16-17 April: Kick-off meeting with Justice and CERV beneficiaries

On 16 – 17 April 2024, the (hybrid) kick-off meeting with the coordinators and beneficiaries of projects selected under the 2023 Justice and CERV calls took place (i.e. beneficiaries of the following calls for proposals were invited: judicial cooperation; judicial training; e-justice/victims' rights/procedural rights; Daphne; Equal together with the justice framework partners). 

​From the 113 granted projects, 199 participants from 108 projects attended the meeting physically in Brussels, while an additional 110 beneficiaries followed the meeting remotely – representing civil society organisations, local and national authorities, universities, members of the judiciary and judicial staff.

The session on day 1 was mainly dedicated to grant management aspects such as the lump sum funding in action grants and how to deal with reporting, followed by workshops with the policy officers offering ample opportunities for policy-oriented discussions. Project beneficiaries appreciated the opportunity to hear about the different legislative and policy priorities at EU level and this was also a big privileged way for Commission staff to know more about the needs and realities from the ground.

At the end of day 1, a dinner was organised with a formal opening by Mrs Annelisa Cotone from the cabinet of Commissioner Helena Dalli, who stressed the importance of cooperation with project beneficiaries and recalled the role that the Justice and CERV programmes play in building an area of justice, rights and values in the EU.

The session on day 2 continued with some grant management aspects, followed by presentations on the horizontal topics of gender mainstreaming and adherence to EU values. Day 2 was ended with a workshop with the project officers offering the project coordinators the opportunity to discuss administrative and financial project implementation issues.

Since last year, the format of the kick-off meeting changed to give more space to networking moments among participants who, also this year, particularly appreciated the possibility to meet in person and to have the opportunity to exchange, promote their projects and get to know other actions and organisations in the same field. 

19 April: Networking meeting with CERV framework partners

​On 19 April, 130 representatives from 70 CERV 2023 Operating grants beneficiaries met in Brussels for a day of exchanges and networking co-organised by EACEA and DG JUST.

Participating organisations were CERV Framework Partners, which are mostly EU networks, umbrella organisations and think tanks, that benefit under the CERV programme from a 4 years partnership agreement and a financial support via an operating grant, which entails a structural support to their organisations' costs. They are key partners for the Commission, as their work and their membership significantly contribute to the implementation of the EU's legislative and policy objectives on the ground.

During this in-person meeting, which formed part of the CERV Civil Dialogue, CERV framework partners had the opportunity to show case their success stories, to delve into thematic sessions on hate speech and polarisation, on promoting active citizenship and democratic participation, as well as on the experience of the financial support to third parties. An interactive session was also dedicated to an exchange in view of the preparation of the next multi-annual financial framework.

The beneficiaries actively contributed to define the agenda and co-moderate the thematic discussions. This cooperation already from an early stage brought the parties closer, strengthening the feeling of continuing and deepening the civil dialogue started in the past two years.

Participants underlined the importance of the CERV programme, its dedicated focus to fundamental rights and its objective to strengthen and defend democratic values where it is most needed. The financial support to third parties’ scheme (regranting mechanism through intermediaries) was once again mentioned as a very powerful tool to broaden the outreach and impact of the EU’s funding for grass-root civil society organisations.

Finally, beneficiaries agreed on the need and importance to measure the quality of their projects, to better capture their impact and communicate their results and achievements to the European citizens and institutions in such a critical moment for the European democracy. A group of partners suggested to establish a working group to this end in the near future.

The event was very well received and the opportunity to meet in person again highly appreciated by all parties.