MK 24 IPA JH 01 26 “Enhancing Performance of Police, Law Enforcement, and Cybersecurity”

Twinning grant MK 24 IPA JH 01 26 under IPA III offers an EU contribution of €4,000,000 to strengthen North Macedonia's security architecture through enhanced law enforcement capacities and national cybersecurity resilience. Eligible applicants are public administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States submitting proposals via their National Contact Points for Twinning, with the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia as the beneficiary. The deadline for submission to the Contracting Authority is 10 September 2026 (local beneficiary time) and the project foresees 48 months of implementation plus a 3-month closure period. Mandatory results include strengthened strategic, operational and investigative capacities against organised crime and enhanced national cyber incident response, digital forensics and international cyber cooperation mechanisms.

What it funds

Scope and objectives

A Twinning project to strengthen North Macedonia's security architecture by improving strategic and operational capacities of law enforcement and national cybersecurity resilience. Activities include legal and organisational reviews, capacity building for investigations and digital forensics, inter-agency and international cooperation, CSIRT and SPOC operationalisation, training, simulations and national cyber risk assessment.

Total budget:€4,000,000 (EU funded) ¹

1. 1Who can apply: Only Public Administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States via their National Contact Points for Twinning.
2. 2Lead submission: Twinning proposals must be submitted by the Member State administration through the MS National Contact Point to the Contracting Authority.
3. 3Geographic beneficiary: Republic of North Macedonia (Ministry of Interior as main beneficiary).
4. 4Project duration: 48 months implementation (maximum 51 months including closure).
5. 5Single proposal per Member State National Contact Point; Member State must nominate Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser and Component Leaders.

Selection follows Twinning Manual procedures:operational capacity checks (yes/no) for key profiles and scored award criteria; oral presentations are tentatively planned early October 2026. Proposals must use Twinning templates and be submitted via Member State National Contact Points. Read full call documents and fiche at the official portal Call Annexes and Twinning fiche. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Publication documents include Call Annex C9 and the Twinning fiche (available from the portal link). The official call reference is EuropeAid.

Opportunity summary

Title:MK 24 IPA JH 01 26 Enhancing Performance of Police, Law Enforcement, and Cybersecurity. Publication reference: EuropeAid. Instrument and programme: EU for Rights and Security, Annual action plan in favour of North Macedonia for 2024; IPA III-ENEST/2024/045-609. Beneficiary administration: Ministry of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia. Total budget available: €4,000,000. Maximum project duration: 51 months (48 months implementation plus 3 months closure). Geographical area of action: North Macedonia. Deadline for submission of Twinning proposals by Member State National Contact Points to the Contracting Authority: 10 September 2026, 24:00 local time of the beneficiary country. Provisional notification of results: end of November 2026. The action is implemented through the Twinning instrument and follows the Twinning Manual (Annex C9 and Twinning fiche published).

Short description of objectives:Overall objective: improve the security architecture of North Macedonia. Specific objective: significantly strengthen national institutions capacity to detect, investigate, prosecute and prevent threats related to cybercrime, organised crime, terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism.

Eligibility and applicants

Eligible applicants:Only Public Administrations and mandated bodies of European Union Member States may apply. Applications must be submitted by EU Member State Public Administrations through the Member State National Contact Points for Twinning and follow the Twinning Manual. A Member State may submit only one Twinning proposal for this call to the Contracting Authority. The proposal is submitted by the Lead Member State Administration (single Member State as applicant).

Eligible applicant types:Public administrations of EU Member States and mandated public bodies as defined by the Twinning Manual. Not open to private sector entities, NGOs, universities, research institutes, individuals or non-Member State administrations as lead applicants.

Financial and contractual modality

Funding type:EU grant via a Twinning contract (direct management under IPA III). The EU covers 100 percent of the Twinning Contract budget. The contract value is estimated at a maximum of €4,000,000. National public co-financing is not required or planned for this Twinning Contract (Community contribution 100 percent).

Co-funding requirement:No co-funding is required from the Member State implementing the Twinning contract; the Twinning Contract is financed entirely from the EU contribution (IPA).

Consortium, partnership and implementation

Consortium requirement:Single Member State Public Administration acts as the Lead Member State implementing partner. The project is a bilateral Twinning action between the beneficiary administration (Ministry of Interior of North Macedonia) and the Lead Member State administration. Implementation relies on a Member State Project Leader, a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) seconded to the beneficiary for 48 months, Component Leaders and a pool of short-term experts. The RTA will be located in the Ministry of Interior premises and is supported by a full-time RTA assistant and a full-time translator/interpreter provided under the Twinning rules.

Beneficiary scope (geographic eligibility):Lead applicants must be from EU Member States. The action beneficiary and geographic area of implementation is North Macedonia.

Target sectors and policy alignment

Target sector:Justice and Home Affairs, with cross-cutting areas in law enforcement, organised crime investigations, counter-terrorism, prevention of violent extremism, cybercrime and national cybersecurity resilience. The action contributes to SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and aligns with national strategic documents including the Ministry of Interior Strategic Plan 2024-2026, National Strategies for Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism, Cyber Security Strategy 2025-2028, and the Law on the Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS2 alignment).

Applicable EU acquis and standards:The project lists multiple EU legal frameworks and standards to be applied, including Chapter 24 of the EU acquis, Regulation (EU) 2021/784 on terrorist content online, Directive (EU) 2017/541 on combating terrorism, NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555, Directive (EU) 2015/849 on AML, Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on money laundering, Directive (EU) 2024/1260 on asset recovery, EU regulation on institutional cybersecurity (2023/2841), ENISA guidelines, and other relevant JHA instruments and Council Decisions.

Project components, activities and expected results

The Twinning project comprises two mutually reinforcing components with mandatory results and detailed sub-results and indicators described in the Twinning fiche and Annex C1a logical framework.

1. 1Component 1: Strengthening strategic and operational capacities of law enforcement agencies to prevent and combat organised crime and security threats in line with EU and international standards. Mandatory Result 1: national strategic, operational and investigative capacities strengthened. Sub-results include: legal and institutional review and recommendations; strengthening strategic coordination and inter-agency cooperation; improved operational and investigative procedures including digital forensics, HUMINT and financial investigations; enhanced national and international cooperation mechanisms (Europol, Eurojust, Frontex, FIUs, ARO platforms).
2. 2Component 2: Strengthening national cybersecurity resilience. Mandatory Result 2: enhanced national cybersecurity resilience and cybercrime response capacities. Sub-results include: needs assessment and governance improvements; development of incident response procedures and escalation protocols; strengthening cooperation between CSIRTs, LEAs and prosecutors; capacity building in digital forensics and incident attribution; establishment and operationalisation of a national SPOC for international cyber cooperation; joint simulation exercises; national cyber risk assessment and preparedness including scenario exercises and public awareness.

Specific expected outputs are extensive and include legal and gap analyses, roadmaps, standard operating procedures, unified intelligence reporting templates harmonised with Europol SIENA, operational exercises, joint analytical teams, training curricula and delivery, national SPOC establishment, cyber risk assessment report, guidance documents, and recommendations for interoperability and technical capabilities.

Team profiles, experts and human resources

Implementation requires the Member State to propose a Project Leader (PL), a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) seconded for 48 months, Component Leaders and a pool of Short-Term Experts (STEs). The Twinning fiche specifies minimum qualifications and tasks for each role. Key requirements include university degree or equivalent professional experience, minimum three years relevant experience, fluency in English, and prior experience in international/EU funded projects considered an asset. The RTA will be supported by a full-time assistant and a full-time translator/interpreter to be recruited under Twinning rules.

Budget and finance

Total Twinning Contract estimated maximum:€4,000,000. The Twinning Contract is fully financed by the EU (IPA) and the Community contribution is 100 percent. No national public contribution is indicated under the Twinning Contract budget table.

Application and selection process

Submission modality:Twinning proposals must be submitted by the Lead Member State Administration to the EU Member State National Contact Points for Twinning, and the Member State NCP sends the proposal to the Contracting Authority via the NCP email address following the Twinning Manual. Only one proposal per Member State may be forwarded to the Contracting Authority. The Twinning Manual templates must be strictly observed (including the use of the template). The Member State delegation should include the proposed PL and RTA(s) for oral presentations/selection meetings.

Deadline and timetable:Deadline for submission to the Contracting Authority: 10 September 2026, 24:00 local time of the beneficiary country. Tentative date for oral presentations/selection meetings: 01 October 2026. Provisional notification of results: end of November 2026.

Selection and award criteria:Selection criteria assess operational capacity of Component leaders (Member State Project Leader, RTA and Component Leaders) on a Yes/No basis; a single negative evaluation disqualifies the proposal. Award criteria use a scoring system (1 to 5) evaluating the merit of methodology, expertise and experience of proposed PL and RTA, experience of the administration in cooperation projects and Member State presentation. Proposals must be concise, focused on strategy and methodology, include an indicative timetable, administrative model, and CVs for PL, RTA and Component Leaders.

