European Commission funding

The European Commission is Europe’s largest donor, it is estimated that around EUR 1 billion per year is available for NGO projects (out of a total budget of more than EUR 100 billion). Practically any project which has a genuinely European dimension or can be linked to EU policies should find a corresponding fund.

In order to implement projects or activities, the European Commission awards money in the form of grants. Activities and projects that will be considered must relate to European Union policies. Grants may be awarded within different fields and these are categorised under budget lines. Calls for proposals, published on the European Commission’s websites and in the Official Journal of the European Union (C series) invite candidates to present, within a given timeframe, a proposal for action that corresponds to the objectives of the call and fulfils the required conditions.

The Commission also draws up public procurement contracts for the supply of goods, implementation of works or provision of services. These contracts are drawn following calls for tenders. For further information, please consult the websites of the various European Commission departments and the Official Journal of the European Union, where tender notices are published.

This information has been taken from the 2007 guide to European Union Funding, Vol. 1 – Funding within the EU (13^th edition, 2007), and used with the permission of the European Citizen Action Service. The Guide is produced annually in two volumes (Volume 1: Funding within the EU 2008; Volume 2: Funding outside the EU 2008) and can be purchased separately or together via the ECAS website.