On Thursday 10 October, the European Commission published its annual report on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, outlining the EU’s efforts to promote and protect fundamental rights through dedicated funding.
The ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’ (CERV) programme is a key element in this approach, with a budget of over €1.5 billion for the period 2021-2027, making it the largest EU fund dedicated to promoting European rights and values. Since 2021, almost 4,000 civil society organisations have been supported, representing over 60% of the programme’s beneficiaries.
Member States must ensure that their funding programmes respect the principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
In addition to the CERV programme, other sectoral funding, such as the Justice, DigitalEurope, Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programmes, contribute to the promotion of fundamental rights in the EU.
The Justice programme, with a budget of €296.8 million for the period 2021-2027, finances the training of legal practitioners and supports judicial cooperation. Similarly, Horizon Europe, with a budget of €95.5 billion, aims both to strengthen the EU’s scientific and technological base and to promote fundamental rights such as academic freedom.
The Commission also notes the objective of the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’, which strengthens the scope of projects aimed at promoting European values.
Drawing on contributions from Member States, international donors and civil society organisations, the report identifies best practice while recognising the efforts of Member States, human rights institutions and equality bodies.
And while problems persist, particularly in terms of reducing civic space, the EU continues to adjust its funding mechanisms to support open and democratic dialogue across Europe.
In a press release, Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission for Values and Transparency, called for “intensified (efforts) to make funds more accessible”. The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, called for “an in-depth dialogue between the European institutions and the Member States” to improve the funding of fundamental rights activities.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/dto (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry )