Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

Budget for 2021-2027

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Rationale and design of the programme

The citizens, equality, rights and values programme (CERV) seeks to promote the rights and values of the EU.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

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  Financial programming:
  + EUR 19.6 million (+ 3%)
  compared to the legal basis (*)

^{(*) Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

• This increase consists out of transfers to CERV lines in 2021 by pilot projects and preparatory actions and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EUR 1.8 million), 2022 conciliation (EUR 5.5 million), 2023 conciliation (EUR 3 million) and 2024 conciliation (EUR 4.5 million).

Budget performance – implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Voted budget implementation (million EUR)^(*):

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Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

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• In 2023, the CERV programme supported the horizontal Commission priority on climate by rewarding several additional projects engaging citizens and communities in discussions and action related to our climate and environment under the 2022 call for proposals on citizens’ engagement and participation. Further to this, 13 projects supporting the priority on the climate were rewarded under the call for networks of towns. For example, one of these projects, greengaged citizens, is an initiative promoted by the municipality of Pinhel, Portugal, the goal of which is to place municipalities and local entities at the centre of climate action, transforming climate and environmental challenges into opportunities.

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

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• Part of the programmed budget has been merged between the years 2023-2024. As a consequence, not all of the budget that was financially programmed in 2023 has been implemented yet, and it could not be evaluated concerning its gender score. To account for the amount of budget for which the gender score is unknown, it is reported at the scores that are most appropriate considering the thematic focus of the budget. As the CERV programme’s thematic focus is inherently linked to promoting gender equality, the score of 1 is the default estimate, but this is adapted if necessary. Once the budget in question has been implemented, gender scores will be revisited. This ensures that the budget for 2023 is considered appropriately.

Key achievements:

• The design of the CERV programme puts the promotion of equality at its heart. In 2023, the programme continued to promote gender equality through all of its strands. Each project financed through grants has been assessed concerning its contribution to the promotion of gender equality and has been attributed a score. The data on grants show that the CERV programme has a strong focus on promoting gender equality, as two thirds of funding from grants received a score of 1 and 2. The Commission has also started to introduce a gender perspective into procurement activities. Gender mainstreaming of procurement was piloted in relation to selection and evaluation criteria, for example via requirements for gender expertise on the project team. Another example is a requirement to ensure a good gender balance when collecting data and interviewing people, because points of view can differ depending on the gender of the respondents. However, the data are not at the same level of granularity as the data collected for grants. Therefore, the estimate of the procurement activities’ gender score is based on their programming. Similarly, the contribution of projects funded via indirect management is also estimated based on their thematic focus.

Score 2.
Around 23% of funding provided via grants received a score of 2. Thus, approximately every fourth euro of financing from grants contributes strongly to gender equality. This is especially true for the Daphne strand, with its focus on preventing and combating gender-based violence. Around a third of the organisations funded via operating grants made the promotion of gender equality an essential part of their agenda. European remembrance emerges as another strongly performing policy area with, around 30% of EU funds from the call contributing with a score of 2. This can be linked to the design of the call, which highlights the importance of analysing European history through a gender lens. Specific procurement activities, such as the Special Eurobarometer survey ‘Gender stereotypes’, also contributed to this score, based on their thematic scope. Around a fifth of the procurement budget has received this score. This is comparable to the performance from grants and reflects the targeted actions funded under the programme. The study on ‘Future steps for gender equality and equal economic empowerment of women and men in the EU’, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and funded via indirect management, received a score of 2. It is the only indirect management action that received this score.

Score 1.
About half of the grants (53%) received a score of 1. These are projects funded under calls for proposals with a thematic focus that is closely intertwined with the promotion of gender equality (e.g. the fight against discrimination from an intersectional perspective). Procurement activities contribute 10% of their total funding to this score. The contribution is linked to the ongoing work on gender mainstreaming calls for tender that, for example, integrated a gender perspective into the terms of reference for a survey on sentiment of antisemitism within the EU. No indirect management actions have been attributed this score.

