open now: the Civil Society Fund

The Civil Society Fund is the only component with calls launched. The Fund totals €53,811,718 and is managed by a consortium led by the Civil Society Development Foundation (FDSC). The consortium also includes the Foundation for Partnership, the Roma Communities Resource Centre and Frivillighet Norge.

On 8 July 2026, 7 calls opened, with a total value of €34,496,682.
Grants range from €15,000 to €350,000.
Non-governmental and non-profit organisations legally established in Romania can apply. Partnerships with entities from the donor states are encouraged.
Applications are submitted on the finantaripublice.fdsc.ro platform, by 8 October 2026.
Call themes: democracy and the rule of law, civic participation in disadvantaged communities, human rights and social justice, diversity and combating gender-based violence, Roma inclusion, human rights through environmental and climate action, organisational development for experienced NGOs and federations.

Companies and town halls cannot be applicants in these calls.

How a programme reaches the call stage: the official timeline

Concept notes are to be drawn up by 14 November 2026 at the latest. The programme operator writes them together with partners from the donor states and the FMO (Financial Mechanism Office). The note sets out the programme's scope, the intended results and the predefined projects. The note also contains the proposed calls.
The donors' review takes up to two months, until 14 January 2027.
Programme approval takes place by 14 May 2027 at the latest. The programme agreement is drawn up by the FMO on the basis of the concept note and is signed between the donors and MIPE.
The calls are prepared by the programme operators on the basis of the concept note, the programme agreement and the regulations. They are published on eeagrants.org.

The annex to the MIPE note gives the estimated deadlines for the first draft of the concept note. For Clean Energy and Green Transition the deadline was 5 June 2026. For Research and Innovation it was 25 June 2026, and for Green Business and Innovation 30 June 2026. For Local Development and Culture the deadline is 30 September 2026, and for Home Affairs and Institutional Cooperation 30 October 2026. The launch dates for the calls have not been announced yet.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation: for SMEs, the two Innovation Norway programmes matter most, with €90 million between them. In 2014–2021, the business development programme funded green investments and innovation and placed emphasis on partnerships with Norwegian companies. We do not yet know whether 2021–2028 will keep the same approach. The conditions, aid intensity and ceilings will only be set through the calls. Until then, it is worth doing three things:

Look early for a partner in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. A partnership usually carries separate scoring and takes months to build, not weeks.
Prepare projects that fit the announced themes: circular economy, blue economy, renewable energy, geothermal energy, energy communities.
Check your SME status and your de minimis ceiling. These grants will almost certainly be awarded as state aid. You can start with the eligibility check.

For town halls and county councils, the most relevant programmes are Local Development (FRDS) and Green Transition (MMAP). For local authorities (UAT) interested in energy communities, the clean energy programme also matters. The usual trap is to treat today's announcement as an open call. There is as yet no guide, deadline or ceiling for these applicants.

Frequently asked questions

Can companies apply now for the EEA and Norway Grants 2021–2028?

No. As of 27 September 2026, only the 7 Civil Society Fund calls are open, and these are reserved for NGOs. The programmes for companies, Green Business and Innovation and Clean Energy Transition, are at the concept note stage. The donors will approve them by 14 May 2027 at the latest.

Who is the programme operator for companies?

Innovation Norway, the Norwegian innovation agency. It operates both programmes for the business environment: Green Business and Innovation (€50 million) and Clean Energy Transition (€40 million).

Can town halls receive money from the EEA and Norway Grants?

The priorities announced for Local Development and Green Transition include resilient communities, public health, education, sustainable mobility, climate change adaptation and green cities. These themes suit local authorities. Eligible beneficiaries will only be set through the calls.

Where are the calls published?

According to MIPE, all information and calls for 2021–2028 are published on eeagrants.org, the platform managed by the FMO together with the beneficiary states. The eeagrants.ro site mainly contains information about 2014–2021.

How large can a grant be?

For now, only the limits of the Civil Society Fund are known: between €15,000 and €350,000 per project. For the other eight programmes, the per-project values and funding rates have not yet been announced.

Official sources

Information checked on 27 September 2026. Conditions may be amended by the managing authority — check the guide in force before submitting.