Stages · 05/10
Budget & financial rules
Stage 5 of 10 in the grant lifecycle: 19 knowledge base articles on programmes, rules and terms for this step.
Programmes5
- Creative Europe Creative Europe is the EU programme for culture, the audiovisual sector and media for 2021–2027, with a budget of about €2.44 billion. Ukraine takes part in the Culture and Cross-sectoral strands and, since December 2024, has full access to MEDIA as well. A Ukrainian organisation can be a partner or a coordinator, but the grant covers only part of the budget, so an own contribution is needed.
- Digital Europe Digital Europe (DIGITAL) is the EU programme for 2021–2027 with a budget of over €8.1 billion that funds the deployment of digital technologies: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital skills and their uptake in business and the public sector. Ukraine has been associated since 2022, but only to four objectives. The typical rate is 50%, so applicants fund the other half.
- Horizon Europe Horizon Europe is the EU framework programme for research and innovation for 2021–2027, with a budget of roughly €93.5 billion – the largest such programme in the world. It funds fundamental science, applied research against societal challenges and breakthrough innovation, and Ukraine takes part in full as an associated country.
- Interreg Interreg is the EU’s European territorial cooperation for 2021–2027: dozens of separate programmes, each with its own territory, calls and rules. Ukrainian municipalities, public institutions, NGOs and universities take part in several of them, but only together with partners from EU countries. The rate, the advance and Ukraine’s status depend on the programme, so check them on its website.
- LIFE LIFE is the only EU programme devoted entirely to the environment and climate action, with a budget of €5.432 billion for 2021–2027. It runs through four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity, circular economy, climate action, and the clean energy transition. Ukraine has been associated to LIFE since 2022, so a Ukrainian organisation can be a full beneficiary.
Programme sections3
- Clean Energy Transition: a rate of up to 95% The clean energy transition sub-programme holds €997 million for 2021–2027 and carries the highest co-financing rate in LIFE, up to 95%. It funds not equipment but the removal of non-technological barriers: policies, skills, financing schemes and the preparation of investment projects. LIFE
- Horizon Europe budget calculator The Horizon Europe budget rules define which costs may be charged to a grant and how: personnel by actual salary and productive hours, equipment by depreciation in proportion to project use, plus subcontracting and indirect costs at a flat rate. Knowing them at proposal stage decides whether your budget survives evaluation. Horizon Europe
- Key Action 2: cooperation partnerships Key Action 2 funds joint projects between organisations rather than trips for individuals. Cooperation Partnerships come in three fixed lump sums – €120,000, €250,000 and €400,000 – and Small-scale Partnerships in two, €30,000 and €60,000, the latter designed as the entry point for organisations with no EU project experience. Erasmus+
Glossary11
- Affordable Loans 5-7-9%: programme terms in 2026 Affordable Loans 5-7-9% is a Ukrainian state programme under which a business borrows from a bank and the state compensates part of the interest. It is not a grant: the borrower repays the principal and pays the reduced rate. For investment purposes the rate is 5, 7 or 9 per cent a year depending on the size of the business and the growth in jobs.
- Co-financing (co-financing / matching funds) The principle whereby an EU grant covers only part of the project cost, while the beneficiary funds the rest from its own resources, from income generated by the action or from third-party contributions. In Horizon Europe the rate depends on the type of action: 100% for research and coordination actions, 70% for innovation actions.
- Eligible and Ineligible Costs Eligible costs are the costs a donor agrees to cover with the grant because they meet the conditions of the agreement: actually incurred during the project, foreseen in the budget, necessary for its implementation and backed by documents. Anything that fails these conditions, or is expressly excluded by the agreement, is rejected at the check, and the organisation covers that money itself.
- Grant or subsidised loan: which should a business choose A grant is not repaid, but you answer for it with results: jobs, taxes and reports. A subsidised loan is repaid with interest, yet the money arrives faster and can be spent more freely. A grant fits when the project matches the programme terms and you are ready for monitoring, a loan when speed, amount and flexibility matter.
- Grants for sole proprietors: taxation The Tax Code of Ukraine expressly removes from a sole proprietor’s income only budget grants and earmarked funds from budgets and social insurance funds. On that basis the tax service does not treat a state eRobota microgrant as single-tax income. For a grant from a foreign donor or a foundation there is no direct rule: it may be counted as income, so check with the tax office first.
- In-kind contribution (non-monetary contribution) An in-kind contribution is a non-monetary resource that a third party provides to a beneficiary free of charge: staff, equipment, goods or services. Horizon Europe is a rare case where such contributions can be charged to the grant as eligible costs; in most EU programmes they are allowed but not eligible.
- Lump Sum Funding A funding model in which the grant is paid as fixed amounts for completed work packages rather than against actual costs. The beneficiary does not prove costs, it proves that the work was done. In the Horizon Europe work programme for 2026–2027, 50% of the call budget is delivered through lump sums. Horizon Europe
- NICRA (Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement) A NICRA is an agreement between an organisation and a US federal agency on the indirect cost rate that may be charged to grants. An organisation without such an agreement may apply the standard de minimis rate, which since 2024 stands at 15% rather than 10%.
- Orchard and greenhouse grants: amounts, land, obligations The orchard and greenhouse grants are two agricultural strands of Ukrainian state support for business. An orchard, berry field or vineyard gets up to UAH 400,000 per hectare, capped at UAH 10 million, and a modular greenhouse UAH 2 to 7 million depending on area. The state normally covers up to half of the project cost, and the rest is the applicant’s own contribution.
- Processing plant grant: terms and co-financing The processing plant grant is non-repayable state support of up to UAH 8 million for equipment for manufacturing businesses in Ukraine. The state covers 50 to 80 per cent of the project cost and the applicant funds the rest. In return you must create at least five jobs and pay taxes equal to the grant within three years.
- VAT and customs exemption in technical assistance projects Goods and services paid for by a registered international technical assistance project and listed in its procurement plan are supplied in Ukraine without VAT, and imported goods are free of import charges. The exemption is tied to the registration card and the procurement plan, not to the word grant in a contract, so a paperwork mistake turns into a tax reassessment for the supplier.
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