EU inviting Applicants for Thematic Programme CSO and EIDHR for Costa Rica and Panama

Deadline: 17 May 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently inviting applicants to submit proposals for its Thematic Program “Civil Society Organizations (CSO)” and “European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights” (EIDHR) for Costa Rica and Panama.

The overall objective of this call for proposals is:

For the program of Civil Society Organizations: Civil society organizations (CSOs) strengthened in Costa Rica and Panama to become involved as governance actors and sustainable and inclusive development at the country level.
For the Human Rights and Democracy Instrument (EIDHR): Supported and strengthened civil society organizations (CSO), democracy activists, and human rights defenders working on key issues of human rights and democracy.

Lots

This call for proposals is composed of four (4) different lots:

LOT 1 – Refers to the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) program – Costa Rica
LOT 2 – Refers to the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) – Costa Rica
LOT 3 – Refers to the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) program – Panama
LOT 4 – Refers to the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights – Panama

Funding information

LOT 1 – COSTA RICA CSO
- Minimum amount: EUR 500 000
- Maximum amount: EUR 553,700
LOT 2 – COSTA RICA EIDHR
- Minimum amount: EUR 300 000
- Maximum amount: 400 000 EUR
LOT 3 – PANAMA CSO
- Minimum amount: EUR 500 000
- Maximum amount: 566,700 EUR
LOT 4 – PANAMA EIDHR
- Minimum amount: EUR 300 000
- Maximum amount: 360 000 EUR

Eligibility Criteria

Principal applicant
- LOT 1: CSO COSTA RICA
  - The applicant must meet the following requirements to qualify for a grant:
    - be a legal person and
    - not have a profit motive and
    - be a Civil Society Organization (ANE) or representative platform, established in Costa Rica or one of the Member States of the European Union, in accordance with local legislation, and
    - Important notice for British applicants: Please note that the eligibility criteria must be met during the entire duration of the grant. Unless the sectoral eligibility rules provide otherwise, if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the term of the subsidy without entering into an agreement with the EU to ensure, in particular, that British applicants are still eligible, applicants will stop receiving EU funding (although, where possible, continue to participate) or they will have to abandon the project on the basis of the article [reference to the article that allows the resolution of the grant agreement (change in the legal status of the beneficiary)] of the grant agreement .
    - be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action, and not simply act as intermediary and
    - Have at least 3 years of constitution;
    - For applicants who are not Costa Ricans, the association with at least one Costa Rican civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Costa Rican co-petitioner.
- LOT 2 – EIDHR COSTA RICA
  - The applicant must meet the following requirements to qualify for a grant:
    - be a legal person and
    - not have a profit motive and
    - be a Civil Society Organization (ANE) or representative platform – no nationality restrictions apply, and
    - be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action, and not simply act as intermediary and
    - Have at least 3 years of constitution;
    - For applicants who are not Costa Ricans, the association with at least one Costa Rican civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Costa Rican co-petitioner.
- LOT 3: CSO PANAMA
  - The applicant must meet the following requirements to qualify for a grant:
    - be a legal person and
    - not have a profit motive and
    - be a Civil Society Organization (ANE) or representative platform, established in Panama or one of the Member States of the European Union, in accordance with local legislation, and
    - Important notice for British applicants: Please note that the eligibility criteria must be met during the entire duration of the grant. Unless the sectoral eligibility rules provide otherwise, if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the term of the subsidy without entering into an agreement with the EU to ensure, in particular, that British applicants are still eligible, applicants will stop receiving EU funding (although, where possible, continue to participate) or should abandon the project on the basis of the article [reference to the article permitting the termination of the grant agreement (change of legal status of the beneficiary)] of the grant agreement.]
    - be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action, and not simply act as intermediary and
    - Have at least 3 years of constitution;
    - For applicants who are not Panamanians, the association with at least one Panamanian civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Panamanian co-applicant.
- LOT 4 – EIDHR PANAMA
  - The applicant must meet the following requirements to qualify for a grant:
    - be a legal person and
    - not have a profit motive and
    - be a Civil Society Organization (ANE) or representative platform – no nationality restrictions apply, and
    - be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action, and not simply act as intermediary and
    - Have at least 3 years of constitution;
    - For applicants who are not Panamanians, the association with at least one Panamanian civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Panamanian co-applicant.
Co-applicant (s)
- LOTS 1 AND 2:
  - The co-applicants will participate in the conception and execution of the action, and the costs incurred will be eligible in the same way as those incurred by the main applicant.
  - The co-applicants must meet the eligibility criteria applicable to the main applicant.
  - For the non-Costa Rican applicants, the association with at least one Costa Rican civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Costa Rican co-applicant.
- LOTS 3 AND 4:
  - The co-applicants will participate in the conception and execution of the action, and the costs incurred will be eligible in the same way as those incurred by the main applicant.
  - The co-applicants must meet the eligibility criteria applicable to the main applicant.
  - For non-Panamanian applicants, the association with at least one Panamanian civil society body is mandatory and the projects must respond to an initiative emanating from the Panamanian co-petitioner.
Affiliated entities
- The principal applicant and its co-applicants may act with affiliated entities.
- Only the following entities may be considered entities affiliated with the main applicant or the co-applicants:
  - The entities that have a structural link with the applicants (i.e., the main applicant or a co-applicant), especially if the link is legal or capital.
  - This structural link mainly covers two aspects:
    - Control: according to the definition contained in Directive 2013/34 / EU on the annual financial statements, the consolidated financial statements and other related reports of certain types of companies:
      - Thus, the entities affiliated with an applicant can be:
        
        Entities controlled directly or indirectly by the applicant (subsidiary or first level companies). They can also be entities controlled by an entity controlled in turn by the applicant (second level subsidiaries) and the same applies to the following levels of control.
        
        Entities that directly or indirectly control the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities that control an entity that controls the applicant.
        
        Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (associated companies).
    - Accession: the applicant is legally defined as, for example, network, federation or association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate, or the applicant participates in the same entity (for example, a network, federation or association) that the affiliated entities proposed.