Call for proposals to promote civil society organisations’ awareness of, capacity building and implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme is offering action grants under the call identified as CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI. The primary aim of this funding initiative is to enhance the capacity of civil society organizations to promote and implement the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Eligible applicants include civil society organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders, and other entities actively engaged in legal advocacy. Applicants can be single entities or partnerships, including transnational collaborations, and projects can operate nationally or across borders.

The focus area for this call includes: capacity building and awareness raising concerning the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, empowerment of civic space, strategic litigation addressing issues like hate crime, and creating conditions supportive of whistleblower protection. The grant aims to support initiatives that strengthen Union values, promote transparency, and reinforce the rule of law and democratic governance.

The total available budget for this call is EUR 18,000,000 with individual grant amounts that vary, as indicated by examples ranging from EUR 75,000 to projects costing several millions, depending on the specific objectives. A single-stage application process is in place, with the deadline for submissions set for September 18, 2025.

The evaluation of proposals is scheduled to take place between October 2025 and February 2026, with successful applicants receiving information by March 2026 and grant agreements finalized by June 2026. An online information session hosted by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is planned for June 10-11, 2025, to provide further insights into the application process.

Applicants should reference the call document for comprehensive details regarding eligibility, conditions, application requirements, assessment criteria, and necessary documents required for submission. For further assistance, inquiries regarding non-IT related questions should be directed to the CERV National Contact Point or the specified EACEA email address, indicating the relevant call reference.

The EU is offering action grants under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) to promote Union Values. The call, referenced as CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI, aims to protect and raise awareness of fundamental rights by supporting civil society organizations at various levels. These organizations should be actively promoting and cultivating these rights, thereby strengthening Union values, respect for the rule of law, democratic dialogue, transparency, and good governance.

The call specifically targets projects that enhance civil society organizations' awareness and capacity to apply the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Projects can be national or transnational, but each application must focus on only one of the following priorities:

Priority 1: Capacity building and awareness raising on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Priority 2: Promoting rights and values by empowering the civic space.

Priority 3: Strategic litigation.

Priority 4: Protecting EU values and rights by combating hate crime and hate speech.

Priority 5: Supporting an enabling environment for the protection of whistleblowers.

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) will host an online info session on June 10-11, 2025.

Key dates for this call are:

Publication: May 13, 2025.

Deadline for applications: September 18, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

Evaluation period: October 2025 to February 2026.

Information to applicants: March 2026.

Grant agreement signature: June 2026.

The total budget allocated to the CERV Project Grants (CERV-PJG) is 18,000,000 EUR. The call follows a single-stage submission process. The call opened on May 27, 2025, and the deadline for contributions is September 18, 2025.

Applicants should consult the call document for details regarding admissibility conditions, eligible countries, other eligibility conditions, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring, thresholds, and the legal and financial setup of the grants. These aspects are detailed in Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 4 and 10 of the Call document, respectively.

Required documents for application include:

Call document.

Application form templates, specifically the standard CERV application form available in the Submission System.

Model Grant Agreements (MGA), including the CERV MGA.

Additional documents such as CERV Work Programmes, CERV Regulation 2021/692, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA (Annotated Model Grant Agreement), Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

Applicants can find partners through the Funding & Tenders Portal, where LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

For technical issues, applicants should contact the IT Helpdesk. For non-IT related questions, applicants can contact the CERV National Contact Point of their country or email EACEA-CERV@ec.europa.eu, including the reference "CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI" in the subject line.

In summary, this call for proposals under the CERV program provides funding opportunities for civil society organizations to promote fundamental rights and Union values. It focuses on enhancing awareness and capacity related to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, with specific priorities ranging from capacity building to strategic litigation and the protection of whistleblowers. The application process involves a single-stage submission with a deadline in September 2025, and detailed guidelines are available in the call document and related annexes.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is specifically targeted towards civil society organisations active at local, regional, national, and transnational levels.

Funding Type: The funding type is EU action grants, specifically CERV Project Grants (CERV-PJG) and CERV Action Grant Budget-Based (CERV-AG).

Consortium Requirement: The call mentions projects can be national or transnational, implying that both single applicants and consortia are eligible. The partner search announcements further suggest that consortia are possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call is open to projects that can be national or transnational, suggesting eligibility extends to organisations within the EU and potentially to those in associated countries participating in the CERV programme. The eligible countries are described in Section 6 of the Call document.

Target Sector: The target sector is Union Values, specifically focusing on the protection, promotion, and raising awareness of fundamental rights. This includes areas such as capacity building on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, empowering civic space, strategic litigation, combating hate crime and hate speech, and supporting an enabling environment for whistleblowers.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the call operates within the framework of the European Union and its associated countries participating in the CERV programme.

Project Stage: The call supports projects that aim to build awareness, capacity, and implement activities related to fundamental rights. This suggests the projects can be in the development, validation, or demonstration stages, focusing on practical implementation and impact.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI call is EUR 18,000,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified, so the funding range per project is variable and depends on the specific activities and scope of each project.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of EU action grants to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals for EU action grants under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), specifically targeting the promotion of Union Values and fundamental rights. The call, named CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI, aims to provide financial support to civil society organisations working at various levels (local, regional, national, and transnational) to protect, promote, and raise awareness of fundamental rights, strengthen the rule of law, and foster democratic dialogue and good governance. The call has a total budget of EUR 18,000,000.

The call focuses on building civil society organisations’ capacity to apply the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and to carry out activities that uphold the rights enshrined in the Charter. Projects can be national or transnational, and each application must address one of five priorities: capacity building and awareness raising on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; promoting rights and values by empowering the civic space; strategic litigation; protecting EU values and rights by combating hate crime and hate speech; and supporting an enabling environment for the protection of whistleblowers.

Eligible applicants are civil society organisations. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline of 18 September 2025. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is organising an online info session for applicants on 10 – 11 June 2025. The call encourages applicants to consult the Call document, application form templates, and other additional documents available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. The evaluation period is scheduled from October 2025 to February 2026, with information to applicants in March 2026 and grant agreement signature in June 2026. For any non-IT related questions, applicants are advised to contact the CERV National Contact Point of their country or send an email to EACEA-CERV@ec.europa.eu, clearly indicating the reference of the call and topic: "CERV-2025-CHAR-LITI".