Application stages:The documented process implies at least three stages: 1) national internal selection and NCP submission by Member State; 2) evaluation by the Contracting Authority including administrative compliance, selection and award scoring; 3) oral presentation/selection meeting and final award decision. Applicants should expect written selection followed by contract signature and mobilisation (RTA secondment).

Success rates:Not specified in the Twinning fiche. Success rate depends on number of Member State candidates and evaluation outcomes; the document does not provide historical acceptance rates.

Application form and templates

Twinning proposals must follow the Twinning Manual templates and Annex C forms. References in the call include Annex C6 (Administrative compliance and Eligibility grid), Annex C7 (Selection and award grids) and Annex C1a (Simplified logical framework matrix). The Twinning fiche and Annex C9 are published as call documents. Proposals must be concise, include the strategy and methodology, indicative timetable, administrative model, description of expertise and capacity, and CVs of PL, RTA and Component Leaders. Only the Member State National Contact Point may forward one Twinning proposal to the Contracting Authority.

1. 1Required proposal elements: strategic and methodological approach; indicative workplan and timeline; administrative model and organisational structure; CVs of PL, RTA and Component Leaders; description of experts pool and indicative allocation of resources; confirmation of willingness to second an RTA for 48 months.
2. 2Mandatory documents referenced: Twinning Manual templates, Annex C1a logical framework, Annex C6 eligibility grid, Annex C7 award criteria, Annex C9 call publication (Twinning Call for Proposals).
3. 3Submission route: Member State NCP to Contracting Authority email specified by the Twinning Manual and call notice.

Management, reporting and sustainability

Language of the project and contract:English. Management structure: Project Steering Committee (PSC) composed of beneficiary and Member State representatives will oversee implementation; the PSC verifies progress against mandatory results/outputs, finalises interim reports and approves rolling workplans. Reporting: interim quarterly reports and a final report are required; reports include narrative and financial sections following Twinning Manual templates and content requirements. Sustainability: the action focuses on institutional, legislative and procedural reforms, training and operational capacity building; deliverables include legal alignment recommendations, operational roadmaps, SOPs and training curricula intended for uptake by beneficiary institutions to ensure sustained impact.

Facilities and counterpart commitments

The beneficiary (Ministry of Interior) commits to provide free of charge office facilities for the RTA and assistant, adequate conditions for short-term experts on mission, and venues, catering and equipment for training and conferences. Conditionalities for project implementation include appointment of counterpart personnel before contract launch, allocation of workspace, participation of the beneficiary in selection processes, organisation of working groups and active engagement to apply project outputs.

Key contacts and implementing authority

Contracting/implementing authority and contact points within the EU Delegation in Skopje are listed in the Twinning fiche: Mr. Steffen Hudolin, Head of Cooperation, and Ms. Danica Stoshevska, Programme Manager, European Union Delegation, Skopje. Beneficiary contact persons at the Ministry of Interior are also listed (Coordinator Mr. Stojan Ilijevski; PL counterpart Mr. Dejan Nikolovski; RTA counterpart Mr. Dragan Cvetanovski). Component leaders and other counterparts are named in the Twinning fiche.

Risks, cross-cutting issues and linkages

Main risks identified:lack of senior-level commitment in beneficiary institutions, staff turnover, insufficient human or technical resources for daily cooperation with the Twinning partner, and limited continuity of counterpart personnel. Cross-cutting issues addressed: equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming (gender disaggregation of indicators), minority and vulnerable groups, environmental protection and climate considerations where cyber incidents may affect critical infrastructure, and good governance and rule of law. The project includes close coordination with multiple ongoing national and regional initiatives, international partners and EU-funded projects to avoid duplication and create synergies (UNDP, CyberSEE, WB PaCT, LERMS, EU4FAST, IISG, Horizontal Facility activities, WB CEPS & Cyber, IOM initiatives, etc.).

