What changed

Follow-up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme 2021-2027 – citizens' engagement and participation

PR_INI_ImplReport

Rapporteur: Łukasz KOHUT (S&D / PL)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT - SUMMARY OF FACTS AND FINDINGS

Reference numbers: 2023/2004 (INI) / A9-0392/2023 / P9_TA(2024)0009

A Union based on democracy, equality, rights and values

Date of adoption of the resolution: 16 January 2024

The complex and fast changing political, economic and social environment of the European Union requires strong, result oriented and evidence based policy responses focusing on citizens and based on democracy, equality rights and values.

Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)

Against this complex background, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme was launched in 2021 and was created along with the 2021-2027 Justice programme under the Justice, Rights and Values Fund to promotes rights and values enshrined in the Treaties.

Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:

The 2021-2027 Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme provides funding for citizens’ engagement, promoting equality for all and implementing EU rights and values. It aims to protect and promote the rights and values enshrined in the EU Treaties, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) and in the applicable international human rights conventions. It does this by supporting civil society organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national and transnational level and by encouraging civic and democratic participation. This helps to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies based on the rule of law. It pays particular attention to encouraging the participation of national, regional and local civil society organisations.

The resolution highlights the uniqueness of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme’s contribution to enhancing the civic space in the EU, as well as the respect of fundamental rights. It notes that the CERV programme is an essential instrument for the future of the EU and for addressing a number of socio-political challenges, such as Euroscepticism and shrinking civic space. It indicates that the programme faced several challenges that hindered the initial stages of its implementation, but it acknowledges that now the programme is functioning well.

Organised around four strands of activity, the programme seeks to:

The resolution raises concerns that the introduction of new corporate digital tools (e.g. the eGrants) hindered the participation of smaller organisations. Therefore, the resolution calls on the Commission for the simplification of the application process, including for four-year framework partnerships for operating grants. The resolution deplores that it is not obligatory for Member States to set up a CERV programme national contact point (NCP), and regrets that only 20 NCPs have been established by June 2023. The resolution also calls on the Member States that have not yet designated NCPs to do so as quickly as possible. The resolution expresses concern about the current inflation rates and their negative impact on the CERV beneficiaries and projects.

1. protect and promote Union values (Union values strand);

The resolution calls on the Commission to prioritise data collection on the CERV programme, particularly on disadvantaged groups, and stresses the importance of establishing strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

2. promote rights, non-discrimination and equality, including gender equality, and advance gender mainstreaming and the mainstreaming of non-discrimination (equality, rights and gender equality strand);

The resolution recalls the need to encourage citizens’ active participation by reinforcing the European dimension of citizenship education. The resolution calls to explore a possibility to extend the re-granting schemes to the other areas of the CERV programme, while simplifying the requirements for re-granting and increasing the co-funding rate.

3. promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between people of different Member States, and raise awareness of their common European history (citizens’ engagement and participation strand);

Finally, the resolution calls for the programme’s budget to be increased to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) and for the programme’s scope to be enlarged.

4. prevent and combat gender-based violence and violence against children (Daphne strand).

Response to the requests in the resolution and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:

According to an intercommittee agreement, the CULT Committee has the sole responsibility for Strand 3 - promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between people of different Member States, and raise awareness of their common European history (citizens’ engagement and participation strand). Therefore, this implementation report will focus mainly on the Strand 3 of the CERV programme.

Paragraph 3

CERV – a new EU programme

The Commission recalls that the CERV programme’s performance monitoring framework provides a comprehensive approach and system of indicators used for monitoring purpose, to contribute to assess results and impacts, as well as to inform policy development.

The CERV programme is the successor of two EU programmes – Rights, Equality and Citizenship 2014-2020 (REC) and the Europe for Citizens programme 2014-2020. The Strand 3 of the CERV brings together most of the citizenship elements of the two predecessor programmes.

The CERV intervention logic encompasses impacts on specific groups of the society, including minorities and groups at risk.

In 2020 the European Commission proposed to merge these two programmes into a single programme. This was a way to acknowledge that the fragmented nature and limited resources of the predecessor programmes have limited the ability to respond to new and emerging challenges. This is in particular the case in times when emerging movements were challenging the idea of open, inclusive, cohesive and democratic societies, which in general are guaranteeing the conditions for civic participation and the enjoyment of rights. This in turn would allow for the building of a tolerant way of living together. Progress had been made in ensuring that citizens are aware of their rights as well as of the benefits of EU citizenship, to encourage a greater level of participation in political life and society, and to have a better understanding of the Union, its history, cultural heritage and diversity. Those rights are to be found in the Treaties: notably the common provisions (art 2 on values and art 3 objectives, art 6 charter of fundamental rights, and in the provisions on democratic principles, art. 10 and 11 on democratic participation and civil dialogue), as well as the implementing articles as part of the non-discrimination and citizenship provisions (art. 10 and 19 and 20 to 25) are establishing the citizenship of the Union to which all persons holding the nationality of a Member State are entitled. The Treaties also list the main rights and duties of citizens of the Union (Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Europe Union (TFEU) and Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

The Commission reports on the general performanceOverview of the programmeCERV Programme and its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) inStrand the3 Programme“citizens’ Performanceengagement Statement:and https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/performance-and-reporting/programme-performance-statements/citizens-equality-rights-and-values-programme-performance_en.participation”

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With the new CERV programme the Commission’ s ambition was to further promote the values enshrined in the Treaties, the [EU] Charter [of Fundamental Rights] and the applicable international human rights conventions, in particular by supporting civil society organisations [(CSOs)] and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national and transnational level, and by encouraging civic and democratic participation, in order to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies which are based on the rule of law’.

