The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution approving the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1381/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EU) No 390/2014.
Programme objectives
The Programme seeks to protect and promote rights and values as enshrined in the Treaties, the Charter and the applicable international human rights conventions, in particular by supporting civil society organisations and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national and transnational level, and by encouraging civic and democratic participation, in order to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies which are based on the rule of law.
Within the general objective, the Programme has the following specific objectives, which correspond to strands:
(1) to protect and promote Union values (Union values strand);
(2) to promote rights, non-discrimination and equality, including gender equality, and to advance gender mainstreaming and the mainstreaming of non-discrimination (equality, rights and gender equality strand);
(3) to promote citizens' engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between citizens of different Member States, and to raise awareness of their common European history (citizens' engagement and participation strand);
(4) to fight violence, including gender-based violence (Daphne strand).
Budget
The financial envelope for the implementation of the programme for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 is set at EUR 641 705 000 in current prices, with the following breakdown:
- EUR 297 366 097 (46.34%) for the new Union values strand;
- EUR 169 410 120 (26.4%) for the Equality, Rights and Gender Equality and Daphne strand;
- 174 928 783 (i.e. 27.26%) for the Citizens’ engagement strand.
Following the programme-specific adjustment foreseen by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the MFF 2021-2027, the total amount is increased by an additional allocation of EUR 800 000 000 (in 2018 prices), of which 43 % (up to EUR 344 000 000) for the Union values strand.
In a joint declaration, the European Parliament and the Council agree that the Union values strand of the programme should be substantially funded from 1 January 2021.
The Commission is invited to take appropriate measures to achieve this objective, and in particular to assess the use made of the flexibility instruments within the legal framework of the annual EU budget for 2021, in accordance with the activation criteria set out in the MFF regulation.
The regulation also sets out the forms of Union funding, the rules for granting such funding, and the system of governance of the programme.