Calls for Proposals and Expressions of Interest
Calls for proposals under the work programme for 2012 of the Information and Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (2007 to 2013)
View Details
Open call: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
View Details
View all Calls for Proposals and Expressions of Interest
Proposed Legislation
Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an audiovisual cooperation programme with professionals from third countries: MEDIA Mundus
View Details
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in housing
View Details
Adopted Legislation
Commission Decision of 22 February 2011 concerning the adoption of a financing decision for 2011 in the framework of the second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013) and on the selection, award and other criteria for financial c
View Details
Decision No 284/2010/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 March 2010 amending Decision No 1672/2006/EC establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity - Progress
View Details
News
'More than money: maximising the true value of EU funds'
View Details
'Making it work: the European Social Fund'
View Details
How to access EU funding
The EU commits millions of euro to funding projects every year, whether through huge programmes such as that supporting R&D; in the Union or through highly specialised projects such as;
- MARCO POLO (Transport)
- LIFE+ (Environment)
- MEDIA (Audiovisual)
- E-CONTENTPLUS (Internet)
- Justice, Freedom and Security
- DAPHNE II (combat violence against children, young people and women)
It is not just enough to have a good idea for a project or to have identified a need and want to satisfy it. All projects supported by the Programme have to comply with its overall objectives and the annual priorities set each year. Reminding yourselves of these, even if you think you know them, is the very first step you must take.
The great thing about the grants the EU gives for starting projects is that they can be literally for any field imaginable. Let's say that you are a game designer and you know how to program. You could submit an application for starting an online casino business. For example, you could design a site dedicated to live online poker. If you need inspiration, check out allpoker-tournaments.com - an online poker tournament site. As long as you follow the instructions on how to apply for this program, the grant will be yours.
DAPHNE Toolkit
As the DAPHNE guidance makes clear, it pays to familiarise yourself with the legislation that lies behind the various funding programmes. And if you are serious about accessing EU funding, you will also need to know when the various Calls for Proposals and Calls for Expressions of Interest are published in the Official Journal (OJ).
The EIA has decided to bring as much of this information together as possible on this page. We will aim to add the details of Calls on the days they appear in the OJ and to keep you up to date with new proposals, adopted Decisions and news from the Commission and its various departments (DGs).
First, a short introduction to how the EU spends its money
The EU's Budget
Useful websites with regard to the general Budget of the EU include:
- European Commission - Financial Programming and Budget
- European Commission - EU Budget in detail
- European Commission - EU Budget policy areas
The three main recipients of EU funding are:
- Agriculture through the common agricultural policy (CAP - more info)
- R&D; through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 - more info and even more info)
- Regional support through the Structural Funds (more info)
For the period 2007 to 2013, regional policy will be shaped by three main objectives, supported by four funds, as follows
- the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which is intended to promote economic and social cohesion within the EU through the reduction of imbalances between regions;
- the European Social Fund (ESF) which focuses on the strategic objectives of the Union's employment policy;
- the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF - Guidance Section), which contributes to the structural reform of the agriculture sector and to the development of rural areas;
- and, of more specialised interest, the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), the specific Fund for the structural reform of the fisheries sector.
See here for details of the new programming period (2007-13) and particularly how the various Funds will support the
- Convergence Objective, covering the poorest Member States and regions.
- Innovation, sustainable development, better accessibility and training projects under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective, and
- Cross-border, transnational and interregional co-operation under the European Territorial Co-operation Objective.
Budget Speak
If terms such as differentiated appropriations, financial perspective and no-netting principle leave you puzzled, and you don't know the difference between gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national income (GNI) , then all will be made much clearer if you go to the Commission's Budget Glossary
New Funds, Better Rules
The EU now in a new financial period and programmes being put in place at the moment will run until 2013. The opportunity has been taken to streamline and improve the rules and regulations which govern how European money is to be spent and accounted for. This should make grants easier to access, especially for beneficiaries with limited resources such as small NGOs (non-governmental organisations), schools and small companies. For the first time ever EU research grants will be available for individual researchers and the names of the beneficiaries of all EU funds will be made public.
An invaluable guide which provides an overview of the new financial rules and an introduction to funding opportunities can be found here
Support for EU policies
The starting point for tracing grants available from the Commission's DGs is the Grants, Funds and Programmes page, with the basic principles, such as who can request a grant, set out on the Commission's Introduction to EU Funding page.