Funding programme

Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) is the EU's funding programme for citizens' engagement and the implementation of EU rights and values. It replaces both Europe for Citizens and the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme.

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Call overview

This call aims to promote intercultural dialogue by bringing people of different nationalities and different languages together and giving them the opportunity to participate in common activities.

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Call detail

The projects may address the following topics (the list is not exhaustive):  

• Town-Twinning projects will help to overcome biases in national perceptions by fostering mutual understanding and by creating fora where common solutions can be discussed in a constructive way. Their aim should be to raise awareness of the importance of reinforcing the European integration process based on solidarity and EU values;

• Town-Twinning projects will give citizens the opportunity to express what kind of Europe they want. Debates supported under the Town-Twinning call should be based on the EU's specific achievements and on lessons learnt from history and from European integration. They should also reflect on current trends and enable participants to challenge euroscepticism and to suggest possible actions that the EU could take to foster a sense of belonging to Europe, to increase an understanding of the benefits of the EU and to reinforce the EU's social and political cohesion.

• Projects may cover promotion of broad and inclusive participation in democratic processes and decision-making, including of children in matters that concern them and the promotion of their rights.

• Projects may cover promoting awareness and building knowledge of EU citizenship rights, free movement of people and associated European common values and common democratic standards, making them more tangible for EU citizens. Projects may cover the promotion of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union at the national, regional and local levels when EU law is applied by domestic authorities, including by promoting awareness and sharing best practices especially in matters that concern them and the promotion of their rights

• Projects can also concern prevention activities and awareness raising by towns and local authorities in the field of domestic violence, as well as any form of violence against children, including (cyber-)bullying and harassment  

• Projects may also explore methods for improving citizens' democratic participation through cultural activities, including by drawing inspiration from or be related to the New European Bauhaus initiative.

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Activities that can be funded

Activities related to Town-Twinning may include, among others:

• workshops,
• seminars,
• conferences,
• training activities,
• expert meetings,
• webinars,
• awareness-raising activities,
• cultural events, festivals, exhibitions,
• gathering and consultation of (sex-disaggregated) data,
• development, exchanges and dissemination of good practices among public authorities and civil society organisations,
• development of communication tools and the use of social media.

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Eligibility

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries) must:

− be legal entities (public or private bodies)

− be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

• EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
• non-EU countries: countries associated to the CERV Programme

Other eligibility conditions:

• Lead applicant and its associated partner(s) must be a public body or a non-profit organisation with legal personality formally established in one of the eligible countries. They must be towns/municipalities and/or other levels of local authorities or their twinning committees or other non-profit organisations representing local authorities.
• The project must be transnational and must involve municipalities from at least two eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State.
• Activities must take place in any of the eligible countries participating in the project.
• Events must involve a minimum of 50 direct participants, of which a minimum of 25 participants are " invited international participants."

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Consortium compostion

Only applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries).

Proposals must involve municipalities from at least 2 eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State.

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Budget

Project budgets are expected to range between EUR 8,455 and EUR 50,745 per project.

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Project duration

Projects should normally range between 6 and 12 months.