EU announces Country-Based Support Schemes (CBSS) 2019/2020

Deadline: 9 June 2020

The European Union (EU) has announced a Call for Proposals for Country-Based Support Schemes (CBSS) 2019/2020.

The global objective of this call for proposals is to contribute, through supporting civil society organisations, to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals is/are:

Support civil society in strengthening democracy in Uzbekistan.

This objective will include promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms (in particular freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association), actions aiming at strengthening pluralism in political life and fostering the participation of citizens in decision-making, actions tending to increase accountability, oversight and transparency, and civil society activities related to elections and follow-up to election observation missions.

Supporting gender equality (women’s rights, women in decision-making, right to participate in peace-building and reconstruction processes, fight against violence and harmful practices, etc.);
Support for protection of the social, economic and cultural rights, especially for groups particularly vulnerable to discrimination, such as the poor, women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees and the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 1,550,000.00. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
Size of grants
- Minimum amount: EUR 250,000.00
- Maximum amount: EUR 387,500.00

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 24 months nor exceed 36 months.

Location

Actions must take place in the following country: Republic of Uzbekistan.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant(s)

In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- Be a legal person or an entity without legal personality or a natural person;
- Be non-profit-making;
- Be a specific type of organization such as: non-governmental organization, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organization as defined by Article 156 of the EU Financial Regulation;
- Be established in Member State of the European Union, in Uzbekistan or any other country;
- Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.

Co-applicant(s)

Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.

Affiliated entity(ies)

The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
- Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
- This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
  - Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
    - Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
      - Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
      - Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
      - Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
- Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.