For grants awarded under CERV the Commission uses the corporate solutions available for EU funding programmes (namely the Funding & Tenders Portal (F&T Portal - 70 EU funding programmes are currently managed by it) and the eGrants tools). eGrants is a set of integrated corporate tools for managing all steps of grant management, from proposal submission, to selection processes, to reporting and monitoring, to final payments. The Commission is constantly working to adapt these tools, focusing on user needs, to improve applicants/beneficiaries experience with searching, applying and managing EU funding. In addition, for smaller applicants, for first time applicants and in general for organisations needing further support, the Commission has put in place additional help through the National Contact Points. Applicants can also count on the F&T IT Helpdesk for questions related to tools and processes. The very high level of participation to calls for proposals indicates that this constant work has produced very positive results. In addition, for even smaller organisations/low value grants, the Commission has planned ad-hoc modalities of granting and has already proposed also with the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) three calls implementing re-granting (financial support to third parties), which received a high interest and have allowed to reach an important number of small grassroot organisations active at local level, in line with the objectives of the programme.

The overriding specific objective for Strand 3 – the citizens’ engagement and participation strand – is to promote citizens’ engagement and participation of citizens in the life of the European Union. This is broken down further into three specific sub-objectives for Strand 3, which are to:

The Commission would like to recall that the set-up of Framework Partnership Agreements (FPA) intends to support European networks and organisations whose activities contribute to the implementation of CERV’s objectives. The Financial Regulation Art 130(1) wording, which states “… grant agreements may be signed under such agreements”, indicates that conditions apply and hence a FPA does not automatically guarantee annual funding, hence the need for annual assessments. The annual operating grants are awarded to Framework Partners (FPs) via calls for proposals and only insofar the proposal and activities in their proposed annual programme are in line with the criteria of the call, in line with the objectives of the programme in the area concerned and in line with EU priorities. It is to be noted though that this annual procedure is substantially simplified as compared to an open call for proposals for action grants.

- support projects aimed at remembering defining moments in modern European history, such as the coming to power of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and projects aimed at raising awareness among European citizens of their common history, culture, cultural heritage and values, thereby enhancing their understanding of the Union and of the importance of mutual understanding and tolerance;

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- promote citizens’ and representative associations’ participation in and contribution to the democratic and civic life of the Union by enabling them to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action;

As regards the negative impact of inflation on grant beneficiaries, corporate guidance has been issued at Commission level to recommend the use of the flexibility offered by the grant agreements in order to mitigate the effects of inflation, by extending the action duration, by mitigating costs (replacing face to face meeting by online solutions) or by reducing the tasks to be implemented inter alia. This guidance has been fully followed for the CERV and this flexibility has been allowed.

- promote exchanges between citizens of different countries, in particular through town-twinning and networks of towns, so as to afford them practical experience of the richness and diversity of the common heritage of the Union.

Moreover On 26 July 2023 the Commission adopted an amendment to Decision C(2021)35 authorising the use of unit costs for the reimbursement of travel, accommodation and subsistence costs. The purpose of this amendment is to increase the rates for return air and rail travel above 400km by 25%. With these different measures the impact of inflation on the CERV grants could be mitigated.

The objectives of Strand 3 (and of the CERV programme) are achieved through action grants to projects, operating grants to civil society (financed under the “Union values” strand, and procurement and communication activities by the European Commission (this range of activities applies to all strands). The activities, which the Commission funds, include national contact points (NCPs) in the Member States. NCPs are considered an innovation in the CERV programme, as they existed under the Europe for Citizens Programme but not under the REC programme.

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An innovation in the CERV programme 2021-2027 is the creation of the Civil Dialogue Group to strengthen relations with stakeholders. A CERV Dialogue Week was held in May 2021 to launch the programme.

The role of the Civil Dialogue Group is defined in the legal base of the CERV programme and has been carefully drafted and agreed by the co-legislators to respect financial rules as defined in the Financial Regulation. This includes in particular the need to ensure the absence of conflict of interest, which would not be respected, should the Civil Dialogue be part of the direct governance of the CERV, as beneficiaries would establish the rules of and decide on calls for proposals that they would themselves apply for.

For the moment, the CERV programme only funds projects in EU Member States. Six acceding, candidate and potential candidate countries have expressed an interest in joining the programme, but this has not yet been formalised. These countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.

As per the CERV Regulation (Regulation 2021/692), the Civil Dialogue purpose, to which the Commission remains committed, is to ensure a regular, open and transparent dialogue with the beneficiaries of the Programme and other relevant stakeholders.

The policy aspects of implementation are the responsibility of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers(DG JUST). The call and funding process is managed by EACEA, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency.