Structured answers to categorisation questions

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: Public administrations and mandated public bodies of EU Member States acting through their National Contact Points for Twinning. The Twinning Call explicitly restricts applicants to Member State administrations; other entity types are not eligible to lead the proposal.
2. 2Funding Type: Grant through a Twinning Contract financed by IPA (EU grant, direct management). The Twinning Contract covers experts, secondments and activities under the action and is reimbursed by the EU.
3. 3Consortium Requirement: Single Lead Member State Public Administration required. The action is bilateral Twinning between one EU Member State administration and the beneficiary administration (Ministry of Interior of North Macedonia).
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Applicants must be from EU Member States; the project implementation area is North Macedonia (beneficiary country).
5. 5Target Sector: Justice and Home Affairs sector with emphasis on law enforcement, organised crime, counter-terrorism, cybercrime, national cybersecurity resilience and inter-agency cooperation; cross-cutting digital and ICT components.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: North Macedonia is explicitly mentioned as the beneficiary country. EU Member States are referenced as eligible applicants; no specific Member State names are required or mandated in the call text.
7. 7Project Stage: Institutional capacity building and implementation phase focused on development and operationalisation of procedures, training, operational exercises, and deployment of governance and technical arrangements. Maturity expectation: ready for practical implementation and deployment of experts and secondments (development, demonstration and operationalisation).
8. 8Funding Amount: €4,000,000 total budget available for the Twinning Contract (Community contribution 100 percent).
9. 9Application Type: Open call to EU Member State administrations via the Twinning mechanism and Member State National Contact Points (one proposal per Member State may be submitted to the Contracting Authority). Proposals must follow the Twinning Manual templates; submission is via email by the Member State NCP to the Contracting Authority.
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary grant funding to finance the Twinning Contract activities (expert secondments, short-term expert missions, training, study visits, equipment related costs under Twinning rules) and non-monetary technical assistance (expertise, capacity building, training, methodology, procedural development).
11. 11Application Stages: At least 3 stages: national Member State selection and NCP submission; administrative and technical evaluation by the Contracting Authority including selection criteria (Yes/No for operational capacity) and award scoring; oral presentation/selection meeting and final award and contract signature. Post-award implementation includes establishment of PSC, rolling workplans and regular reporting.
12. 12Success Rates: Not specified in the call documents. No historic success rate provided; success depends on competition between Member State applicants and compliance with Twinning Manual requirements.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: No applicant co-funding required; the Twinning Contract is financed 100 percent by the EU (IPA).
14. 14Templates: Application must strictly use the Twinning Manual templates including the Twinning proposal template and Annexes C1a (logical framework), C6 (administrative compliance and eligibility grid), C7 (selection and award criteria) and C9 (publication of the call). Proposals must include CVs for PL, RTA and Component Leaders and present a concise strategy, methodology, indicative timetable and administrative model. Proposals are submitted by Member State NCPs; the Twinning Manual contains the mandatory structure and sections to be completed.

How to apply and where to find documents:Member State Public Administrations prepare a Twinning proposal using the Twinning Manual templates and must submit through their National Contact Point for Twinning. Call documents published include Annex C9 (Twinning call publication) and the Twinning fiche; these are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and via the Member State NCPs. Further detailed guidance is contained in the Twinning Manual and the Annexes referenced in the call. See the call documents for detailed contact information and the process for sending the proposal to the Contracting Authority. Twinning Call Annex C9 Twinning fiche ¹

Concluding summary

This Twinning Call (MK 24 IPA JH 01 26) finances a bilateral institutional cooperation project between the Ministry of Interior of North Macedonia and one EU Member State public administration, to be implemented through a Twinning Contract with a maximum EU contribution of €4,000,000. The action aims to improve the national security architecture and significantly strengthen the operational and strategic capacities of law enforcement and cybersecurity institutions to prevent and respond to organised crime, terrorism, radicalisation and cyber threats. The project contains two main components: (1) law enforcement capacity and operational cooperation and (2) national cybersecurity resilience. Applications are restricted to EU Member State Public Administrations and must be submitted via National Contact Points for Twinning using the Twinning Manual templates. The proposal must present a clear methodology, demonstrate operational capacity of the proposed Project Leader and Resident Twinning Adviser, provide CVs for key staff, and present an indicative timetable and administrative model. The RTA will be seconded for 48 months and the project foresees extensive training, operational exercises, legal and institutional analyses, interoperability and secure communication measures, and establishment of national mechanisms for cyber cooperation. The call document references relevant EU acquis, strategic national and EU reforms, and coordination with multiple ongoing regional and national projects to ensure complementarity and sustainability. Prospective Member State applicants should consult the Twinning Manual and the call Annexes (C1a, C6, C7, C9) and contact their National Contact Point for Twinning to prepare and submit a compliant proposal.

Footnotes

1. 1Call documents published on the EU portal include Annex C9 Standard Twinning - Publication of the Call for Proposals and the Twinning fiche. Refer to these PDFs for full technical annexes, logical framework, eligibility grids and templates required under the Twinning Manual: webgate.ec.europa.eu and webgate.ec.europa.eu.

