Interact brings Central and South-East Europe together in Igalo to look ahead to post-2027

General

27 October 26 3 mins read

One territory, many programmes: making cooperation between them work

From 6 to 8 October 2026, Interact brought together programme authorities and joint secretariats from Central and South-East Europe in Igalo in Montenegro, for the 19th Regional Network Meeting, joined by the European Commission.

Around the Bay of Kotor alone, 11 cooperation programmes have funded 20 projects. The same picture repeats across the region. Cross-border, Interreg IPA, transnational and Interreg NEXT programmes work in the same territories, often on the same topics, each with its own rules, calls and partners.

Each programme delivers results on its own. When programmes coordinate, those results can add up, and project partners find a clearer path between them.

The region is also changing. Candidate countries are already part of Interreg, and Albania, Montenegro and Serbia have recently joined Interact. With the post-2027 period approaching, programmes need to understand what the next period will ask of them.

Starting from the ground

The meeting opened with a study visit around the bay. Twenty projects in one day showed how many programmes meet in a single territory, and what their projects leave behind once the funding ends.

Learning from programmes that already cooperate

Interreg Central Europe presented its strategic call, which brings cross-border and transnational projects together. Interreg IPA South Adriatic presented the Mediterranean Multi-Programme Mechanism, where programmes coordinate around sustainable tourism. Both showed that cooperation between programmes can be built into calls and procedures. A programme search forum then gave participants the chance to find programmes to work with.

Improving how programmes work today

A World Café brought the everyday questions to the table: project quality, roles and responsibilities, the use of programme savings and a better cooperation governance. The Interreg Governance Facility (InterregGov) was presented as new support programmes can draw on. DG REGIO shared current initiatives, and Interact led an exercise on the state of play of post-2027 programming.

Experience that circulates

Programmes in Central and South-East Europe share territories, topics and partners. By bringing them into the same room, Interact helps them share what works as well.