In this context, the Commission recalls that during the first three years of implementation of the programme, it has organised, promoted and participated to several exchange opportunities with CERV beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders. In particular, the Commission and its executive Agency EACEA in charge of the programme implementation have been organising regular info-sessions for applicants, regular meetings with all calls beneficiaries, dedicated discussions with framework partners, as well as conferences and events on policy issues where CERV beneficiaries as well as other relevant stakeholders have taken part. All these exchange opportunities constitute essential parts of the Civil Dialogue and will continue throughout the remaining years of the programme, in order to foster the dialogue between beneficiaries and the EU institutions, as well as to promote mutual learning and exchange of practices.

The total budget for the CERV programme 2021-2027 is €641.71 million in current prices plus a ‘top-up’ from fines the European Commission collects of €800 million, i.e. more than the budget per se, albeit the amount is at 2018 prices. Of that about €357 million are available for Strand 3. At least 65 % of the funding is to be allocated to democratic participation and 15 % to remembrance activities.

Paragraphs 9 and 14

The implementation of CERV is based on two-year work programmes. This is an innovation compared to the predecessor programmes which worked with annual programmes. The goal is to give stakeholders better visibility of forthcoming priorities and calls for proposals, and thus facilitate their planning. The budgets for the first four years of the current cycle are in Table 17. The low budget for 2021 compared to other years is due to that the ‘top-up’ from fines was only added to the programme as of 2022.The work programmes also set out annual priorities and describe the content of forthcoming calls. There are perceptible shifts in focus from year to year to better address needs on the ground while still ensuring continuity in policy priorities, e.g. a focus in 2021-2022 on the impact of COVID-19 and on projects which looked ahead to the 2024 European elections. Networks of towns were encouraged in 2021-2022 to propose ways to increase the turnout at the next European elections and to make candidacies more inclusive. In 2023-2024, there are mentions of the legacy of colonialism and transnational migrations, a gender-balanced view of history, and the Commission Recommendation on protecting journalists and human rights defenders who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings that were not included in the previous work programme.

When it comes to reinforcing the European dimension of citizenship education the Commission has been supporting Member States’ implementation of the 2018 Council Recommendation on promoting common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching by facilitating mutual learning and exchange of best practices. As of 2021, under the European Education Area, the Commission provides space for Member States’ and other stakeholders’ (civil society organisations, social partners, international organisations) joint exploration of citizenship education, through the Working Group on Equality and Values in Education and Training. Last year the Working Group published its Issue paper on citizenship education. In addition, several platforms, such as the European School Education Platform already offer various opportunities to exchange on good practices, share teaching material and cooperate on this topic. The Erasmus+ Teacher Academies action encourages development of teachers’ courses, modules and other learning opportunities on the topic of common values, civic engagement and participation. The Erasmus+ Jean Monnet actions are also instrumental in promoting teaching, learning and research in European integration matters, in both higher education and general and vocational education and training.

The Work Programme for 2023-2024 sees the first call on the civic engagement of children with a call to ‘encourage children’s engagement and participation in the political and democratic life.’ The climate and the environment, including energy-related issues, will be taken into account in proposals on town twinning and town networks. The 2023-2024 Work Programme also highlights under this strand, the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity award which recognises the work done by cities, towns, or regions in Europe to promote inclusion and create discrimination-free societies.

As regards the participation of non-EU citizens and organisations to the CERV programme, the Commission recalls that the rules establishing the eligibility of non-EU countries to the programme are laid down in Article 8 of the CERV Regulation.

As the delays in adoption of the 2021 -20217 MFF were known, the services at DG JUST anticipated and made all preparations for the launch of the programme in parallel (this is also the case of many other community programmes – eg. Erasmus +; Solidarity Corps) in a way that the first calls for proposals were launched already in April 2021. The fact that there are only a few projects that are completed is due to the life-span of the projects – most of them run for 2 years, some even longer. This comes in addition to the fact that a call for proposals itself takes time (some months to apply, then evaluation, then preparation of the grant agreements). Therefore, we have to acknowledge that the Programme is in the early stages of implementation, which can partially explain that there have been only a small number of completed projects in Strand 3. However, the specific number of completed projects is not currently accessible. Further, the European Commission has underlined that there are not enough final reports from beneficiaries to accurately evaluate results, especially at a specific strand level.

As regards Ukraine, the Commission and Ukraine have signed an Association Agreement for Ukraine’s participation in the CERV programme on 9 January 2024. Except for the Union values strand of the CERV programme - which in the CERV Regulation was explicitly excluded by the co-legislators from the participation of third countries - Ukrainian entities can already participate in calls for proposals under the other three strands of the CERV programme. Once the Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the Agreement, the Agreement will apply, and Ukrainian entities will be also eligible for EU funding, if they are in successfully selected CERV projects.

Programme contact points in the Member States are available to disseminate information about the programme and help with inquiries. They are responsible for providing impartial guidance, practical information and assistance to applicants, stakeholders and beneficiaries, including on the application procedure, dissemination of user-friendly information and programme results, and inquiries for partners, training and formalities. However, there is no obligation for a Member State to set up a contact point and only 17 had done so by May 2022. Member States without a contact point at that date were Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia. However, according to data from EACEA, there were 18 contact points as of February 2023.

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Regarding the monitoring of the programme, there are monitoring indicators common to all strands and these are set in the Programme Regulation. There is also a Key Performance Indicator for DG JUST set by Eurobarometer related to Strand 3 objectives, i.e. Citizens’ perception of democratic participation, ‘my voice counts’. The aim is to raise the 2019 percentage of 48 %.

