On Friday, 10 July 2026, Bari will host the Info Day SITE – Sistema Italia in Europa (Italy in Europe System), at the Di Jeso Hall of the Apulia Regional Government Headquarters. The event, entitled “Key 2026–2027 Opportunities under Direct EU funds: Building Competitive Proposals and Partnerships for the Space Economy. Opportunities for Businesses, Research and Territories”, will focus on the funding opportunities available through EU directly managed programmes.
The Info Day is organised, in cooperation with the Apulia Region, within the framework of the SITE – Sistema Italia in Europa project, promoted by the Department for European Affairs with the support of Eutalia. The project aims to strengthen national coordination, project development capacity, and Italy’s participation in directly managed European programmes by fostering cooperation among central administrations, regional authorities, research organisations, universities, businesses, and civil society.
SITE serves as a national coordination and support hub, helping to improve both the quality and quantity of Italy’s participation in direct EU funding programmes. It also seeks to enhance the skills of public and private stakeholders and promote the development of strategic projects aligned with the priorities of the European Union.
The event will provide an opportunity to explore and discuss the funding opportunities available under directly managed European programmes during the 2026–2027 period, with a particular focus on the Space Economy, a strategic sector for developing new industrial value chains, technological innovation, research, and regional competitiveness.
The event is addressed to public administrations, universities, research organisations, companies, clusters, technology districts, business organisations, and regional stakeholders interested in developing stronger project proposals, building competitive partnerships, and enhancing the expertise available within the Apulian regional ecosystem.
The opening session will feature introductory remarks by Eugenio Di Sciascio, Regional Councillor for Economic Development and Labour of the Puglia Region; Laura Cavallo, Director-General of the Department for European Affairs; Raffaele Parlangeli, Director-General of the Department for Cohesion Policies; and Marco Bellezza, Chief Executive Officer of Eutalia.
During the morning session, participants will be introduced to the SITE project as a national coordination and support initiative for participation in directly managed European programmes, as well as to the training course on EU project development delivered within the framework of the project.
The programme will continue with an overview of the main funding opportunities expected for 2026 and 2027 under programmes such as Horizon Europe and Digital Europe, together with an analysis of possible synergies with other EU instruments, including LIFE and Erasmus+, to support the development of the Space Economy.
The morning session will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the Apulian regional ecosystem and the challenges of participating in directly managed European programmes. Representatives from regional institutions, universities, research organisations, aerospace clusters and technology districts, and the business community will discuss the conditions needed to develop integrated European projects and build partnerships at both national and international level.
In the afternoon, participants will take part in the training workshop “From Interreg to Direct EU funds”, focusing on practical experiences and solutions to capitalise on the results of projects funded under European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) programmes, strengthen existing partnerships, and generate new project applications. The workshop will combine the exchange of Interreg experiences with a hands-on exercise aimed at identifying the most transferable project outputs, the most suitable funding opportunities, and possible pathways for building a pipeline of future European projects.
The afternoon session will also feature the contribution of the Interreg VI-A Greece-Italy, represented by Giuseppe Gargano, project officer. He will highlight the experiences as maritime Programme, results, ways of capitalising on them and opportunities for revitalisation.
The event will conclude with a presentation of the working group results and the identification of follow-up priorities, target programmes, key stakeholders to involve, and capacity-building needs.
To participate in the event, registration through the online registration form is required.
Download here the agenda of the Info day.
