Deadline: 24-Feb-22
The European Commission (EC) has launched a Call for proposals to promote capacity building and awareness on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and activities on strategic litigation relating to democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights breaches.
This call will protect, promote and raise awareness of rights by providing financial support to civil society organizations which are active at local, regional, national and transnational level in promoting and cultivating those rights, thereby also strengthening the protection and promotion of Union values and respect for the rule of law and contributing to the construction of a more democratic Union, democratic dialogue, transparency and good governance.
The EU policy initiatives supported under this call are the following: European democracy action plan, Rule of law report, Strategy to strenghten the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU.
Priorities
Projects must address one (or both) of the following policy priorities set for 2022:
- Capacity-building and awareness raising on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: To contribute to the effective an d coherent application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter), in line with the Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter in the EU and to foster a culture of fundamental rights in the Member States.
- Activities on strategic litigation: To strengthen the knowledge and ability of practitioners, legal professionals, civil society Organizations and independent human rights bodies to Effectively engage in litigation practices at national to European level, and to improve access to justice and enforcement of rights under EU law, including the Charter, through training, knowledge sharing and exchange of good practices.
Funding information
The available call budget is EUR 2,000,000.
Expected impact
- increasing awareness and better use of the Charter by CSOs, NHRIs, equality bodies, Ombuds Institutions and Member State authorities;
- improved knowledge about available rectification mechanisms and how to make the best use of them for the benefit of rights holders;
- improved cooperation between CSOs, NHRIs, Equality bodies, Ombuds Institutions and Member State authorities on Charter-related issues;
- increased ability of CSOs, NHRIs, equality bodies and Ombuds Institutions to develop a litigation strategy, and communicate a nd advocate around it, and to bring strategic litigation cases before national courts and the European Court of Justice.
Eligibility Criteria
In ord he to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, ie:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- other eligibility conditions:
- the project can be either national or transnational;
- the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 75,000
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3IHrxkz