As of 1 February 2024, 21 Member States have established a National Contact Point, the latest nomination being the NCP for Slovakia. The updated list can be found here: CERV Contact Points 3 AUG 2023.pdf (europa.eu)

With regards to quantitative data on implementation, data from 2021 provides some further information on the current state of the CERV programme.

While in line with the CERV Regulation the establishment of NCP is not compulsory, since the CERV programme’s implementation, the Commission has continuously reminded Member States about the importance of NCP and encouraged them to nominate NCP as soon as possible. The Commission, in cooperation with EACEA, has also been investing in building and sustaining the network of NCPs, which have now become a well-established network playing an essential role in promoting the programme’s funding opportunities.

Between 2021 and 2022, there were 26 calls for proposals. Out of 2 675 proposals received, 814 (30 %) were for the Strand 3- citizen engagement and participation, of which 451 were successful. This corresponds to a success rate of 55 %.

In addition to their national-level activities, the NCP network regularly organizes open online events about funding opportunities under the CERV programme. The aim of these events is to promote CERV calls for proposals and provide support to all potential applicants. This NCP network has also set up a partnership search tool to help organizations looking for new partnership opportunities in the context of CERV programme implementation.

Relevance of the programme and correspondence with EU priorities

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Your rapporteur believes that is important to critically assess the relevance of the CERV’s Strand 3. The overarching finding with regards to its relevance is that the programme’s objectives are well designed to address national needs and are well-aligned with European Commission’s priorities, including policies on integration, civil engagement, and participation.

The Commission recalls that the interim evaluation of CERV, currently ongoing, aims to assess the effects generated by the simplification measures already introduced, as well as to assess how the programme supports the work of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the role they play in promoting EU values. This includes assessing the preliminary results of re-granting mechanisms under the programme.

Digital transformation

The results of the evaluations will be used for the improved implementation of the programmes as well as to contribute to the reflections on the post-2027 MFF.

Digital transformation is highly relevant to the CERV programme, particularly for Strand 3. Even though it is not specifically mentioned in the 2023-2024 Work Programme (WP), the programme supports and commits to different policies and strategies centring around digital transformation.

As regards the need for EU funding beneficiaries to respect EU values, the Commission recalls that when implementing the budget, the Commission ensures at all stages (pre-award, implementation, ex-post checks) that organisations and projects incompatible with EU values do not receive support. Rules and procedures are set out in the Financial Regulation, the applicable Model Grant Agreement and relevant public guidance (e.g. the Annotated Model Grant Agreement).

Under the CERV strand – Citizens’ engagement and participation – in the WP for 2021 - 2022, one of the priorities is funding ‘innovative democratic approaches and tools to help citizens make their voices heard and publicly exchange views on all areas of EU action, notably digital tools (‘e-democracy’)’.

Being aware of the difficulty for civil society organisations to co-fund projects, the Commission took the Decision authorising the use of unit costs for volunteers () and introduced the possibility for applicants under the CERV programme to declare unit costs for the work of volunteers in order to satisfy to the co-funding requirement.

Moreover, the CERV WP commits to supporting the priorities specified in the EU Citizenship Report 2020 and the forthcoming EU Citizenship Report 2023. These reports strongly emphasise digital transformation, empowering citizens’ participation in the democratic process as one of the key elements of the report.

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Green transition

Without prejudice to the preparations of the and negotiations for the MFF post 2027, the Commission takes note of the call to continue the programme also in the next MFF, with an increased budget and scope.

The environment and the fight against climate change is a policy priority where also the CERV programme contributes, which highlights its relevance for the policy area alongside the digital transition. In fact, green and digital transitions are increasingly becoming more intertwined.

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Overall, from the early implementation analysis it can be stated that the Strand 3 is relevant to the green transition challenge, by ensuring the participation and engagement of citizens in this field. It highlights the importance of a bottom-up approaches regarding the development of policies, as it seeks to involve grass-roots organisations into the process and aims to enable towns to engage citizens and communities in discussions and actions on the climate and the environment, including addressing energy-related issues, social solidarity and migration.

In continuity with the past, through the CERV programme, the Commission continues to provide funds for projects on European remembrance. With a strengthened budget since the programmes beginning, the Commission has significantly extended the support to European memory projects, with the objective to contribute to the process of healing and reconciliation across Europe, between societies of different countries and within societies. The funding priorities go beyond totalitarian and authoritarian regimes and their crimes, to take account of the multi-faceted recent history of Europe. The calls for proposals support projects that commemorate, research and educate about defining experiences in modern European history. In addition, through operating grants, the CERV programme also provides multi-annual support to organisations, including memorial and education sites, acknowledging their crucial role in remembrance.

In the call for proposals to foster citizens’ engagement and participation, it is stated that this priority should boost citizens’ and communities’ engagement in discussions and actions related to our climate and environment. In 2023 and 2024, a specific focus will be put in bringing citizens together to discuss actions on the climate and the environment, including energy-related issues, solidarity and sharing best practices, and thus contributing to increasing citizens’ engagement in society and ultimately to their active involvement in the democratic life of the Union.

Regarding the number of related projects, there is a total of 79 projects that were funded under the Call Citizens’ engagement and participation that make direct reference to supporting relevant activities.

