Call for Proposals on the Fight against Corruption

Deadline: 26-Sep-2024

The European Commission (EC) has announced a call for proposals on the Fight against Corruption under Internal Security Fund (ISF).

Objectives 

• In line with the European Commission’s policies, as set-out above, the objective of this call is (i) to enhance EU-level actions against corruption to address the current and evolving security threats that corruption poses to citizens and the licit economy and (ii) to support the work carried out by Member States’ competent authorities and other stakeholders in the prevention of and fight against corruption.

Themes and Priorities 

• Project applications submitted under the present call for proposals must address at least one of the following priorities:
  • Structural and/or operational obstacles in the detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication and sanctioning of corruption, in particular highlevel corruption;
  • The implementation of recommendations to Member States highlighted in the annual Rule of Law reports, as well as the objectives of the Commission outlined in the Communication on the fight against corruption and the proposed Directive on combating corruption;
  • Integrity and anti-corruption in law enforcement and judicial authorities, and the enabling of corruption by financial and professional services;
  • Areas with a high risk of corruption, including, but not limited to corruption in public procurement, sports, health, construction and infrastructure, logistical and financial sectors;
  • Corruption as an enabler of organised crime and as a means to infiltrate the licit economy and the society, including in ports;
  • Challenges linked to corruption-prevention in the public sector and transparency of decision-making, including, but not limited to, management of conflicts of interest, asset disclosure, rules on post-employment (revolving doors), codes of conduct or ethics, transparency of lobbying;
  • Challenges linked to corruption-prevention in the private sector including, but not limited to, rules on post-employment (revolving doors), codes of conduct or ethics, corporate compliance programs, transparency of lobbying;
  • Supporting civil society, journalists and citizens to expose and report corruption;
  • Supporting the inclusion and progress of anti-corruption, ethics and integrity education at all educational levels, including by engaging and empowering young people with non-formal educational approaches;
  • The promotion of evidence-based policy making in the anti-corruption field, including but not limited to the collection of appropriate statistics and building of robust databases.

Funding Information

• The available call budget is EUR 3 000 000.
• Requested EU contribution to the project’s budget (“maximum EU grant amount” per project) must range between EUR 500 000 and EUR 2 000 000.

Duration 

• Projects must have a duration of 24 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).

Expected Impact 

• Projects should aim to achieve one or more of the following impacts.
  • In the short-term, the funding is expected to:
    • Increase understanding of the challenges and good practices in the areas mentioned as priorities, including on new forms of corruption and new methods used by criminals and criminal networks, and/or risks of infiltration of organised crime through corruption into MS economies, politics and societies at large;
    • Enhance communication, coordination and cooperation between enforcement authorities in Member States with other relevant authorities at national (inter alia audit institutions, tax and competition authorities, FIUs, financial institutions) and international level (e.g. Europol, Eurojust, EPPO, OLAF); and/or between citizens, civil society, public authorities and the private sector;
    • Improve the measurement of corruption. Where applicable, the proposals should demonstrate how they will effectively build on the relevant previous or on-going EU funded projects and existing corruption measurement frameworks.
  • In the long-term, the funding is expected to:
    • improve the prevention of or fight against corruption;
    • foster a culture of integrity across the EU.

Outcomes

• Projects must be aiming to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:
  • Structural and/or operational solutions in the detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication and sanctioning of corruption, in particular high-level corruption;
  • Structural and/or operational solutions in the prevention of corruption in the public and private sector;
  • Increased understanding of the challenges and good practices in the areas mentioned as priorities, including on new forms of corruption and new methods used by criminals and criminal networks, and/or risks of infiltration of organised crime through corruption into MS economies, politics and societies at large;
  • Increased implementation of recommendations to Member States highlighted in the annual Rule of Law reports, as well as the objectives of the Communication on the fight against corruption and the proposed Directive on combating corruption.
  • Data and risk management tools that enable mitigation or oversight in areas with high corruption risks;
  • Practical tools that aid in preventing or investigating/prosecuting corruption and measuring the impact of corruption and anti-corruption measures;
  • Better cooperation between all relevant stakeholders, including government authorities, law enforcement, judiciary, civil society and journalists.

Activities

• Project applications submitted under the present call for proposals should provide for activities supporting the prevention of and the fight against corruption, in line with the objectives described above, including one or more of the following activities (non-exhaustive list):
  • Activities supporting the repression of corruption, including strengthening the digitalisation of law enforcement as well as police’s investigative capacities;
  • Activities that further the implementation of recommendations to Member States highlighted in the annual Rule of Law reports, as well as the objectives of the Commission outlined in the Communication on the fight against corruption and the proposed Directive on combating corruption;
  • Measures improving integrity and anti-corruption in law enforcement and judicial authorities;
  • Measures to reduce corruption in areas with a high risk of corruption;
  • Identification of challenges to corruption-prevention in the private sector and public sector, as well as measures to mitigate these;
  • Activities supporting the monitoring of the application and effectiveness of preventive anti-corruption measures, such as on transparency registers, declarations of asset and interests, others in line with the activities of the Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report;
  • The promotion of evidence-based policy making in the anti-corruption field, including but not limited to the collection of appropriate statistics and building of robust databases;
  • Analysis of enablers and the modus operandi of corruption to expand corruption-specific research, knowledge and understanding in law enforcement, prosecution services and/or the wider public, including, but not limited to, new methods used by criminals and criminal networks;
  • Development and dissemination of good practices in the prevention of, or fight against, corruption across the EU, in particular good practices of measures to mitigate corruption in areas at high risk of corruption;
  • Supporting the anti-corruption action targeted at youth and the wider public by, for example, reinforcing the work of civil society, citizens and journalists in exposing corruption, and reinforcing the role of young people in fostering a culture of integrity.
  • Promoting the development and implementation of good practices and data exchange in the area of anti-corruption at EU level.

Target Groups 

• The projects of this call should ensure they reach the relevant targets involved in the prevention of and fight against corruption, including:
  • Civil society, journalists and academics;
  • Private Sector (e.g. SMEs, large companies and non-profit organisations);
  • National authorities, in particular:
    • Specialised anti-corruption authorities both as regards prevention and/or repression of corruption: anti-corruption coordination body, specialised anti-corruption law enforcement or prosecution, audit institutions, tax and competition authorities, FIUs, financial institutions, etc.;
    • Authorities with competences in the field such as Ministries;
    • Authorities operating in or linked to areas of high risk of corruption (healthcare, construction, public procurement, etc.).
  • Authorities at European level, in particular Europol, Eurojust, EPPO and OLAF.

Target Countries 

• EU Member States.
• The following non-EU countries (i.e. candidates and potential candidates for EU membership, except Türkiye): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
  • be legal entities:
    • public bodies or, by the competent authority’s mandate, a public or non-public implementing agency or body of a Member State participating in the ISF
    • non-profit-making public/private entities
    • profit-making entities
    • International organisations
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)), excluding Denmark,
    • non-EU countries:
      • legal entities established in the following third countries can participate only as part of a consortium composed of at least 2 independent legal entities, at least 1 of which is established in an EU Member State: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.

For more information, visit EC.