GENERAL INFORMATION ON PROGRAMMES (2007-2013)

The EU Funding Section within the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs is currently managing three Framework Programmes for the period between 2007 – 2013. These include three main fields: freedom, security and justice. The funds managed by the EU Funding section seek to give practical meaning to the concepts of shared responsibility and solidarity between Member States.

• Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows
  
• Security and safeguarding liberties
• Justice and fundamental rights

Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows

This programme supports the principle of solidarity in managing people flows by ensuring a fair share of responsabilities between Member States, as concerns the integrated management of the Union’s external borders and the implementation of common policies on asylum and immigration. EU intervention in this field to support burden-sharing between Member States in the areas of external borders control, asylum and immigration.

The field is divided into the following funds:

i) European Refugee Fund ii) External Borders Fund iii) Return Fund iv) Integration Fund.

The Multi Annual Programmes outlining the strategy for the next 3 years for all the four Funds under this framework programme were submitted to the European Commission on the 1st of December 2007.

The Annual Programmes for the 2007 for the External Borders Fund and the Integration Fund were submitted by the 1st December 2007, whereas the submission date of the Annual Programmes for the 2008 for the four Funds were submitted in March 2008.

European Refugee Fund

The European Refugee Fund (ERF) has been in place since 2000 and has served as a very important source of inspiration for the approach to the structure, the mechanism for allocation of resources, the programming cycle, and management and control provisions common to the Funds. Currently, the second genereation of the Fund is being imlemented by the Member States (Council Decision of 2 December 2004, 2004/904EC).

i) Objectives

The Fund will support actions in Member States relating to reception conditions and asylum procedures; the integration of third-country nationals enjoying Refugee Status, Subsidiary Protection or Temporary Protection whose stay in the Member State is of a lasting and stable nature as well as the voluntary return of persons enjoying Refugee status, Subsidiary Protection or Temporary Protection, provided they have not acquired a new nationality, and of applicants for Refugee status or subsidiary protection, provided they have not received a negative decision further to their request for international protection.

ii) Applicants

Member States have the sole responsibility for the selection of individual projects and for the financial management and administration of projects supported by the Fund, with due respect for Community policies and the criteria for eligibility.

Each Member State shall organise, in accordance with current national rules and practices, a partnership with the authorities and bodies which are involved in the implementation of the multiannual programme or able to provide a useful contribution to its development according to the Member State concerned.

Such authorities and bodies may include the competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, international organisations and bodies, in particular UNHCR, representing civil society such as non-governmental organisations or social partners.

iii) Funding The financial reference amount for the implementation of the Fund from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2013 is €628 million as per Article 13.

• 566 million distributed among the states on the basis of objective criteria relating to the number of asylum seekers and integrating persons benefiting from international protection (refugees, persons benefiting from subsidiary protection)('solidarity');

• 62 million (10% of the total annual resources each year) for Community actions, with a particular emphasis on supporting practical cooperation between Member States.

The Community contribution to supported projects, as regards actions implemented in the Member States under Article 3 shall not exceed 50% of the total cost of a specific action. This may be increased to 75% for projects addressing specific priorities identified in the strategic guidelines as defined in Article 18.This shall be increased to 75% in the Member States covered by the Cohesion Fund.

In addition, each Member State shall receive a fixed amount of €300 000 from the Fund's annual allocation. This amount shall be fixed at €500 000 per annum for the period 2008-2013 for the states which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004. This amount shall be fixed at €500 000 per annum for Member States which will accede to the European Union in the period 2007– 2013 for the remaining part of the period 2008 - 2013 following the year of their accession.

At the Commission's initiative, up to 10% of the Fund's available resources may be used to finance transnational actions or actions of interest to the Community as a whole ("Community actions") concerning return policy and measures applicable to the target group as referred to in Article 7.

In the event of temporary protection mechanisms within the meaning of Directive 2001/55/EC being implemented, the Fund shall also finance measures to help the Member States, such measures being separate from, and in addition to, the actions referred to in Article 3. At the initiative of and/or on behalf of the Commission, subject to a ceiling of €500 000 of the Fund's annual allocation, the Fund may finance the preparatory measures, monitoring, administrative and technical support measures, as well as evaluation, audit and inspection measures necessary for implementing this Decision.

At the initiative of the Member State in question, for each annual programme, the Fund may finance preparatory measures, management, monitoring, evaluation, information and control measures, as well as measures for the reinforcement of the administrative capacity for the implementation of the Fund. The annual amount may not exceed 7% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2008-2010 and 4% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2011-2013.

External Borders Fund

The general objective of the External Borders Fund is to help a key objective of the Schengen acquis, namely to share responsibility for an efficient, high and uniform level of control at the external borders.

i) Objectives The four main policy objectives to which the Fund will contribute are the following:

• enhancement of the efficiency of controls, and thereby, the effectiveness of the management and protection of external borders in order to reduce illegal entry and increase the security of the internal EU area of free movement;

• the facilitation of procedures for authorised travellers to enter the EU in conformity with the Schengen acquis while protecting the EU against illegal entry;

• the achievement of a uniform application of EU law by Member States and an overall efficiency of national border guards in carrying out their tasks in accordance with EU law;

• the enhancement of the efficiency of the issuing of visas and the implementation of other pre-frontier checks.