Funding Opportunity Overview

This is a Twinning grant call under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) aimed at improving North Macedonia's security architecture by strengthening capacities against organized crime, terrorism, and cybercrime ¹. The total EU budget available is €4,000,000, fully funded by the European Commission with no national public contribution required ².

Key Deadlines and Duration:The deadline for Twinning proposals by National Contact Points is Thursday, 10 September 2026, at 24:00 (local time of North Macedonia). The project duration is 48 months of implementation plus a 3-month execution period, totaling 51 months ³.

Who Should Apply

Only Public Administrations and Mandated bodies from EU Member States may apply, and they must do so through their respective EU Member State National Contact Points for Twinning ⁴. Private companies, NGOs, or research institutions cannot submit proposals directly; they must be part of a consortium led by a qualified EU Member State administration ⁵.

1. 1EU Member State Public Administrations (e.g., Ministries of Interior, Police Authorities)
2. 2Mandated bodies as defined in the Twinning Manual
3. 3Applicants must submit via their National Contact Point for Twinning

Project Objectives and Components

The overall objective is to improve the security architecture of North Macedonia. The specific objective is to significantly strengthen national institutions' capacity to detect, investigate, prosecute, and prevent security threats related to cybercrime, organized crime, terrorism, radicalization, and violent extremism ⁶.

Mandatory Results and Deliverables

The project must achieve two mandatory results:(1) Strengthened national strategic, operational, and investigative capacities of law enforcement agencies against organized crime; and (2) Enhanced national cybersecurity resilience and cybercrime response capacities ⁷. Key deliverables include revised legal frameworks, operational cooperation roadmaps, unified intelligence reporting formats (harmonized with Europol SIENA), new operational procedures, training curricula, joint simulation exercises, and a national Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for international cyber cooperation ⁸.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Eligibility is strictly limited to EU Member State Public Administrations. Selection criteria assess the operational capacity of the proposed Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA), and Component Leaders (CL); a single negative evaluation disqualifies the proposal ⁹. Award criteria evaluate the merit of the proposal's methodology, the experience of the RTA and PL, the administration's history in cooperation projects, and the Member State's presentation ¹⁰.

Required Team Profiles:The PL must have a university degree or 8 years of experience with 3 years in the field. The RTA will be seconded for 48 months to the Ministry of Interior in Skopje and must have similar qualifications. Two Component Leaders (one per component) and a pool of short-term experts are also required ¹¹.

Beneficiary and Implementation Details

The final beneficiary is the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia, specifically the Department for Suppression of Organized and Serious Crime and the Sector for Computer Crime within the Public Security Bureau ¹². The project will be implemented in Skopje, with office facilities provided free of charge for the RTA and experts by the beneficiary ¹³. The official contract language is English ¹⁴.

Strategic Alignment and EU Acquis

The project aligns with North Macedonia's Strategic Plan (2024–2026), National Strategies on Terrorism and Violent Extremism (2023–2027), and the Cyber Security Strategy (2025–2028). It supports the implementation of EU Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom, and Security) and key directives including NIS2 (Directive 2022/2555), the Anti-Terrorism Directive (2017/541), and the Money Laundering Directive (2015/849) ¹⁵.

Footnotes

1. 1Official Call Annex C9: Standard Twinning - Publication of the Call for Proposals, European Commission, 2026.
2. 2Twinning Fiche: MK 24 IPA JH 01 26, Section 4 (Budget), European Commission, 2026.
3. 3Call Annex C9, Section 3(c) and Section 9, European Commission, 2026.
4. 4Call Annex C9, Section 5 (Eligibility), European Commission, 2026.
5. 5Twinning Manual of the European Union, Section on Eligibility and Application Formalities.
6. 6Twinning Fiche, Section 2.1 and 2.2, European Commission, 2026.
7. 7Twinning Fiche, Section 3.5 (Components and results per component), European Commission, 2026.
8. 8Twinning Fiche, Section 11 (Indicators for performance measurement), European Commission, 2026.
9. 9Call Annex C9, Section 7 (Selection criteria), European Commission, 2026.
10. 10Call Annex C9, Section 7 (Award criteria), European Commission, 2026.
11. 11Twinning Fiche, Section 3.6.1, 3.6.2, and 3.6.3 (Profiles and tasks of team members), European Commission, 2026.
12. 12Twinning Fiche, Section 5.2 (Institutional framework), European Commission, 2026.
13. 13Twinning Fiche, Section 12 (Facilities available), European Commission, 2026.
14. 14Twinning Fiche, Section 7.1 (Language), European Commission, 2026.
15. 15Twinning Fiche, Section 3.4 (List of applicable Union acquis/standards/norms), European Commission, 2026.