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REPORT (2023/2004(INI))

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

A-9-2023-0392

Committee on Culture and Education · Rapporteur: Łukasz Kohut

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The report reviews how the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme 2021-2027 is being implemented, focusing on its Strand 3 on citizens' engagement and participation. It finds the programme relevant to EU priorities such as digital and green transition, post-pandemic recovery, Russia's war on Ukraine and democratic values, but still in its early stages. It asks the Commission to improve data collection and monitoring, simplify application and reporting, make the portal more user-friendly, and set up the Civil Dialogue Group. It calls on Member States without national contact points to designate them, and asks for the budget to rise to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework.

Committee position. The rapporteur concludes that the early implementation of the CERV programme can be cautiously deemed effective, and proposes a resolution calling for better data collection and monitoring, simplified procedures, national contact points in all Member States, a Civil Dialogue Group, and a higher budget.

Key points

  1. The CERV programme funds citizens' engagement, equality, rights and values, and is organised in four strands; the report focuses on Strand 3, citizens' engagement and participation.
  2. Strand 3 aims to support remembrance projects, citizens' and associations' participation in EU democratic life, and exchanges between citizens of different countries, including town twinning.
  3. The programme is funded through action and operating grants, procurement and communication, and national contact points; a Civil Dialogue Group and a CERV Dialogue Week were created.
  4. The programme currently funds projects only in EU Member States; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine have expressed interest in joining.
  5. The report finds the programme relevant to digital transformation, the green transition, post-pandemic recovery, Russia's war on Ukraine and EU democratic values.
  6. It notes the programme is in early implementation, with few completed Strand 3 projects and little beneficiary data, and that the Commission says there are not enough final reports to evaluate results.
  7. It calls on the Commission to prioritise data collection on disadvantaged groups and to establish strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
  8. It asks for the removal of administrative burdens and simplification of application, contracting and reporting, a more user-friendly portal, and translation of procedure documents into all EU languages.
  9. It regrets that national contact points are not obligatory and that only 20 Member States had one by June 2023, and calls on the others to designate them quickly.
  10. It calls on the Commission to establish the Civil Dialogue Group for regular, open and transparent dialogue with stakeholders, especially civil society organisations.
  11. It asks for the budget to be increased to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework and for an ad hoc mechanism to protect human rights defenders.
  12. It encourages the Commission to facilitate participation of non-EU citizens and civil society organisations, including from candidate and associated countries, and to support projects with Ukrainian partners.

Who is affected

  • Civil society organisations, especially small and grassroots ones, which face complex application procedures and administrative burdens.
  • Member States, which are asked to designate national contact points; only 20 had done so by June 2023.
  • CERV beneficiaries, who face rising running costs due to inflation and may scale back planned activities.
  • Non-EU citizens and civil society organisations, including from candidate and associated countries, whom the report wants included in CERV activities.
  • Disadvantaged groups, including marginalised communities, minorities and vulnerable populations, on whom the report wants better data collection.

Figures and deadlines

  • Total budget for the CERV programme 2021-2027: €641.71 million in current prices, plus a top-up from fines of €800 million.
  • About €357 million available for Strand 3; at least 65 % of funding to democratic participation and 15 % to remembrance activities.
  • Between 2021 and 2022, 26 calls for proposals; of 2 675 proposals, 814 (30 %) were for Strand 3, of which 451 were successful, a 55 % success rate.
  • Only 17 Member States had a contact point by May 2022; 18 contact points as of February 2023; 20 Member States had NCPs by June 2023.
  • The aim is to raise the 2019 percentage of 48 % for citizens' perception that 'my voice counts'.
  • 79 projects were funded under the Call Citizens' engagement and participation that make direct reference to supporting relevant activities.
  • Over 22 million non-EU country nationals were residing in the EU in 2020.
  • The report calls for the budget to be increased to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework.

Legal basis: Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union.