EU funds for restaurants and cafés: the North-East call of up to €300,000 and what comes next

As of 27 September 2026, the only official call for companies that may suit a restaurant or café is the one in the North-East Region. Micro-enterprises in the counties of Bacău, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Suceava and Vaslui can apply for between €100,000 and €300,000 in non-refundable funding for modernisation. Submission in MySMIS2021 runs from 28 September to 28 October 2026. The condition on which everything depends for a venue is that its activity appears in Annex 5 of the guide, which is the list of eligible fields of activity. In the rest of the country there is currently no open call for investments in restaurants. The closest is the call for micro-enterprises in the ITI Danube Delta area, whose guide has been through public consultation.

In brief

• Programme: North-East Regional Programme 2021–2027, Priority 1 – "Investments for the modernisation of micro-enterprises", Call 2
• Authority: ADR North-East (Regional Development Agency), the Managing Authority for the PR North-East
• Beneficiaries: micro-enterprises with their registered office and investment in the North-East Region, in urban or rural areas
• Total budget: €20,370,738.40
• Value per project: between €100,000 and €300,000 in non-refundable funding, as de minimis aid, with an own contribution of at least 10%
• Submission period: 28 September – 28 October 2026, in MySMIS2021
• Status: call launched, competitive, with a minimum threshold of 70 points

Which calls suit a restaurant or café right now?

North-East – modernisation of micro-enterprises (Call 2). This is the only launched call for this type of business. The self-assessment tool published by ADR North-East says that the economic activities targeted "are detailed in Annex 5 – Indicative list of eligible fields of activity". Neither the call page nor the tool states explicitly whether restaurants or bars are included. The first thing to do is therefore to look in Annex 5 for the exact CAEN class for which you are making the investment. The annex is in the archive of the guide published on 27 August 2026.

ITI Danube Delta (South-East) – competitiveness of micro-enterprises. The guide was in public consultation from 30 January to 27 February 2026, but the call has not yet been launched. In the version put to consultation, the call has an allocation of €4,818,066 and projects of between €20,000 and €200,000. A micro-enterprise that has had its registered office or a work point in the ITI Danube Delta area for at least 2 fiscal years can apply. The consultation version does not explicitly exclude catering. However, the figures and conditions may change in the final guide.

Diaspora Investește Acasă. The programme is aimed at newly established companies owned by Romanians who have returned from abroad. Applications are not yet being accepted. The details are in the programme sheet.

Who can apply to the North-East call?

The official self-assessment tool lists the basic conditions:

• the company is a micro-enterprise with its registered office in the North-East Region, and the investment is also made in the region;
• the company was established no later than 3 January 2025;
• the company made an operating profit (above 0 lei) in the 2025 fiscal year;
• the company provides an own contribution of at least 10% of the eligible costs.

A restaurant opened in 2025, after 3 January, is not eligible. Likewise, a café that ended 2025 with an operating loss is not eligible. Micro-enterprise status is calculated together with partner and linked companies. The details are in our guide on SME classification.

Which typical costs of a venue can be funded?

The call page lists the following types of supported actions:

• tangible assets, meaning production or service premises, equipment and renewable energy systems. For a kitchen, this can mean professional ovens, cooling lines, extractor hoods or furniture;
• intangible assets: patents, licences, trademarks and software, for example an ordering and inventory management system;
• marketing and branding services;
• digitalisation activities, for example online ordering and integrated payments;
• the mandatory communication and visibility activities.

For Call 1, the guide stated explicitly that projects containing only renewable energy or only marketing are not eligible. Check the exact rule in the Call 2 guide. Photovoltaic panels or a new website should be planned as part of a core investment, such as equipment. The full list of eligible costs and the ceilings for each category are in the guide.

How and by when do you apply?

The application is submitted electronically in MySMIS2021, between 28 September and 28 October 2026. You need an account on the platform and a qualified electronic signature. The call is competitive: projects that pass 70 points are ranked by score and funded until the budget runs out. Reaching the 70-point threshold does not guarantee funding. The exact closing time and the scoring grid are in the applicant's guide. The technical steps are explained in our step-by-step guide to MySMIS2021.

Common mistakes in restaurant projects

• The investment's CAEN code does not appear in the list of eligible fields. What matters is the code for which you are making the investment and whether it appears in Annex 5, not just the fact that it is listed in the articles of association.
• The de minimis ceiling is exceeded. The grant counts towards the €300,000 ceiling over three years, calculated for the entire single undertaking. De minimis aid received previously, for example during the pandemic or through another programme, reduces the amount you can still request.
• The premises are not secured for the sustainability period. A lease that is too short can jeopardise the project. Check in the guide what right of use is required and for what duration.
• The project is only about "image". A project containing only rebranding and a website risks being declared ineligible. Funding is awarded for a real investment in capacity.
• Price quotes do not support the budget. HoReCa equipment varies widely in price. The budget must be justified by comparable quotes.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation: if you have a restaurant or café in the North-East, check three things this very week. First: whether the investment's CAEN class appears in Annex 5. Second: whether the company made an operating profit in 2025. Third: whether you still have room under the de minimis ceiling. If the answer is "yes" to all three, the 30 days for submission are enough for a well-prepared project only if you start now with the quotes and the business plan. The projects that score best are those where the investment clearly increases capacity, for example a new kitchen or a new catering service, not those that merely replace old equipment.

If you are in the Danube Delta area, prepare the documents for the ITI call now, but do not rely on the figures from the consultation until the final guide appears. In the other regions, there is currently no launched call for a venue. Follow the calendars of the regional development agencies and, in rural areas, the strategies of the local LAGs (GAL). You can quickly find out what suits you with the eligibility check.

Frequently asked questions

Can I receive EU funds to open a new restaurant?

Not through the North-East call. It requires the company to have been established no later than 3 January 2025 and to have made an operating profit in 2025, so it funds the modernisation of businesses that are already operating. For new companies of Romanians returning from the diaspora, the Diaspora Investește Acasă programme is coming, which is not yet accepting applications.

How much can I receive for a restaurant in the North-East Region?

Between €100,000 and €300,000 in non-refundable funding, as de minimis aid. The company must contribute at least 10% of the eligible costs. The actual amount is also limited by the de minimis aid already received in the last three years.

Are restaurants and cafés eligible under the North-East call?

The official call page neither explicitly excludes them nor explicitly names them. Eligibility depends on the CAEN class of the investment, which must appear in Annex 5 of the guide published by ADR North-East on 27 August 2026.

Is there a call for restaurants in other regions?

As of 27 September 2026, no other call has been launched. For the ITI Danube Delta area, the guide for micro-enterprises was in public consultation until 27 February 2026, with projects of between €20,000 and €200,000. The call has not yet been opened.

Official sources

• Regio North-East – P1, Investments for the modernisation of micro-enterprises, Call 2 (call page)
• Regio North-East – Modernisation of micro-enterprises: details and documents
• ADR North-East – self-assessment tool for Call 2
• Regio South-East – Action 1.6, Operation A.1, call dedicated to ITI Danube Delta (public consultation)

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