CERV stands for “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” and will be the biggest-ever EU fund for promoting and protecting fundamental rights inside the EU.
During negotiations, this programme has received a major top-up and was more than doubled (from the original 640 million euro to over 1,55 billion euro for the next 7-years period).
Its main objective is to protect and promote the rights and values as enshrined in the Treaties, the Charter and in the applicable international human rights conventions. This will be achieved by supporting civil society organisations and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national and transnational level. The programme will replace the previous Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme and the Europe for Citizens programme.
The CERV programme will be based on 4 strands:
- Equality, Rights and Gender Equality - promote rights, non-discrimination, equality, including gender equality, and advance gender and non-discrimination mainstreaming;
- Citizens’ engagement and participation - 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 the common European history;
- Daphne - fight violence, including gender-based violence;
- Union values - protect and promote Union values. The Union values strand is one of the big innovations of the programme. It puts at its centre values which are common to all Member States and on which the European Union is founded: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. At a time where European societies are confronted with extremism, radicalism and divisions and a shrinking space for independent civil society, this strand will place civil society organisations at the heart of its priorities by funding projects which promote and raise awareness on EU values ...