Call for Applications: CEI Cooperation Fund

Deadline: 10-Sep-24

The Central European Initiative (CEI) is glad to announce that the annual Call for Applications of the CEI Cooperation Fund is now open!

The CEI Cooperation Fund co-finances activities aimed at strengthening cooperation among CEI Member States. Activities are organised by institutions of CEI Member States to implement the CEI strategic goals and objectives (promoting European Integration and Sustainable Development) and priorities set by the CEI Guidelines and Rules of Procedure and the CEI Thematic Agenda. They aim at capacity building through knowledge transfer and sharing, in particular from EU CEI Member States to non-EU CEI Member States, and at exchanging experiences and good practices among all CEI Member States by favouring mobility and networking. Moreover, events with political relevance proposed by Member States different from the country holding the annual CEI Presidency, giving visibility to the CEI and aimed at pursuing its strategic objectives, can also be proposed. Particular attention needs to be paid to the involvement of non-EU CEI Member States and to a reasonable balance between participating EU and non-EU CEI Member States.

Areas of Intervention 

• The applications under this Call for Applications shall be submitted for contributing to the two following segments:
  • 2.1. CEI Thematic Agenda 
    • The activities proposed within this segment shall be aimed at the implementation of the CEI Thematic Agenda and shall be organised in the areas of intervention outlined within the specific section of the Plan of Action.
    • CEI Thematic Agenda:
      • Advancing good governance and institutional development;
      • Empowering youth, women and other vulnerable groups;
      • Fostering better health and well-being;
      • Promoting connectivity and sustainable mobility;
      • Scaling up renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy security;
      • Enabling circular bioeconomy;
      • Enhancing environmental protection, risk-reduction and resilience;
      • Encouraging sustainable communities, cities and territories;
      • Improving business environment and entrepreneurship;
      • Boosting research and innovation through science diplomacy;
      • Safeguarding media freedom and pluralism;
      • Supporting cultural cooperation.
  • 2.2. Focused Section 
    • The activities proposed within this segment shall be aimed at contributing to develop forward-looking initiatives and projects for assistance to and cooperation with Ukraine, and for mitigating the current situation in the country, neighbouring countries and the entire CEI region, in line with the CEI Plan of Action 2024-2026 and the objectives of the Thematic Agenda.
    • It is expected that the proposed activities would contribute to short- and medium-term engagement of institutions and civil society of the CEI countries for addressing the current situation in the region and paving the way for recovery and future restoration, taking into consideration the CEI mission towards European Integration and Sustainable Development.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative budget of this Call for Applications is 442,000 EUR (four hundred forty-two thousand Euro). It is made available by the CEI Cooperation Fund which is financed by annual contributions of all CEI Member States.
• The budget of this Call is subdivided as follows:
  • Budget for Segment 2.1.: up to 252,000 EUR (two hundred fifty-two thousand Euro) for applications aimed at the implementation of the CEI Thematic Agenda. An additional amount of up to 90,000 EUR (ninety thousand Euro) will be made available for co-financing applications – within the ones submitted under this segment – that meet, over the evaluation phases, with the requirements set for CEI Flagship Events.
  • Budget for Segment 2.2.: up to 100,000 EUR (one hundred thousand Euro) for applications aimed at the implementation of the Focused Section.
• Please note that applications can be submitted to one budget segment exclusively, not both.
• Ceiling Of CEI Contribution 
  • Segment 2.1. CEI Thematic Agenda: applicants can request a CEI contribution of up to 15,000 EUR (fifteen thousand Euro). Any application requesting more than the above-mentioned ceiling will be automatically rejected.
  • Segment 2.2. Focused Section: applicants can request aCEI contribution of up to 25,000 EUR (twenty-five thousand Euro). Any application requesting more than the above-mentioned ceiling will be automatically rejected.

Eligible Activities 

• Segment 2.1. CEI Thematic Agenda: these activities are short-term actions such as meetings, workshops, conferences, trainings (events in general) aimed at creating longer term relations, networks, and partnerships within the region. These activities could also be instrumental to project preparation and serve as seed contribution for the design of larger international projects, including the preparation of applications in response to EU calls for applications. Applications organised over multiple interlinked activities and events are admissible, but applicants shall request the CEI support only for one defined portion/event of the programme falling into the set implementation period as the CEI contribution cannot finance multiple activities and events under this segment. Should the applicant not elaborate on this, the CEI reserves the right to reject the application or choose the single portion and related budget lines to be possibly awarded with a CEI contribution.
• Segment 2.2. Focused Section: these activities can also be organised over a longer-term period (max 18 months) and can be composed of multiple, yet interlinked, actions and sub-actions, including project preparation and project final events for presentation of the outputs to the public. Types of eligible activities could be for example on‐the‐job training, workshops, staff secondment, study visits, peer review missions, assistance in the preparation of strategic documents (development plans, reforms, strategic studies, etc.), technology transfer, technical and capacity building assistance.
• Activities can be held in person, from remote or in a hybrid modality. Other types of activities, meeting the primary objectives, can also be taken into consideration. During the evaluation there will be no preference given to one type of activity over the other: apart from observance of the provision of this Call for Applications and CEI Rules for Allocation of Resources and accuracy in providing comprehensive information over the proposed activity, the extent and quality of regional cooperation in these activities will be taken into consideration.

Eligibility Criteria

• Compliance to Areas of Intervention 
  • Applications shall refer to one of the areas of intervention.
• Eligible Applicants 
  • All public and private entities based and registered in CEI Member States (public/public equivalent bodies, NGOs/CSOs, private entities) can apply. International Organisations can also apply. Individuals cannot apply. Applicants shall prove to have sufficient capacity in organisation of international activities and project management.
  • Applicants to Segment 2.2. will not be allowed to outsource the implementation of main project activities. All applicants shall refer to their legal status within the Application Form, referring to the relevant legislation or act as appropriate. Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations as well as private entities must include in the Application Package an Official Proof of Registration and a courtesy translation of this document into English. This requirement is mandatory for the relevant applicants. This requirement does not apply to public entities.

For more information, visit CEI.