Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV)

EU Rights and Values

The main aim of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme is to protect and promote the rights and values enshrined in the EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The principle way in which the programme will achieve this is to support civil society organisations at local, regional, national and transnational level.

The programme will look to implement four specific objectives

1. to protect and promote Union values;
    
2. to promote rights, non-discrimination and equality, including gender equality, and to advance gender mainstreaming and the mainstreaming of non-discrimination;
    
3. to promote citizens' engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between citizens of different Member States, and to raise awareness of their common European history;
    
4. to prevent and combat gender-based violence and violence against children.

For the achievement of the above mentioned objectives, the funding programme is divided into four funding strands, these being:

• Union values strand;
   
• equality, rights and gender equality strand;
   
• citizens' engagement and participation strand;
   
• Daphne strand.

The activities funded under this programme vary according to which strand one applies under. Notwithstanding this the following activities are applicable under this programme depending on the strand:

• capacity building;
   
• awareness-raising;
   
• exchange of best practices between stakeholders;
   
• mobility activities.

The funding mechanism under this programme works through both eligible costs and lump sums. projects funded under the citizens’ engagement and participation strand will be funded through lump sums. Projects funded under the other strands will be based on eligible costs, were the eligible costs highlighted under each call will be financed. The co-financing of these costs vary according to the call between 80% and 90%.

Eligible applicants under this programme vary, with different calls open to a diverse range of organisations, such as, non-governmental organisations and public entities.