Post- pandemic recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested European societies and economies. It has also disrupted citizen’s rights and participation in democracy. As such, addressing the effects of the pandemic have been recognised as one of the priorities of the programme, stating that it will explore ‘how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the democratic debate and the enjoyment of fundamental rights’. Consequently, the effects of the pandemic became an intrinsic aspect of many calls and proposals.

Several projects under Strand 3 relate to post-COVID efforts including the projects: COVIDemocracy in the Baltics; Encouraging Women Participation in Times of Pandemic; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diverse democratic perspectives through gender perspective.

The programme design for Town-Twinning’s call for proposals incorporates post-pandemic recovery efforts. This programme promotes citizen exchanges between different countries through town twinning, giving them practical experience of the Union’s diverse heritage, which includes the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although post-pandemic recovery challenges are less present in the design of the programme, CERV remains relevant. Similarly, along with the digital and green transition and democratic life, protecting the most vulnerable groups from the consequences of the pandemic is one of the programme’s priorities.

Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine

CERV ensures that in 2023 a particular focus is given to projects aiming at addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression on Ukraine regarding the protection of democratic freedom and the enjoyment of fundamental rights for all, and in particular for people in the most vulnerable situations, such as women and children.

An important aspect regarding Strand 3 is that the Russian aggression on Ukraine and its consequences also emphasise the importance of a critical reflection on the past and the transmission of memory to future generations to tackle historical distortion and ensure European remembrance to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Moreover, tackling historical distortion and encouraging intergenerational work is a key focus in the WP 2023 by supporting ‘projects that commemorate and educate about defining experiences in modern European history. These include the causes and consequences of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, resistance against these regimes, the Holocaust and other mass crimes, democratic transition and (re)-building democratic institutions, the legacy of colonialism, transnational migration and European integration’.

Strengthening EU’s democratic values

According to your rapporteur, Strand 3 is deeply rooted in EU democratic values. It aims to help people make their voices heard and increase inclusion and democratic participation in line with the Commission’s political priorities, including those specified in the EU Citizenship Report 2020 and the European democracy action plan.

As such, Strand 3 covers a significant portion of the strategy by promoting citizens engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union, exchanges between citizens of different Member States, and raising awareness of the common European history. It does so by developing activities that will focus on debating the future of Europe, on citizens’ societal engagement, independent election observation, including monitoring by citizens, and innovative approaches and tools to help citizens make their voices heard and publicly exchange views on all areas of EU action. It upholds EU’s democratic values by fostering the active participation of individuals and civil society in democratic processes, which are crucial for the future of Europe and democratic societies. Furthermore, Strand 3 indicates a strong commitment to strengthening European identity and values, as the legacy of recent European history is a crucial pillar of the values the EU.

The WP 2023 also mentions the Conference on the Future of Europe, a citizen-led series of debates and discussions that ran from April 2021 to May 2022 and enabled people from across Europe to share their ideas and discuss them in plenaries and working groups with the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, National Parliaments, EU bodies, social partners and civil society in order to adopt common conclusions thus helping shape our common future.

All in all, the relevance of the Strand 3 in this area is clear, as it touches on the promotion of EU values through citizen engagement and participation, on the protection of human rights, and on the development of resilience to make the Union more robust and ready to face current social, economic, and political challenges.

Lessons learnt from early implementation

At the programme level, it can be preliminary deducted that the main objectives of the CERV are still relevant and address some of the main EU challenges. The implementation of EU strategies such as the ones on climate change, digitalisation, autonomy, and others, are tackled through the democratic dialogue promoted by CERV. Designed as a bottom up programme, the CERV programme has a certain level of flexibility in implementation, which is positive considering its capacity to adapt and tackle new challenges.

The primary objective of the CERV programme strand 3 is to foster democratic engagement. Ergo, as part of project activities to reach this objective, participation across all of the challenges identified are relevant – including participation in green and digital transition topics, as it raises the awareness or level of engagement of the larger public.

The initial analysis of the CERV Strand 3 projects also seem to confirm that a significant number of projects are relevant to the three main challenges identified, i.e., to climate change, digitalisation, and addressing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (see the Relevance and Coherence section for further detail).

Research evidence show that relevant national challenges are also addressed. An example are grass roots organisations operating in EU countries, where the space for civil society is narrowed or obstructed and for which CERV support is principally important.

In addition the European Commission has explicitly incorporated some main challenge in the programme. In the 2023/24 programming period, COVID-19 and post-pandemic effects were also incorporated as a reference for the programme. Other challenges, like the war in Ukraine are partially addressed through the protect and promote the rights of the child call and through the Daphne call (victims of sexual violence against civilians in Ukraine war). However, challenges linked to the war in Ukraine could theoretically be further incorporated through the remembrance component which addresses the issues of wars and its impacts and totalitarian regimes, as well as in the democratic participation activities both through town twinning programmes between EU and Ukrainian municipalities as well as in supporting common projects between EU and Ukrainian civil society organisations on the activities of the work programme.

The Commission has also highlighted that there is a lag in the implementation of the programme since the CERV programmes were adopted relatively late in 2021. DG JUST is thus still at the very beginning of the implementation.

To conclude, your rapporteur believes that although it has been confronted with a number of challenges the early implementation of the CERV programme can be cautiously deemed to be effective.