Score 0*.
Around 20% of the funds from grants received a score of 0*. The EU charter and litigation call under the EU values strand has a high share of this score. Around every third euro of funding from the call is attributed to this score, and around 25% of total funding from grants under the 0* score come from this call. This high share of the score can be explained by the focus on raising awareness of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Although raising awareness of rights embedded in the charter is linked to gender equality, there is room for improvement to integrate a gender perspective more systematically into this call. Another example that explains this score is funding provided to national contact points. National contact points help raise awareness of the CERV programme and its calls for proposals at national level. While their activities have the potential to promote gender equality, as they may help applicants gender mainstream their proposals, their scope of action is much broader and more can be done on this in the future The majority of funding provided via procurement is attributed a score of 0*, as work is ongoing. Given the thematic focus of procurement activities under the CERV programme, there is the potential to promote gender equality more strongly via procurement. All the remaining indirect management actions received a score of 0*. They have the potential to promote gender equality based on their thematic focus, such as the awareness-raising campaign implemented by the Council of Europe on fighting discrimination and antigypsyism in Member States with larger Roma communities. However, the systematic integration of a gender perspective could not be confirmed.

Score 0.
Finally, about 2% of the funding from grants received a score of 0. This relates to activities that are rather small in their scale and scope, which provide fewer opportunities to meaningfully integrate a gender perspective into projects. An example is projects funded under the call for proposals for networks of towns. These projects primarily focus on cultural exchange between cities and their inhabitants, for example by organising events. As the scope of these events is limited, the opportunities to address gender equality in an extensive way are few. In addition, the programme financed, via procurement, work by information-technology experts that does not have a strong link to gender equality. No indirect management actions have been attributed this score.

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

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• The CERV programme contributes to the digital transition by supporting initiatives on (1) innovative democratic approaches and tools, notably digital e-democracy tools; (2) data protection as a pillar of citizens’ empowerment and the EU’s approach to the digital transition; and (3) the ECI, by being a catalyst for the use of electronic identification means and enabling citizens’ participation by digital means.

Budget performance – outcomes

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•    Since 2021, a total of 3 105 civil-society organisations have been supported by the CERV programme. This number also includes those organisations that have benefited so far from the regranting schemes in place under the EU values strand of the programme. The performance of the CERV programme regarding support for civil-society organisations is on track.
•    Since 2021, at least 31 421 657 people have been reached by CERV projects. These data are based on estimations, and are only partially available due to the ongoing development of e-grants. The data are expected to be updated once the development of e-grants is completed.
•    The programme’s performance is also assessed through the EU Survey on Justice, Rights and Values, which is filled in by participants during activities carried out by CERV-funded projects. The results of survey are centrally collected by DG Justice and Consumers. The latest results, based on 19 091 answers received in 2023, show that 93% of respondents assessed the event in which they participated as good or very good. Respondents again indicated ‘increased awareness’ as the greatest benefit the event brought to them, with ‘increased knowledge’ following closely behind. More than 80% of respondents also indicated that their perception of the topic addressed at the event had changed and they were now likely to react differently when confronted with the topic. It is also worth noting that more than 50% of the respondents highlighted that they are not satisfied with the way democracy works in their country.
•    Although some CERV calls had previously operated on the basis of lump sums, in 2023 most CERV calls switched to lump sums. This change was introduced to alleviate the administrative burden for beneficiaries and to simplify their reporting obligations, while keeping the focus on performance.
•    The sharp increase in inflation also had a tangible impact on running grants in 2023. As the EU’s contribution is fixed, beneficiaries raised concerns that they could not implement all of the activities provided for in their initial grant agreement because inflation was not reflected in the unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence. For this reason, the decision on unit costs was revised in June 2023 to try to compensate for the extreme inflation in air travel since 2021. The rates for return air and rail travel above 400 km have increased by 25%. For all the other unit costs, a separate review is currently underway that may result in a further amendment of the rates in the near future.
•    The COVID-19 crisis continued to have an impact in 2023, even if it was minor than in previous years. About 15% of amendments were still motivated by the implications of the pandemic.
•    The introduction of the new political priorities in the CERV calls for proposals, coupled with a significant budget increase in some calls, was another challenge for implementation in 2023. Therefore, it was crucial to run strong publicity campaigns to ensure that applicants were aware of these new opportunities, which would also contribute to attracting high-quality proposals. Under the EU values call, the development of a risk monitoring strategy and an internal monitoring system for projects providing financial support to third parties was quite challenging, as these initiatives were new for staff and had to be ready early in 2023 for the first projects selected, which were about to start.
•    In 2023, stakeholders’ knowledge of and skill in using e-grant tools increased substantially in comparison with 2022, but it was still not at full cruising speed. For some specific calls, such as town twinning, dealing with grassroots organisations and small municipalities, the use of e-grants remained a significant challenge for the entire life cycle of the project. Generally speaking, some sub-workflows (i.e. amendments and final reporting) and procedures were new and challenging for many beneficiaries, including in respect of deadlines. It was helpful to increase communication with beneficiaries and to propose a number of hands-on training sessions, which will continue in the future so as to increase beneficiaries’ knowledge of and skill in using e-grant tools.
•    Some projects funded under CERV contribute simultaneously to several horizontal priorities, for example to climate and gender equality. For instance, a new initiative called ‘Her voice, her power, our future! Women leading the way to sustainability’ has been launched, bringing together eight European towns to promote women's empowerment in relation to the 2030 Agenda and ecological transition in Europe. The network will explore concepts such as the Urban Agenda and the role of women in the European green transition to promote a sustainable future for Europe. The main goal of the project is to empower women to participate in civic life and in leadership roles regarding sustainable energy and sustainable resources. The project aims to increase women’s involvement in creating local green and sustainable policies and to contribute to the New European Bauhaus initiative and the European Green Deal.

