A summary of the eligibility criteria is found below (for the full requirements, refer to the main open call document): 

1) Applicants must be regions/communities that are part of EU Member States or Associated Countries that are within Europe’s biogeographical regions. 

2) Applicants must qualify as regions/communities defined as either: 

a. Public authorities at Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) 1, 2 and 3 level, as well as and Local Administrative Units (LAU); or

b. Bodies governed by public law in accordance compliance with Article 2.4 of the Directive 2014/24/EU.

Only these entities can act as coordinators and submit application. 

3) Private non-profit bodies and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) following the EU definition by the Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and in the SME user guide may be part of a consortium. 

Note the following specific conditions for: 

a) Restrictive Measures

Note that entities subject to EU restrictive measures (e.g.: sanctions) under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), as well as Article 75 TFEU10, are ineligible to participate as recipients of subgrants (e.g. financial support to third parties) or subcontractors. 

https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-and-world/sanctions-restrictive-measures/overview-sanctions-and-related-resources_en. See also: https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main. 

b) Non-government controlled territories of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus

Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are ineligible to participate as recipients of financial support to third parties (subgrants) or subcontractors. 

c) Hungary

Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16th December 2022, no legal commitments (i.e., financial support to third parties/subgrants) can be signed with Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals. However, in case the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (i.e., recipients of financial support to third parties, subgrants, or subcontractors).