First, the programme was adopted in 2021, and most of the projects are still at the beginning of their implementation. The WP 2021-2022 calls were launched and concluded while the WP 2023-2024 calls for 2023 are ongoing. Even though the number of applications has suffered a decrease because of the pandemic, they are now picking back up.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only had an impact on the applications but also on implementation. Many projects suffered from operational issues, including ICT tools problems, which were factors of delay. Stakeholders explained that the programmes had been implemented as foreseen in the programming by the European Commission and that they were able to spend all allocated resources.

The programme is highly valued for its unique approach covering sensitive societal issues. Its top-down orientation is particularly appreciated as it seeks to work with grass-roots organisations, allowing for a good engagement between authorities and citizens. However, the programme application process requires significant review, as it was considered a limitation for small-scale organisations to participate. Specifically, the application portal is not considered user-friendly and demotivates organisations from applying.

Another issue the programme faces is the lack of a good programme-level communication strategy. National authorities mentioned that it is very challenging to raise awareness on the programme. This is also amplified by the fact that so far not all MS have appointed national contact points (NCPs).

Further challenges in the early implementation of the programme relate to the need for enhanced enabling institutional environment for the programme to better deliver on its objectives. For example, stakeholders have been asking for measures to counter shrinking civil spaces, but also to reinvigorate the civil dialogue promoting further the collective dimension of civic engagement.

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme 2021-2027 – citizens’ engagement and participation

(2023/2004(INI))

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1381/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EU) No 390/2014,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 30 May 2018 entitled ‘Impact assessment accompanying the document: Proposal for a Regulation establishing the Rights and Values programme, Proposal for a Regulation establishing the Justice programme, Proposal for a Regulation establishing the Creative Europe programme’ (SWD(2018)0290),

– having regard to the EU Citizenship Report 2020,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

– having regard to Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to the European Parliament report of 6th of April 2022 on the implementation of citizenship education actions (2021/2008(INI)),

– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on promoting common values, inclusive education, and the European dimension of teaching,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 3 December 2020 on the European democracy action plan (COM(2020)0790),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 2 December 2020 entitled ‘Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU’ (COM(2020)0711),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 18 September 2020 entitled ‘A Union of equality: EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0565),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0698),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 October 2021 entitled ‘EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021-2030)’ (COM(2021)0615),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 7 October 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’ (COM(2020)0620),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 24 March 2021 entitled ‘EU strategy on the rights of the child’ (COM(2021)0142),

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education (A9-0392/2023),

A. whereas active participation in political and cultural life is a fundamental right that should be equally accessible to all; whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the right to participate in government and free elections, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community and the right to peaceful assembly and association, enabling full participation in society;

B. whereas citizenship of the Union gives people various rights, in particular the right to petition Parliament on any issue for which the EU has responsibility, the right to raise perceived cases of maladministration by any EU institution with the European Ombudsman, the right to write to any EU institution in one of the EU’s official languages and receive a reply in the same language and the right to access Parliament, Council and Commission documents in accordance with the applicable EU rules;

C. whereas present and emerging systemic challenges, such as the climate crisis, global pandemics, the digital transition and social inequalities require the adaptation of structures and approaches ensuring active participation of citizens in society; whereas the active digital engagement of citizens should take into account and address the digital gap between generations and social groups as well as between well connected urban areas and rural and remote areas, while improving overall digital literacy;

D. whereas EU programmes promoting civic engagement, rights and values, the sense of belonging and increasing socio-civic competences and critical thinking are more important than ever;

E. whereas citizens’ engagement must be understood as multilevel, encompassing local, regional, national, European and global processes through which people acquire awareness and knowledge and express their opinions taking part in and influencing the decisions that affect their lives; whereas participants from rural and remote areas must be encouraged to participate in the programme; whereas the ongoing processes of globalisation and European integration will require the new generation of Europeans to be increasingly politically engaged on multiple levels in order to be able to live and work internationally and navigate difference in their daily lives; whereas societies are becoming more diverse, making respect for human dignity, the diversity of cultures and origins and the rejection of any kind of discrimination towards women, LGTBIQ+ people, ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups ever more important within Europe;

F. whereas socio-political changes observed in Member States, ranging from social polarisation and low institutional trust to democratic backsliding, the erosion of the rule of law, the shrinking space for civil society, exclusionary nationalism and the instrumentalisation of Euroscepticism for political purposes, along with the rise of extremist movements and authoritarianism, entryism of religious fundamentalisms, as well as disinformation campaigns and misinformation, may pose a serious threat to European democracies and destabilise the Union as a whole; whereas strengthening citizens’ active participation and engagement through formal, non-formal, informal and lifelong learning and education plays a fundamental role in countering this trend;

G. whereas the emergence of a European citizenship has been hindered by a knowledge gap and an emotional gap, which is often related to misperceptions of the EU and should therefore be accompanied and reinforced by a set of mechanisms enabling citizen participation and intercultural dialogue; whereas a better understanding of our shared European history and stronger citizen engagement in social and political life can have a beneficial impact on an emerging European identity that complements citizens’ multiple local, regional national, geographical, cultural or other identities; whereas active citizens’ participation and dialogue are interlinked with the European dimension of citizenship education and can effectively contribute to the creation of a European citizenship with clear rights and obligations;

