Interreg NPA 7th Monitoring Committee Meeting

The Monitoring Committee (MC) is the decision making body of Interreg NPA Programme. Each programme partner country is represented on the committee with its national and regional representatives (for some regions only one representative is selected) and decisions are made by consensus. In addition, the European Commission attends meetings of the MC in an advisory capacity together with other permanent observers as listed below. 

The MC is overlooking the Programme´s implementation, can decide the thematic focus of the calls, and is responsible for selecting the approved applications.

SUMMARY OF THE MC DECISIONS 

The Seventh Meeting of the Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Programme Monitoring Committee took place on 10 December 2025 in Copenhagen, hosted by the Greenland Representation, with the option to participate online.

The meeting was chaired by Ms Lisbeth Nylund (Norway) and brought together Monitoring Committee members, observers and representatives from the European Commission. 

Programme administration 

Audits of operations took place for the first time this year. Three projects were audited, with minor financial findings. No recovery of funds was required.

The programme evaluation contract has been awarded to Oxford Research following an open procurement process. The evaluation will assess both programme implementation and impact, supporting future programming. The internal evaluation group will meet on 20th January, 2026. At this meeting, the consultants will introduce themselves and the methodology for the implementation evaluation. Initial findings of the evaluation will be presented to the Monitoring Committee in June 2026.

Programme status and allocation overview

The Monitoring Committee reviewed the strategic overview of programme implementation.

• 41 main projects are currently approved and ongoing.
• All preparatory projects have been finalised, and one main project has been completed.
• A total of €35.7 million, corresponding to 77% of available programme funding, has been allocated.

Decisions under the Interreg Arctic Clustering Call

A key item on the agenda was the decision on proposals submitted under the Interreg Arctic Clustering Call, an innovative joint initiative with Interreg Aurora, supporting Operations of Strategic Importance contributing to EU Arctic Policy.

Following assessment, the Monitoring Committee approved five clustering projects, subject to pre-contracting actions:

• AUTOsense
• INCLUDE
• ReThink
• W2W-Composites
• CATALIS

The Monitoring Committee confirmed that ERDF funding may be allocated to partners from Non-Member States (Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands), provided that national funding sources are fully allocated.

Youth engagement and Youth Call

The Monitoring Committee approved the Terms of Reference for the upcoming Youth Call.

The Interreg NPA Youth Call brings together organisations working with and for young people, helping them learn from each other, co-create solutions that meet real community needs, and gain a stronger voice to actively shape their future in the Northern Periphery and Arctic.

Projects will be youth-led, youth-focused and youth-inclusive, with flexible durations and simplified application procedures.

The Youth Call opens on 10th June 2026 and closes on 2nd October 2026 at 11:59 (noon) CET, with decisions expected in December. From January until the Call deadline, the Joint Secretariat will offer a range of support services and events.

More information: https://www.interreg-npa.eu/apply-for-funding/calls-for-projects/youth-call/

The next Monitoring Committee meeting will take place on 3 June 2026 in the Faroe Islands.