Negotiators from the European Parliament and the German Presidency of the Council of the EU reached a political agreement on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December on the 2021-2027 ‘Rights and Values’ and ‘Justice’ programmes, which are both part of the new EU Fund for Justice, Rights and Values (see EUROPE 12030/12).
Partial agreements on the main lines of the programmes had already been reached in March 2019 (see EUROPE 12207/9, 12209/6), leaving only the budgetary aspects to be settled.
On the ‘Rights and Values’ programme - renamed by the co-legislators as ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’ - Parliament has scored a major victory, as the maximum financial envelope has been significantly increased to €1.55 billion, which includes the initial budget of €641.7 million in current prices and an additional allocation of €912 million.
However, the funds from the additional allocation will only be available in 2022, as decided by the EU Council and Parliament when the Multiannual Financial Framework was agreed, a European source explained.
In March, Parliament also succeeded in securing support for making civil society organisations that promote European values a fourth objective of the programme, alongside the objectives of promoting equality and rights, citizen involvement and participation in democratic life, and combating and fighting violence.
According to the agreement, this new objective will be eligible for a maximum amount of €689.5 million, i.e. almost half of the total amount of the programme. Negotiators agreed that this objective “should be provided with substantial funding from 1 January 2021”, calling on the European Commission to use flexibility instruments, if necessary, to ensure this.
Within the additional allocation, an amount of €91.2 million has also been set aside for responding to emerging needs and future challenges, for any of the four objectives.
€305 million for the ‘Justice’ programme
With regard to the ‘Justice’ programme, which aims to foster the establishment of a European area of justice based on mutual trust, the co-legislators maintained the envelope proposed by the Commission, i.e. €305 million in current prices.
At least 36% of these funds will be devoted to judicial education with a view to fostering a common culture regarding legal and judicial matters as well as the Rule of law. Of the total, 27% of the funds will aim to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and to promote the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and another 27% will also facilitate effective and non-discriminatory access to justice for all and to effective remedies, including by electronic means. The remaining 10% of the funds will be used for the promotion of the Rule of law.
As Parliament requested, particular attention will be paid in the implementation of the programme to the promotion of gender equality as well as to the rights of children, the protection of victims, and the effective application of the principle of equal rights and non-discrimination.
Both agreements still need to be formally approved by Parliament and the EU Council in early 2021. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)