The European Commission is inviting applications for the Thematic Programme on Human Rights and Democracy to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law worldwide.
Objectives
The global objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to the development and consolidation of the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova with full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
Lot 1 – To support independent media workers and a free media in the Republic of Moldova
The priorities for Lot 1 are:
To strengthen the capacities of civil society, independent media, journalists, bloggers and fact-checkers to provide the public with reliable information through responsible and professional reporting;
To fight disinformation including through increased capacities of media workers to report signals and through a better understanding among citizens’ of the threats inherent to the online media;
To help detect, prevent and count digital, physical, legal and other types of attacks and/or threats to journalists, bloggers and other media workers as well as any undue influence in their work.
Each proposal under Lot 1 needs to address all three priorities.
Lot 2 – To promote and protect the rights of members of national minorities in the Republic of Moldova
The priorities for Lot 2 are:
Supporting the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities including in the areas of non-discrimination, inclusion in public life, support for minority protection mechanisms and the protection and promotion of their social, economic and cultural rights.
Priorities
Priority 1: Protecting and empowering individuals, with its overall objective to contribute to the full enjoyment of all human rights, be they civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, by all. It is articulated around four axes of action, including relevant axis ii: Promote equality, inclusion and respect for diversity for all, including women and girls, children and youth, LGBTI persons, indigenous peoples, persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons;
Priority 4: Safeguarding fundamental freedoms, including harnessing the opportunities and addressing challenges of digital and new technologies, with its overall objective to create and maintain an environment conducive to the full exercise of all fundamental freedoms, online and offline. The programme shall support civil society actions that, consistent with the EU Guidelines on freedom of expression online and offline, promote an environment respectful of ideas, views and opinions of any kind or nature whatsoever, ensure access to pluralistic, quality-based and diverse sources of information of public interest, facilitate the establishment of inclusive dialogue platforms with national authorities and institutions, advocate for legislation or policy reforms safeguarding the full exercise of freedom of expression while respecting privacy and protecting personal data and enhance global knowledge and awareness within societies.
The current call for proposals is launched in support of Priorities 1 and 4 and is thus in line with the Thematic Programme on Human Rights and Democracy Multi-Annual Indicative Programming 2021-2027 and policy documents relevant for Moldova. It contributes to the implementation of the EU Roadmap for Engagement with Civil Society.
Funding Information
The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,000,000:
EUR 1,180,000 from the 2022 budget and
EUR 820,000 from the 2023 budget, subject to the adoption of the general budget of the European Union for 2023.
The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
Indicative allocation of funds by lot:
LOT 1: Support for Free Media – 1,180,000 EUR
LOT 2: Support for Minorities – 820,000 EUR
Size of grants
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
LOT 1: Support for Free Media
Minimum amount: EUR 550,000
Maximum amount: EUR 590,000
LOT 2: Support for Minorities
Minimum amount: EUR 360,000
Maximum amount: EUR 410,000
Eligibility Criteria
Lead applicant(s)
In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
Be a legal person and
Be non-profit-making and
be a non-governmental organisation andbe established in a Member State of the European Union or in the Republic of Moldova or any other eligible country as stipulated in the basic act NDICI-GE and
Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
Co-applicant(s)
The lead applicant must act with at least 1 co-applicant.
Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)
In addition, please note that contracts cannot be awarded to or signed with applicants included in the lists of EU restrictive measures.
Affiliated entities
This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.
