Support for applicants

Applicants are required to submit a proposal to the Commission and a loan request directly to the EIB, both covering the same project.

The submitted proposals will first be assessed by the Commission. The Commission will then inform the EIB of the proposals that could be awarded a grant (provided that they receive the approval for a loan after assessment by the EIB).

Proposals must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders opportunities portal. Paper proposals are not accepted.

Additional guidance on how to submit a proposal is available on Funding & Tenders opportunities portal for beginners. This video tutorial explains how to register and submit a proposal.

The Online Manual will help you find other useful information on the Funding & tender opportunities portal.

For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT Helpdesk.

Any public sector entity wishing to finance a project located in, or benefitting, a just transition territory identified in a TJTP may submit a proposal through an open call for proposals.

What is a public sector entity?

For PSLF, a public sector entity means a legal entity established in a Member State either as a public law body or a body governed by private law entrusted with a public service mission.

To find out more about the applicable eligibility conditions, the applicants can consult the Work Programme and call document (6. Eligibility).

Project budget (maximum grant amount) must be calculated as a percentage of the loan component: 

• 15% or 
• 25%, if the project concerns activities in a less developed region within the meaning of Article 108(2) of Regulation 2021/1060 and Decision 2021/1130).

All applicants having submitted a proposal to the Commission must send a loan request in respect of the same project to the EIB.

Guidance on the EIB’s eligibility rules and information on the loans awarded by the EIB are available on their website.

The proposals will follow the standard submission and evaluation procedure (one-stage submission + one-step evaluation). For more information on the evaluation procedure, please consult the relevant Work Programme and call document on the call page.

Please note that in order to receive funding, a proposal must be both selected for a grant by the European Commission and have received the approval for a loan by the EIB’s governing bodies.

The InvestEU Advisory Hub has a central entry point for advisory support for projects under the public sector loan facility.

The InvestEU Advisory Hub provides advisory services for the early preparation of projects prior to the submission of the proposal by the applicant and the preparation, development and implementation of eligible projects. The InvestEU Advisory Hub can also support the administrative capacity of beneficiaries of the facility.

Other relevant technical assistance schemes:

• Technical assistance for a green energy transition (TARGET)
• Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions (JASPERS)
• Technical Support Instrument (TSI)
• European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA)

Additional recommendations on how to prepare the proposal for the PSLF grant can be found in our checklist.

In this video, we explain step-by-step how to prepare and submit a proposal for the grant.

Find out how gender aspects are to be considered in regional transformations in this video created by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional Policy (DG REGIO).

You may also refer to the toolkits on gender and age published by DG REGIO.