MFF 2014-2020 – Rights, equality and citizenship

The Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme aimed to contribute to the further development of an EU where people’s equality and rights are promoted and protected.

Budget

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Performance assessment

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• The programme provided around EUR 430 million between 2014 and 2020 in support of initiatives promoting justice and fundamental rights. These initiatives included training sessions, seminars and mutual-learning events, research and studies, and awareness-raising and media campaigns to the ultimate benefit of EU citizens. The programme succeeded in contributing to the further development of an area where equality and the rights of persons are promoted, protected and effectively implemented.
• The first part of the ex post evaluation carried out in 2022 looked into the performance and results of the 2014-2020 rights, equality and citizenship programme. The evaluation showed that, despite the effects of the economic crisis (which led to a general reduction in the amount of national resources and funding available for social and fundamental rights issues), the programme has proved its EU added value and its crucial role in developing a European area of equality and rights. The evaluation also showed that although the benefits of projects’ implementation outweigh the costs, the administrative costs are still perceived by beneficiaries on average to be higher in comparison with other non-EU alternatives or with national programmes.
• A complex interplay of internal and external factors hindered the programme’s performance at various times. The internal factors mainly relate to difficulties in the application process, the internal capacity of project partners and the type and quality of consortia. Common external factors relate to the impact of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge of involving public entities and stakeholders in the activities planned.
• The evaluation found that the success factors in projects under the rights, equality and citizenship programme include the quality of partnerships, bringing together organisations with complementary expertise and covering managerial and coordination skills with experience of working with target groups on the ground. Another element of success is the capacity of the projects to respond to the aims of the calls while also pursuing the longer-term strategies of the implementing organisations.
• As regards the baseline situation, as described in the 2011 impact assessment and the 2015 ex post evaluation of the three predecessor programmes (Daphne III, fundamental rights, and citizenship and progress), the evaluation evidence shows that almost all the difficulties identified in the programme were overcome, except for the geographical imbalance, which still persisted.
• The second part of the ex post evaluation will be concluded in 2025. It will particularly focus on long-term effects and sustainability of the programme.

Contribution to the sustainable development goals