Are you eligible for the programme?

Cooperation in South-West Europe interests you, but you don’t know what the first elements are to consider in order to determine whether you can apply for funding?

Browse the criteria below to assess your situation.

IMPORTANT: the information on this page presents the eligibility conditions for entities for the third and fourth calls for projects published in May 2026.

1) Location of the entity

Any entity located in one of the 26 regions (NUTS II) that make up the South-West Europe cooperation area may receive ERDF funding. Check the list of eligible regions here.

Entities from Andorra are eligible for the Sudoe programme but cannot receive ERDF funding. They may participate in projects as partners by presenting their own budget. They cannot act as project lead partners.

Special cases:
There are specific cases outlined below.


Note: these entities will have the same technical, administrative, and financial management responsibilities as other entities located in the eligible area.

  • Entities legally based in another metropolitan French region:

They are eligible provided they meet conditions related to their competence and demonstrate an impact on the Sudoe eligible area. They cannot act as lead partner.

  • Entities legally based in a region outside the Sudoe area and belonging to another EU Member State other than the three Sudoe countries:

They are eligible provided they meet conditions related to their competence and demonstrate an impact on the Sudoe eligible area. They cannot act as lead partner.

To consult the specific provisions for each call for projects:

The legal status of the entity determines its eligibility. To qualify, the entity must have legal personality corresponding to one of the following categories:

  • public bodies (type I)
  • bodies governed by public law (type II)*
  • non-profit private entities (type III)
  • for-profit private entities and/or companies**

* A body governed by public law is any entity that meets the criteria of Article 2.1.4 of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement.

See details in:

** Special case – for-profit entities and/or companies:

  • They are not eligible under the third call for projects (capitalisation projects).
  • They cannot act as lead partner.

For more details:

The partnership must include at least one beneficiary from each of the three Member States participating in the Sudoe programme.a In practice, a partnership must include at least one Spanish, one French, and one Portuguese beneficiary.

The transnational dimension is at the core of the programme: a purely national or bilateral project cannot be funded.

Entities are limited to one application per call for projects (third and fourth).

Special case:
Entities with clearly identified divisions within their organisational structure prior to the publication of the call for projects.
Each division may participate in a separate application.

Examples:

  • A region is made up of sectoral departments: counting is done at the level of each department.
  • A university is composed of faculties and departments: counting is done at the department level.

For more details:

 

See also the eSudoe guide dedicated to the registration of entities.

Each call for projects defines the types of actors that must be included in the project partnership.

  • The third call (capitalisation projects) defines 4 mandatory types of actors.
  • The fourth call (structuring projects) defines 3 mandatory types of actors and one optional type.

Entities that do not correspond to the mandatory types of actors may participate in projects by demonstrating their motivation and the added value they bring.

For more details:

The ERDF covers 75% of the eligible expenses of each partner. The remaining 25% must be covered by national co-financing, either through own funds or other co-financing sources.

As a general rule, entities must present a minimum budget of €100,000.

Special cases: