The Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit has launched a web page on calls and projects aimed at social inclusion and poverty reduction. This page contains information on past EU-funded projects. Information on ongoing programmes and calls for proposals is available on the page Open Calls.
Guidelines/documents/presentations useful in preparing project proposals:
- Click here to download the Guidelines on the Value-Added Tax Exemption Procedure for Projects Funded from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, prepared by the Ministry of Finance.
- The new Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EU External Actions (PRAG) was adopted in 2014. The English version is available for download here.
- Click here to download the Instructions on the Co-financing of EU-funded Projects.
IPA
The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance is a European Union financial instrument for candidate and potential candidate countries. IPA was established in 2007 by the IPA Regulation, while detailed provisions on management and implementation are laid down by the IPA Implementing Regulation. IPA were previously divided into five components: Component I (Assistance for Transition and Institution Building) directly assists the countries in meeting the accession criteria, while Component II (Cross-border Cooperation) funds their participation in cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes. Components III (Regional Development), IV (Human Resources) and V (Rural Development) should prepare candidate countries for effective and efficient management of financing instruments after acceding to the EU.
The new IPA regulation adopted on March 16, 2014 introduced the following IPA policy areas, instead of the mentioned components: reforms in preparation for Union membership and related institution- and capacity-building; socio-economic and regional development; employment, social policies, education, promotion of gender equality and human resources development; agriculture and rural development; regional and territorial cooperation.
The list of national IPA projects relating to social inclusion in the period 2007-2013 is available here.
The list of civil society projects (grants approved for social inclusion projects) which were supported by the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit is available here.
In addition to national programmes in each beneficiary country, the European Commission grants funding for the IPA Multi-beneficiary Programmes. The Programme funds regional or horizontal projects (e.g. support to the Regional Cooperation Council) managed by the European Commission under the centralised management system. Horizontal programmes are focused on common needs in several IPA beneficiary countries, while regional programmes facilitate regional cooperation among beneficiary countries.
The list of MB IPA projects relating to social inclusion in the period 2007-2013 are available here.
European Union Programmes
PROGRESS: On October 24, 2006, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers adopted Decision No 1672/2006/EC establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity – PROGRESS, spanning the period 2007–2013. The Programme’s principal goal is to enable the Community to discharge the tasks and powers conferred on it by the founding treaties within the domain of employment and social affairs. In addition to the EU Member States, under article 16 of the Decision, governing the participation of third countries, the Programme is open to EFTA/EEA countries, as well as EU candidate and potential candidate countries. The Programme budget totals EUR 743.25 million. It funds analytical activities, mutual learning, training, awareness raising and information dissemination, and provides programmatic support to the main stakeholders.
TEMPUS IV: TEMPUS is a European Union programme which facilitates the reform and modernization of higher education in partner countries and is one of the oldest and most successful EU cooperation programmes. The programme supports the education systems of partner countries to voluntarily integrate development trends in higher education arising from the Lisbon Agenda and the Bologne process. The programme funds projects which involve EU higher education institutions and 26 partner countries. Programme goals are to: enhance the quality and relevance of higher education in the partner countries and open them to the needs of labour market and society in general; build the capacity of higher education institutions in the partner countries and the EU, in particular their capacity for international cooperation and for a permanent modernisation process. Specific goals of the programme are to: overcome the fragmentation of higher education between countries; enhance inter-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity; enhance the employability of university graduates; make the European Higher Education Area more visible and attractive in the world; foster the reciprocal development of human resources; enhance mutual understanding between peoples and cultures of the EU and of the partner countries.
EIDHR: The European Instrumetn for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is one of the eldest European programmes and aims to support the development and strengthening of democracy globally. The EIDHR programme is implemented in Serbia since 1996.
The list of projects financed by the European Union and supported by the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit is available here.