21 de May de 2026
Dinamización rural
Resiliencia y competitividad
Biodiversidad y paisaje
The “Europe Feels Like It” competition returns for its fourth edition to recognize projects funded with European funds.
- The “Europe Feels Like It” competition returns for its fourth edition to recognize projects funded with European funds.
- The new edition incorporates a category dedicated to European strategic autonomy and new phases with virtual popular voting
- Projects can be submitted until June 12, 2026, and the final will be held in November as part of the Annual European Funds Event.
The General Secretariat for European Funds ( SGFE ) of the Ministry of Finance has opened the call for the fourth edition of the "Europe Feels It" project competition , a contest that seeks to give visibility to the impact of European funds in Spain and bring the projects promoted thanks to this funding closer to the citizens.
The competition, which has established itself as one of the leading showcases for European-funded initiatives in the country, will recognize projects that contribute to economic, social, environmental, and territorial development across various sectors. These include initiatives financed by shared management funds such as the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD ) , the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund ( EAGF ), the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ) , and the European Social Fund Plus ( ESF+ ) , as well as, for the first time, projects linked to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) , financed by Next Generation EU funds .
New categories
The 2026 edition brings several new features designed to make the competition more participatory and dynamic, incorporating new voting methods and recognition for the selected projects. Key new features include:
The creation of the special category “#EuropeMovesYou: Strategic Autonomy”, focused on projects related to advanced digital technologies, biotechnology, clean energy or strategic infrastructures to strengthen European resilience and competitiveness.
The implementation of a virtual popular vote semi-final, where citizens can choose the finalist projects through the official website of the competition.
A final inspired by the “Eurovision” format, in which the result will combine the vote of the technical jury (60%) and that of the audience attending and connected live (40%).
The addition of two “Gold Stars” : one awarded by the technical jury and another chosen by the public.
Six categories
The projects submitted must fall into one of the six categories established by the competition, which cover different areas of action financed with European funds:
#EuropeFeelsCompetitive : focuses on projects related to industrial transformation, digitalization, research and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
#EuropeFeelsGreen: aimed at initiatives linked to sustainability, energy transition, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture or the circular economy.
#EuropeFeelsConnected: focused on sustainable mobility, efficient transport and the improvement of infrastructure and connectivity.
#EuropeFeelsSocial: for projects related to social inclusion, equality, employment, education, work-life balance or support for vulnerable groups.
#EuropeFeelsClose: focused on local development initiatives, territorial revitalization and improvement of the quality of life in urban and rural areas.
#EuropeMovesYou: Strategic Autonomy: the new special category mentioned above.
Calendar and phases of the competition
The competition will take place in three phases and will culminate in an in-person final as part of the 2026 European Funds Annual Event . The key dates for this edition are:
Until June 12, 2026: submission of applications.
June 29, 2026: Announcement of semi-finalist projects.
Until July 31, 2026: submission of short introductory videos.
Second half of September: virtual popular vote.
November 2026: celebration of the grand final.
In addition, the semi-finalists must present a video of a maximum of three minutes explaining the impact and added value of their project, while the finalists will defend their candidacies in person before a jury and the public.
Award-winning Spanish projects
Previous editions of the competition have already recognized several initiatives linked to rural and agricultural areas and financed with EAFRD funds. In 2025, the projects “Suspended pedestrian walkway and sections of trails with soft paving” in Granada, and “Magical Autumn in the Ambroz Valley” in Extremadura, were awarded for their contribution to sustainable tourism, territorial cohesion and rural development.
Also, in the 2024 edition, the projects “Millo e Landras” in Galicia and “Somnia” in the Valencian Community were awarded, while in 2023 the “Adamo” project was recognized for bringing fiber optics to nearly 30,000 families in rural Asturian municipalities, contributing to the fight against depopulation.