H. whereas insufficient citizen engagement, limited knowledge of the EU and poor understanding of its added value may contribute to the perception of a democratic deficit and lead to Euroscepticism in Member States;

I. whereas the shrinking of civic space in the European Union and other countries participating in the programme is affecting democratic participation and the ability of civil society organisations to act as checks and balances with regard to the rule of law; whereas actions to support and enable the participation of civil society, including minorities’ and grassroots-level organisations that have long track records and considerable experience, are paramount for defending democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Member States;

J. whereas minorities’ civil society organisations are key for self-representation and civic engagement of minoritised people, especially for those groups that lack other formal pathways for political representation;

K. whereas there were over 22 million non-EU country nationals residing in the EU in 2020; whereas these groups lack the access to formal political activities, resulting in the lives of millions of people being impacted by decisions that are made without their involvement or input; whereas this represents a fundamental democratic deficit across the EU at all levels and a challenge to producing sustainable, equitable and effective policies and programmes, whereas the realisation of human rights related to political and public participation of non-citizens play a crucial role in the promotion of democratic governance, the rule of law, social inclusion, economic development, and elimination of marginalisation and discrimination in the EU;

The early stages of the implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (2021-2027): Strand 3 – Citizens’ engagement

1. Firmly believes that the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme makes a unique contribution to enhancing civic engagement and participation from a fundamental rights perspective by effectively combining values, civil dialogue and citizenship, while also promoting social and gender equality, the diversity through the assistance for preserving the regional heritage, historical consciousness and the fight against discrimination and violence; is of the opinion that the CERV programme is an essential instrument for the future of the EU and for addressing socio-political challenges, such as the knowledge gap, Euroscepticism, shrinking civic space, and the erosion of and challenges to the rule of law across Europe; encourages the programme to support actions aimed at building the resilience of civil society organisations, including those focused on the rule of law and EU values;

2. Recalls that the implementation of the CERV programme is still in its early stages, as the regulation establishing the programme was only adopted in 2021; points out that for this reason, only a few projects in Strand 3 have been completed and there is little information available from beneficiaries to enable results to be evaluated accurately;

3. Calls on the Commission to prioritise data collection on the CERV programme, particularly on disadvantaged groups, including marginalised communities, minorities, and vulnerable populations to address their unique challenges and promote research into their experiences; insists on the need to establish strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; underlines that this approach will be useful to inform policy development, ensuring the meaningful participation of disadvantaged groups in civic engagement initiatives and elevate their voices, and create a more inclusive and equitable programme while ensuring better future evaluations in general;

4. Underlines that the programme faced several challenges that hindered the initial stages of its implementation, many of which were external factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, and that these disrupted and compromised citizens’ rights and participation in democracy; notes, however, that after a slow start its implementation picked up and now the programme is functioning well; furthermore highlights that awareness campaigns must be organised in order to reach a wider population, especially from rural areas;

5. Is concerned that the use and introduction of new digital tools for the implementation of EU funds (e.g. the eGrants tool) appear to be a key issue for beneficiaries with regard to the programme’s development; regrets that complex procedures have also hindered the participation of smaller organisations that do not have the time and resources required to go through the application process within the set timelines; considers that the design of these tools limits the programme’s ability to adapt to new developments and changing needs; calls for the elimination of the administrative burdens and the simplification of the application, contracting and reporting processes; underlines that simplifying administrative requirements also includes a more efficient and flexible application process for organisations that have signed multi-year framework partnership agreements, also in order to anticipate policy developments; stresses, furthermore, the need to make the application portal more user friendly, especially for small-scale organisations, and to ensure that all the documents related to the procedure be translated in all EU languages in order to widen participation from all Member States and ensure cultural diversity;

6. Deplores that it is not obligatory for Member States to set up a CERV programme national contact point (NCP) that offers neutral advice, helpful information and support to applicants, stakeholders and beneficiaries, including assistance with the application process, while sharing easy-to-understand information about programme outcomes; notes with regret that only 20 Member States had NCPs by June 2023;

7. Is deeply concerned that current inflation rates are affecting running costs for CERV beneficiaries; regrets that beneficiaries face challenges in implementing their planned activities, in particular regarding the unit costs for travel, accommodation and daily allowances, and may have to scale back some of the activities they initially planned in order to remain within the budget;

Policy recommendations for the future of the CERV programme

8. Calls on the Commission to establish the Civil Dialogue Group to ensure regular, open, and transparent dialogue to strengthen civil dialogue throughout the programme in such a way as to support a two-way process between institutions at all levels and all relevant stakeholders, especially CSOs, and as part of the implementation of Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/692, as well as using civil dialogue as a tool for governance and to determine priorities for the two-year work programme and promoting further the collective dimension of civic engagement as a critical dimension of democracy and of the rule of law; recalls, in this regard, that innovative actions to support dialogue with civil society should be promoted, including with a view to fostering a culture of trust-based partnership with grantees; calls, in particular, for capacity-building actions to support the wide participation of civil society, particularly through links with other funding schemes provided through shared management, such as the technical support instrument;

