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Implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme 2021-2027 – citizens' engagement and participation

TA-9-2024-0009 · P9_TA(2024)0009 · PE750.184

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Parliament's resolution reviews the early implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme 2021-2027, focusing on Strand 3 on citizens' engagement and participation. It finds the programme makes a unique contribution to civic engagement but faced a slow start, external shocks and administrative burdens, and that only 20 member states had national contact points by June 2023. It calls on the Commission to improve data collection and monitoring, simplify application and reporting, set up a Civil Dialogue Group and a network of beneficiaries, and further use re-granting. It asks member states without national contact points to designate them, and calls for the programme budget to rise to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework, with a protection mechanism for human rights defenders. It also wants citizenship education reinforced, non-citizens and non-EU civil society included, European historical consciousness supported, and town twinning linked to twinning of education establishments.

Key points

  1. Parliament believes the CERV programme uniquely combines values, civil dialogue and citizenship, and is essential for addressing the knowledge gap, Euroscepticism, shrinking civic space and rule of law challenges.
  2. It notes implementation is still early, with few completed Strand 3 projects and little beneficiary information for accurate evaluation.
  3. It calls on the Commission to prioritise data collection on disadvantaged groups, including marginalised communities, minorities and vulnerable populations, and to establish strong monitoring and evaluation.
  4. It notes the programme's slow start due to COVID-19 and Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine, but says implementation has picked up and now functions well, while awareness campaigns must reach rural areas.
  5. It is concerned that digital tools such as eGrants and complex procedures hinder smaller organisations, and calls for simplified application, contracting and reporting, a more user-friendly portal and translation of documents into all EU languages.
  6. It deplores that national contact points are not obligatory and notes only 20 member states had them by June 2023; it asks remaining member states to designate them and encourages a European network of contact points and a network of beneficiaries.
  7. It is deeply concerned that inflation affects beneficiaries' running costs, especially unit costs for travel, accommodation and daily allowances, forcing them to scale back activities.
  8. It calls on the Commission to establish a Civil Dialogue Group for regular, open and transparent dialogue, and to promote capacity-building and innovative actions supporting civil society participation.
  9. It calls for reinforcing the European dimension of citizenship education in curricular and extracurricular activities, and for including non-citizens living in the EU and their self-led organisations in the programme's target group.
  10. It takes note of encouraging re-granting results and calls for analysis and possible extension to other strands, simpler re-granting procedures, revised co-funding rules, and financing only to structures respecting the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
  11. It calls for the programme budget to be increased to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework and for an ad hoc protection mechanism for human rights defenders.
  12. It asks for communication and awareness-raising to be prioritised, for participation of non-EU civil society and coverage of their participation costs, for support to European historical consciousness, and for linking town twinning to twinning of education establishments.

Who is affected

  • Civil society organisations, especially smaller and grassroots ones, face complex application procedures and administrative burdens.
  • CERV beneficiaries are affected by inflation raising travel, accommodation and daily allowance costs, and may scale back activities.
  • Member states without national contact points are asked to designate them quickly.
  • Non-citizens living in the EU and non-EU civil society organisations are targeted for inclusion in the programme.
  • Disadvantaged groups, including marginalised communities, minorities and vulnerable populations, are to be prioritised in data collection.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 2.6 billion – the proposed increased budget for the CERV programme in the next multiannual financial framework.
  • 20 member states – had CERV national contact points by June 2023.
  • over 22 million – non-EU country nationals residing in the EU in 2020.

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