CFPs: Cooperation with EU citizens and Youth in the United Kingdom

Deadline: 17-Jun-25

The European Commission is seeking proposals to to promote dialogues with citizens and youth as a privileged means to improve the European Union’s engagement across the United Kingdom with youth and EU citizens.

Priority Areas 

• The priority areas of this call for proposals are:  
  • Promoting the core values of the European Union – such as peace, democracy, the rule of law, individual freedoms, human rights, citizens’ rights, pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, social dialogue, solidarity and equality;  
  • Working together on sustainable environmental, economic and social futures;  
  • Supporting the implementation of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 

Lots 

• Lot 1 – Focus on Youth   
  • Young people are the future. Building on the achievements of the 2022 “European Year of Youth”, the European Commission announced several actions that give young people a greater say in the decisions that affect them and deepen the youth dimension in a range of EU policies. Ursula von der Leyen pledged to listen to young people’s voices in a structured way during her second term as European Commission President, via annual “Youth Policy Dialogues”. When designing EU policies, the Commission will apply a ‘youth check’’ which will ensure that their impact on young people is systematically factored in. 
  • Actions under this lot should aim to:   
    • Enable young people, notably outside of higher education (young workers, apprentices, students and young staff in VET, adult learners under 30, etc) to have access to reliable information about the EU, its values, policies and programmes by organizing EU related events in a significant number of Further Education establishments across the UK (for example 15 events in year one and 25 events in year two and three respectively), in which they will be able to interact with representatives from the EU, the EU Delegation or its partners in the field of youth;  
    • Enable young people, notably outside of higher education, in particular those who have participated in activities under A) to interact with higher education students, young union representatives, young professionals and entrepreneurs, young people in youth and civil society organizations, and representatives from the EU and/or the EU Delegation to the UK through local or regional youth dialogues across the UK (for example EU youth dialogues in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the North, London, and other English regions).  
    • Enable young people, in particular those who have participated in activities under A) or B) to engage with the EU and the EU delegation to the UK, including by attending the EU-UK youth dialogue that the EU Delegation organises annually.   
    • Enable young people from the UK, in particular those who have participated in activities under B) or C), to attend key youth events in the EU, such as the European Youth Week, the EYE, the EESC youth dialogue, or other EU youth events opened to young people from the UK. Actions should also facilitate the participation of EU youth leaders in activities under C), B) and when feasible in A) to establish a meaningful EU-UK youth engagement and dialogue. However, the main focus of the activities should be on young people resident in the UK.  
    • Build synergies with other actions carried out by the EU Delegation to the UK (such as the EU-UK youth dialogue, the European Affairs Societies Network, the European Day of Languages, or activities around Europe month); key youth actors such as the British Youth Council or the European Youth Forum; or the European Parliament Ambassador School Programme.  
    • In order to complement actions under A) to E), provide practical information about the opportunities that Erasmus+ or other union programmes could provide to young people in the UK (in particular outside of higher education), if the UK were to decide to become an associated country. 
• Lot 2 – Focus on EU citizens and local communities  
  • The United Kingdom has one of the largest communities of EU citizens in the world. Millions of EU citizens consider the United Kingdom their home and are protected by the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. Because of the United Kingdom’s former membership of the European Union, EU citizens’ communities have become part of the fabric of British society and continue to actively contribute to all areas of life in the United Kingdom. Many EU citizens also retain a close relationship with their families and friends in the European Union. 
  • Actions under this lot should aim to:   
    • Maintain a mapping and create and / or strengthen local, regional, and national networks of EU citizens’ communities, organise interaction at various levels to share knowledge and best practices in view of structuring the networks and enabling their full potential. Contribute to the long-term sustainability of networks of EU citizens’ communities, including through engaging with private funders, philanthropists, diaspora activists, etc who are ready to invest in the networks’ success via means available to them; 
    • Understand the needs of EU citizens’ communities and organisations representing or supporting them and contribute to their capacity building, training and access to resources to make them more professional and effective.  
    • Contribute to informing UK and EU decision makers and influencers of the views of EU citizens and their local communities in the United Kingdom and form stronger ties between EU Communities and their representatives in the UK.   
    • Build relations with local British communities and the wider British society, including civil society and representative bodies to promote a positive perception and specific actions for Europeans in the UK and, as well as strong EU/UK ties. Support civic and democratic participation of EU citizens, including by fostering engagement with local authorities.  
    • Help foster a sense of European Community in the UK, through preserving ties with European identity, culture and languages and encouraging cooperation with other European networks in the UK (such as EUNIC, Chambers of Commerce, researchers, national diaspora organisations, faith-based groups, school networks, etc.) to support networks of EU citizens in different sectors of activities.   
    • Increase awareness of the EU’s priorities and support interaction with European Union Institutions and develop a representative network of “leaders” of EU citizens’ communities in the UK and nurture their understanding of the EU/UK relationship and actors. Enable representatives of EU citizens in the UK to attend key events in the EU related to EU citizenship or EU-UK relations.  
    • Build synergies with other actions carried out by the EU Delegation to UK in this area, such as a gathering for EU citizens’ organisations, EmpowerEU awards, Monitoring networks, European Day of Languages and activities around Europe Day; and with key organisations representing EU citizens’ in the UK, etc. 

Funding Information 

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 1,200,000 The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.  
• Indicative allocation of funds by lot:  
  • Lot 1 – Focus on Youth: EUR 600,000  
  • Lot 2 – Focus on EU citizens and local communities: EUR 600,000 
• Size of grants  
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must not exceed the below maximum amount:  
  • maximum amount: EUR 600,000 
• Duration: The initial planned duration of an action may not exceed 36 months.   

Eligible Activities  

• Types of activities that may be financed under this call include:   
  • Network and capacity development for youth and citizens’ organisations, including at local, regional and national level, also promoting closer ties between young people in the European Union and the United Kingdom and between EU citizens in the UK; Training programmes, Leadership development and fund-raising and briefing sessions; including on setting up, managing and developing grassroots youth and citizens’ organisations;  
  • Identification and engagement with relevant stakeholders connected to youth and EU citizens’ projects that support a wider network development and building strategic relationships with the EU Delegation to the United Kingdom;  
  • Activities to raise awareness about the EU and its policies and programmes in among EU citizens and in UK Further Education and similar establishments and among young workers and young union representatives;  
  • Activities for youth, with a focus on youth dialogues;  
  • Photo / design / essay competitions and other form of cultural engagement;   
  • Organisation or participation in cultural activities with a clear EU focus, such as film screenings, language learning promotion, concerts, exhibitions, performances, literary programs, representations at festivals, food fairs, sports events, interdisciplinary forms of cultural practices across different locations in the country, focusing on synergies and cooperation with relevant actors;   
  • Strategic advocacy and campaigning efforts engaging grassroots organisations and diaspora communities in consultations and democratic processes, including raising awareness of the needs of ethnic minority groups, including Roma;  
  • Delivery or participation in events such as seminars, workshops, webinars, or lectures that may also feature youth leaders / EU Citizens leaders or representatives, influencers, diaspora media, experts, policymakers, trade union or business representatives and EU/EU Member States representatives including EU Delegation, Member States representations and consulates; 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Lead applicant  
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:  
    • be a legal person   
    • be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 159(1) of the EU Financial Regulation, and   
    • be effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in the United Kingdom. Due to the legal status of international organisations, the obligation of effective establishment in the referred countries does not apply to international organisations, where the latter are eligible, and  
    • 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, and 
  • The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s). 
• 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. 

For more information, visit EC.