Deadline: 25-May-23
The European Commission (EC) is pleased to announce the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) that focuses on Capacity-building and awareness raising on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Objectives
- The Charter Strategy underlines the importance of strengthening the application of the Charter in the Member States, in particular through awareness raising and capacity building initiatives.
- The projects funded under this priority could address the needs on capacity building and awareness raising on the Charter in general, or they could focus on one or several of the thematics below:
- Rights enshrined in the Charter and awareness of the Charter’s scope of application. In accordance with its Article 51, the Charter is applicable to Member States only when they are implementing EU law. Given the specific nature of this instrument, in comparison with other international Treaties protecting fundamental rights, and considering the increasing number of references to the Charter in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, there is a specific need to promote a good understanding both of the rights enshrined in the Charter and of the situations in which the Charter applies, i.e. when EU law is being implemented.
- Protecting fundamental rights in the digital age. To follow up on the Annual Charter Report 2021, on fundamental rights in the digital age, the aim of the priority is to protect fundamental rights by strengthening accountability for the use of automation where rights are at stake. This includes approaches for addressing and combatting bias and multiple/intersectional discrimination based on gender and on other grounds including ethnic and racial origin, caused or intensified by the use of artificial intelligence systems. Projects will aim to develop guidelines (including measures that ensure gender-sensitive implementation), technical benchmarks and tools, including for algorithm-audits. Projects are expected to develop a concrete tool or a benchmark process in an area of the applicant’s choice with demonstrated relevance for fundamental rights, without prescribing the area or the type of the tool (e.g. it could be software, a benchmark data set, a simulation environment, a procedure).
Funding Information
- The available call budget is EUR 16 000 000.
- The check will normally be done for all coordinators, except:
- public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations
- if the project requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000.
- Duration Projects should normally range between 12 and 24 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).
Expected Impact
- Capacity building and awareness raising on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Increased awareness and better use of the Charter by CSOs, NHRIs, equality bodies, Ombuds Institutions, other rights defenders, and Member State authorities;
- Improved knowledge of available redress mechanisms under national and EU law, and how to make the best use of them for the benefit of rights holders;
- Improved cooperation between CSOs, NHRIs, Equality bodies, Ombuds Institutions, other rights defenders and Member State authorities on Charter-related issues;
- Increased prevention, mitigation, detection of and redress for breaches of fundamental rights, including algorithmic discrimination;
- Improved accountability of the development and use of automated systems, including specific algorithms and their output;
- Increased capacities to mitigate or otherwise address discriminatory biases in automated systems;
- Improved knowledge of fundamental rights, including gender equality and non-discrimination law, the legal requirements associated with the development and use of automated systems, and of practical approaches to ensure compliance.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible, the applicants (lead applicants “Coordinator”, co-applicants and affiliated entities) must:
- For lead applicants (i.e. the “Coordinator”): be non-profit legal entities (private bodies)
- For co-applicants: be non-profit or profit legal entities (public or private bodies). Organisations which are profit-oriented may apply only in partnership with private non-profit organisations;
- be formally established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- Activities must take place in any of the eligible countries (EU Member States);
- The EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 75 000;
- The project can be either national or transnational; the application may involve one or more organisations (lead applicant “Coordinator” and coapplicants).
- Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents showing legal status and origin.
- Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc.
- Specific cases
- Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of selfemployed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).
- International organisations — International organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons
- EU bodies — EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
For more information, visit EC.