9. Recalls the need to encourage citizens’ active participation by reinforcing the European dimension of citizenship education, both in curricular and extracurricular activities; highlights that truly European citizenship education can inform and form citizens in the spirit of civic engagement and participation and that appropriate EU guidelines can be a useful tool in this regard; emphasises the importance of including non-citizens who live in the EU, and their self-led organisations, in the target group of the CERV programme, which will foster democratic governance, the rule of law and social inclusion;

10. Calls on the Member States that have not yet designated NCPs to do so as quickly as possible and calls on the Commission to continue working with the NCP network through meetings, training measures and dedicated exchanges, as these have been organised very successfully so far; in this context, encourages the Commission, Member states and NCPs to establish a European network of NCPs to facilitate the sharing of best practices and the exchange of knowledge; furthermore encourages the Commission to establish a network of CERV beneficiaries to exchange experiences and best practices for a deeper understanding of local and national realities across the EU and beyond;

11. Takes note of the results of introducing different types of re-granting mechanisms under the CERV programme, which have been very encouraging so far; calls for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the different re-granting calls with a view to possibly extending their use to the other strands of the CERV programme, where relevant, and in particular to Strand 3, in order to ensure that EU funding reaches grassroots-level CSOs that have long track records and considerable experience; urges the Commission to further simplify the administrative procedures and requirements for re-granting to give organisations applying for re-granting more flexibility vis-à-vis sub-grantees, ensuring appropriate working, healthcare and social protection standards; believes that the co-funding requirements could be revised with a view to adapting the rules to the beneficiary’s situation in order to support a larger variety of beneficiaries, including individuals and micro structures, and thematic fields; insists on the importance to promote the use of the programme in the educational sector at large, including students, teachers, educational staff and youth workers; underlines that funding provided from the CERV programme in the field of rights, equality, values and civic engagement, for which other sources of funding are very scarce or absent, should cover a greater percentage of grant amounts; urges the Commission to ensure that financing goes to structures that respect the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, for instance by setting up control mechanisms to guarantee appropriate working, healthcare and social protection standards; calls for an assessment on the re-granting mechanisms to evaluate its effectiveness and flexibility in reaching grassroots groups and in supporting organisations in countries with shrinking civic space;

12. Calls for the programme’s budget to be increased to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) to meet the growing demand for civic engagement and democratic participation initiatives, and for the establishment of an ad hoc mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders, similar to mechanisms in place for human rights defenders outside the EU or the protection of journalists, and, in general, to address the impact of inflation on programme costs, also considering the Conclusions of the Conference on the future of Europe on European citizenship and education, as well as the strategic importance of the CERV programme for the implementation of EU priorities;

13. Emphasises that effective communication and awareness-raising activities are essential for the success of the programme and therefore need to be prioritised in order to engage potential beneficiaries, especially at local level;

14. Acknowledges that exchanges and participation in activities under the CERV programme are key to building the capacity of civil society organisations for civic engagement and the promotion of EU values in non-EU countries; underlines that active engagement and commitment to European values do not start with accession agreements and are the outcome of the long-standing work of activists and civil society organisations to promote these ideas and support local activists in non-EU countries; encourages the Commission to facilitate the participation of non-EU citizens through the engagement of non-EU CSOs in CERV activities; calls, therefore, for the CERV programme to cover the participation costs of civil society representatives, at least for those from candidate and associated countries, regardless of whether their country is involved in the CERV programme; stresses the need to address the challenges associated with the war in Ukraine by encouraging projects with Ukrainian partners through remembrance, and democratic participation activities and recovering Ukrainian cultural heritage;

15. Reiterates its call to make the CERV programme a lever for action in the field of European historical consciousness by actively supporting structures that aim at fostering critical historical memory, for instance on transnational research and visiting places of memory, both in the EU and beyond; particularly to denounce historical and cultural revisionism; calls on the Commission and Member States to pay particular attention to sensitive societal issues that could be subject to possible instrumentalisation;

16. Asks for the CERV programme to support the emerging dynamic of linking town twinning and networks of towns to the twinning of education establishments, which can reinforce the European dimension, the exchange of good practices and the sense of belonging;

17. Urges the Commission to further simplify the administrative procedures for four-year framework partnerships for operating grants, in particular regarding the specific characteristics of the IT tool used, which seems more suited to the character of action grants;

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18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, until the adoption thereof in committee:

Entity and/or person

#Civil Society Europe (CSE)#

#European Volunteer Centre (CEV)#

#European Citizen Action Service (ECAS)#

#European Disability Forum#

#European Women’s Lobby#

#International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)#

#Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP)#

#European Civic Forum#

#The Stefan Batory Foundation#

#JEF Europe#

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

28.11.2023

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

22

5

0

Members present for the final vote

Asim Ademov, Andrea Bocskor, Ilana Cicurel, Laurence Farreng, Tomasz Frankowski, Catherine Griset, Sylvie Guillaume, Hannes Heide, Irena Joveva, Petra Kammerevert, Niyazi Kizilyürek, Niklas Nienaß, Marcos Ros Sempere, Monica Semedo, Andrey Slabakov, Michaela Šojdrová, Sabine Verheyen, Theodoros Zagorakis, Milan Zver

Substitutes present for the final vote

João Albuquerque, Ibán García Del Blanco, Chiara Gemma, Łukasz Kohut, Marcel Kolaja, Emmanuel Maurel, Wolfram Pirchner, Rob Rooken

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

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