The promotion of handicraft products and support of craftsmen 

The EU funding opportunity identified as PPPA-MOVE-2025-P032404 is a call for proposals under the Pilot Projects & Preparation Actions (PPPA) Programme. Its primary aim is to promote handicraft products and support craftsmen throughout the European Union. The grant type is PPPA Project Grants, with a maximum contribution of €970,000, and only one grant is expected to be awarded.

Eligible applicants must be part of a transnational project consortium consisting of both public and private entities. This consortium must act as an intermediary, organizing activities for craftsmen and tourism SMEs across various EU countries.

The geographic scope of this opportunity includes the entire EU territory, ensuring support for craftsmen from all Member States. The program focuses on the cultural and tourism sectors, emphasizing traditional handicrafts, cultural heritage, and sustainable tourism practices. The project encourages the development and promotion of traditional products, while also addressing the green and digital transitions in tourism.

The application process is streamlined as a single-stage submission, opening on September 2, 2025, and closing on September 30, 2025. Successful applicants will be expected to implement three main work packages: providing direct support for craftsmen, establishing collaboration mechanisms, and incentivizing tourism in areas where these handicraft products are made.

Although the specifics of co-funding are not detailed, it is common for EU grants to require some financial contribution from the partners involved. Given the competitive nature of this funding—only a single grant is expected to be awarded—the success rate is anticipated to be low.

In summary, this call for proposals represents an opportunity to drive economic growth by preserving traditional crafts, enhancing tourism, and fostering collaboration among EU craftsmen and stakeholders. The program aims to support and empower craftsmen to adapt and thrive in a modern market while attracting visitors to the cultural heritage of handcrafted products.

The EU Funding Opportunity: PPPA-MOVE-2025-P032404, The promotion of handicraft products and support of craftsmen

This is a call for proposals under the Pilot Projects & Preparation Actions (PPPA) Programme. The project aims to promote handicraft products and support craftsmen across the European Union. The type of action is PPPA-PJG, which stands for PPPA Project Grants. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) type is PPPA Action Grant Budget-Based [PPPA-AG].

The call follows a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 02 September 2025, and the deadline for submission is 30 September 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected impact of the project includes:

Support for craftsmen to launch, develop, and promote traditional products, including via digital means.
Attraction of tourists to the respective regions, contributing to economic growth.
Improved collaboration and cooperation between craftsmen from different regions across the EU, promoting social cohesion.
Improved SMEs’ usage of available tools and management strategies to increase their competitiveness and promote growth.
Advanced green and digital transition of the tourism ecosystem, including SMEs.
Boosted quality along the tourism value chain.
Best practices adopted by craftsmen.

The objectives of this call are:

To support craftsmen established within the entire European Union territory in creating traditional handicraft products.
To support crafts to attract tourists to areas where handicraft and traditional products are manufactured, promoting local purchase and interest in traditional manufacturing methods.
To provide incentives to craftsmen to carry on the tradition and continue manufacturing these products.
To incentivise young craftsmen to pursue the occupation of creating artisanal and traditional products.
To create new opportunities for collaboration among craftsmen from different EU regions, including through the EU Tourism Platform.
To help promote and increase the sale of artisanal and handicraft products, including through digital means.

The scope of the project involves a transnational project consortium of public and private entities acting as an intermediary, organizing specific activities for craftsmen and tourism SMEs in different countries. The applicant will organize and provide direct support to craftsmen and SMEs producing handicrafts products to build their capacities to launch and/or promote such and support craftsmen and will also facilitate cross-border/transnational cooperation to foster peer to peer learning as well as to exchange knowledge and good practices between craftsmen. This support should attract tourists to areas where handicraft and traditional products are manufactured.

The proposed activities should contribute to the promotion of handicraft products and support of craftsmen through direct and indirect support, consultative or financial. Support must be provided to craftsmen and tourism stakeholders, particularly SMEs, including start-ups and entrepreneurs, who wish to develop new business concepts, new products, or implement proven efficient projects based on best practices, contributing to the transition on a more resilient and sustainable EU tourism ecosystem.

The tasks are divided into three Work Packages:

WP I - Direct support for craftsmen
WP II - Establish a collaboration and exchange mechanism for craftsmen
WP III - Incentivising tourism in regions where handicraft products are manufactured

Conditions for application include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries, described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions, described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion, described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes, described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds, described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include:

Call document
Application form templates (available in the Submission System)
Detailed budget table
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
PPPA MGA
Declaration of Honour (DoH) for beneficiaries
Declaration of honour (DoH) for affiliated entities

Additional documents include:

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
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The total budget for this topic is 970,000 EUR. The call is a single-stage process, and the indicative number of grants is 1.

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

For help related to this call, contact EC-MOVE-TOURISM-CALLS@ec.europa.eu. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk, and Online Manual.

In summary, this EU funding opportunity aims to bolster the handicraft sector within the EU by providing support to craftsmen and SMEs, fostering collaboration, promoting tourism in regions with handicraft production, and facilitating the green and digital transition of the tourism ecosystem. The grant seeks to preserve traditional crafts, encourage younger generations to enter the field, and enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the EU tourism sector by leveraging the unique appeal of artisanal products. A transnational consortium is required to apply, organizing activities and providing support across different EU countries.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include public and private entities. The call specifically mentions that a transnational project consortium of public and private entities will act as an intermediary. It also mentions SMEs, including start-ups and entrepreneurs, as potential beneficiaries of support.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a PPPA Project Grant (PPPA-PJG) under the Pilot Projects & Preparation Actions (PPPA) Programme. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is PPPA Action Grant Budget-Based [PPPA-AG].

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required. The call states that "A transnational project consortium of public and private entities will act as an intermediary".

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is the entire European Union territory. The call explicitly states that it aims "To support craftsmen established within the entire European Union territory, regardless of the Member State they are from".

Target Sector: The target sectors are tourism and the handicraft industry. The call focuses on promoting handicraft products, supporting craftsmen, and incentivizing tourism in regions where handicraft products are manufactured. It also aims to advance the green and digital transition of the tourism ecosystem.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the geographic scope is the entire European Union territory.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on development, validation, and commercialization. The call aims to support craftsmen in launching, developing, and promoting traditional products, as well as helping SMEs develop new business concepts and implement proven efficient projects.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic PPPA-MOVE-2025-P032404 is 970,000 EUR. The indicative number of grants is 1.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 02 September 2025, and the deadline is 30 September 2025.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive both direct and indirect support, including consultative and financial support. The support is aimed at craftsmen and tourism stakeholders, particularly SMEs, start-ups, and entrepreneurs.

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

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 1, but the number of applications is unknown, so the success rate cannot be determined.

Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary: This EU funding opportunity, PPPA-MOVE-2025-P032404, is a call for proposals under the Pilot Projects & Preparation Actions (PPPA) Programme. It aims to promote handicraft products and support craftsmen across the European Union, with the goal of attracting tourists to regions where these products are manufactured and fostering a more sustainable tourism ecosystem. The call requires a transnational project consortium of public and private entities to act as an intermediary, organizing activities and providing support to craftsmen and tourism SMEs. The successful applicant will receive a grant of 970,000 EUR to implement a project divided into three work packages: direct support for craftsmen, establishing a collaboration and exchange mechanism, and incentivizing tourism in relevant regions. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline of September 30, 2025. The call seeks to support the launch, development, and promotion of traditional products, improve collaboration among craftsmen, enhance SMEs' competitiveness, and advance the green and digital transition of the tourism sector.