Deadline: 10-Jul-25
The European Commission (EC) has launched a call which aims at contributing to the promotion of social dialogue at cross-industry and sectoral level, developing European social dialogue, and building and strengthening the capacity of social partner organisations (both in Member States and candidate countries).
Themes and Priorities
- Actions that address the following themes will be particularly welcome:
- actions aimed at preparing negotiations of autonomous social partner agreements to be concluded at EU level and at supporting their implementation at national level;
- actions related to the implementation of the work programmes of the existing European Social Dialogue Committees;
- Relevant themes for this call are:
- the employment, social and economic challenges as identified in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and other key Commission documents; the adaptation of social dialogue, in particular collective bargaining, to changes in employment and work-related challenges, such as:
- quality jobs, including fair working conditions and health and safety at work, anticipation, preparation and management of change and restructuring;
- just transition to a climate-neutral economy;
- digitalisation including artificial intelligence and algorithmic management;
- labour shortages and skills development including re- and upskilling; skills intelligence, and skills recognition across the EU;
- strengthening collective bargaining, including on minimum wages;
- new forms of work including platform work;
- modernisation of the labour market, job creation and job matching, youth employment; employment in SMEs;
- intra-EU labour mobility, attracting talents in line with the needs of our economies and labour market;
- modernisation of social protection systems, including access to social protection for those in non-standard forms of employment and the portability of social security rights;
- reconciliation of work and family life, gender equality, action in the field of anti-discrimination, healthier and longer working lives, active inclusion and decent work;
- involvement of social partners in the European Semester;
- tackling the employment, social and economic consequences of crisis situations.
- building and strengthening the capacity of social partner organisations.
- the employment, social and economic challenges as identified in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and other key Commission documents; the adaptation of social dialogue, in particular collective bargaining, to changes in employment and work-related challenges, such as:
Funding Information
- The available call budget is EUR 13 250 000
- Project budgets (maximum grant amount) are expected to range between EUR 150 000 and EUR 700 000 per project.
Duration
- Projects should normally range between 12 and 36 months.
Eligible Activities
- Activities that can be funded:
- The following categories of actions are targeted:
- measures to prepare European social dialogue, such as preparatory surveys, meetings and conferences;
- measures regarded as part of social dialogue within the meaning of Articles 154 and 155 TFEU, such as negotiations, preparatory meetings for negotiations or activities relating to the implementation of negotiated agreements and other negotiated outcomes;
- measures to disseminate, promote, monitor and evaluate European social dialogue activities and outcomes, e.g. through European or national events, peer learning or reviews, studies and (paper or electronic) publications (including the translation);
- measures to improve the coordination, functioning and effectiveness of European social dialogue, including through the identification and development of joint approaches by the social dialogue committees, such as the exchange of good practice and related joint training events;
- measures by social partners aiming to support and/or improve their contribution to EU policy making, particularly on current priority areas mentioned in the on current priority areas mentioned in the Commission Work Programme in the social policy field, including in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the Porto Social Commitment and the Porto Declaration including the 2030 social headline targets, as well as the monitoring and analysis of their impact on labour markets;
- measures to support the European social partners and social dialogue committees in their contribution to impact assessment of the employment and social dimensions of EU initiatives.
- The following categories of actions are targeted:
Expected Impact
- Proposals are expected to contribute to strengthening the capacity of social partners organisations (both in Member States and candidate countries) to address, at EU/transnational level, challenges related to changes in employment and working conditions as well as challenges related to their effective participation in social dialogue.
- To offer an EU added value, proposals are expected to have an EU/transnational dimension by involving several social partners from different EU member states and should analyse challenges concerning several member states or the whole EU and develop strategies for addressing those.
- Proposals are expected to contribute to the promotion of social dialogue at crossindustry and sectoral level in accordance with Title X of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and to the development of European social dialogue in its different dimensions of information exchange, consultation, negotiation and joint action.
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies);
- be established and registered in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States
- non-EU countries (not for coordinator and single applicant):
- Candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine
Ineligibility Criteria
- Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding cannot participate:
- bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)
- in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)
- guilty of grave professional misconduct (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant
- committed fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or human trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of representation.
For more information, visit EC.