This Fund also supports actions relating to the common visa policy. The Fund will contribute to the above four objectives in complimentarity with the further development of relevant legislation and the work of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States.

ii) Applicants Member States have the sole responsibility for the selection of individual projects and for the financial management and administration of projects supported by the Fund, with due respect for Community policies and the criteria for eligibility.

Each Member State shall organise, in accordance with current national rules and practices, a partnership with the authorities and bodies which are involved in the implementation of the multiannual programme or able to provide a useful contribution to its development according to the Member State concerned.

Such authorities and bodies may include the competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, international organisations and bodies, in particular UNHCR, representing civil society such as non-governmental organisations or social partners.

iii) Funding The financial reference amount for the implementation of the Fund from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 shall be €1.82 million as per Article 14, divided as follows:

• 1533 million distributed among the states on the basis of objective criteria expressing the burden of each state for external border control and visa policy ('solidarity') for actions under national programmes;

• 109 million (6% of the total annual resources each year) for Community actions;

• 108 million for the Kaliningrad transit schemes implemented by Lithuania;

• 70 million (10 million each year) for specific actions addressing weaknesses at strategic border points at the external borders on the basis of risk analyses carried out by the FRONTEX Agency.

There is no fixed allocation for this Fund. A risk analysis will be carried out by FRONTEX for the purpose of the annual distribution of resources.

The Community contribution to supported projects, as regards actions implemented in the Member States under Article 4 shall not exceed 50% of the total cost of a specific action. This may be increased to 75% for projects addressing specific priorities identified in the strategic guidelines as defined in Article 19.This shall be increased to 75% in the Member States covered by the Cohesion Fund.

At the initiative of and/or on behalf of the Commission, subject to a ceiling of €500 000 of the Fund's annual allocation, the Fund may finance the preparatory measures, monitoring, administrative and technical support measures, as well as evaluation, audit and inspection measures necessary for implementing this Decision. At the initiative of the Member State in question, for each annual programme, the Fund may finance preparatory measures, management, monitoring, evaluation, information and control measures, as well as measures for the reinforcement of the administrative capacity for the implementation of the Fund. The annual amount may not exceed 7% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2007-2010 and 4% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2011-2013.

Return Fund

The general objective of the European Return Fund (applicable as of 1 January 2008) is to support the Member States in their efforts to improve the management of return in all its dimensions, on the basis of the principle of integrated return management, with a preference for voluntary return and with a view to supporting a fair and effective implementation of common standards on return.

i) Objectives

The following are the main objectives of the Fund:

• the introduction and improvement of the organisation and implementation of integrated return management by Member States;

• the enhancement of the co-operation between Member States in the framework of integrated return management and its implementation;

• the promotion of an effective and uniform application of common standards on return according to the policy development in the field.

The Fund would in principle cover the return of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers whose request for protection has been turned down. Financing of return measures for rejected asylum seekers shall however be covered by the European Refugee Fund until 1 January 2008, in order to allow for the full implementation of the first multi-annual programming cycle under the current ERF decision.

ii) Applicants

Member States have the sole responsibility for the selection of individual projects and for the financial management and administration of projects supported by the Fund, with due respect for Community policies and the criteria for eligibility.

Each Member State shall organise, in accordance with current national rules and practices, a partnership with the authorities and bodies which are involved in the implementation of the multiannual programme or able to provide a useful contribution to its development according to the Member State concerned.

Such authorities and bodies may include the competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, international organisations and bodies, in particular UNHCR, representing civil society such as non-governmental organisations or social partners.

iii) Funding

The financial reference amount for the implementation of the Fund from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2013 shall be €676 million as per Article 14. This will be divided as follows:

• 629 million distributed among the states on the basis of objective criteria expressing the the number of third country nationals subject or having been subject to return measures ('solidarity');

• 47 million (7% of the total annual resources each year) for Community actions.

The Community contribution to supported projects, as regards actions implemented in the Member States under Article 3 shall not exceed 75% of the total cost of a specific action. This may be increased to60% for projects addressing specific priorities identified in the strategic guidelines as defined in Article 19.This shall be increased to 75% in the Member States covered by the Cohesion Fund.

In addition, each Member State shall receive a fixed amount of €300 000 from the Fund's annual allocation. This amount shall be fixed at €500 000 per annum for the period 2008-2013 for the states which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004. This amount shall be fixed at €500 000 per annum for Member States which will accede to the European Union in the period 2007– 2013 for the remaining part of the period 2008 - 2013 following the year of their accession.

At the Commission's initiative, up to 7% of the Fund's available resources may be used to finance transnational actions or actions of interest to the Community as a whole ("Community actions") concerning return policy and measures applicable to the target group as referred to in Article 7.

At the initiative of and/or on behalf of the Commission, subject to a ceiling of €500 000 of the Fund's annual allocation, the Fund may finance the preparatory measures, monitoring, administrative and technical support measures, as well as evaluation, audit and inspection measures necessary for implementing this Decision.

At the initiative of the Member State in question, for each annual programme, the Fund may finance preparatory measures, management, monitoring, evaluation, information and control measures, as well as measures for the reinforcement of the administrative capacity for the implementation of the Fund. The annual amount may not exceed 7% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2008-2010 and 4% of the total amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus €30 000 for 2011-2013.

Integration Fund (link 1d)

This Fund is currently being managed by the EU Funds Section within the Ministry for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.

Security and Saveguarding Liberties

This Framework Programme fosters the creation of the area of freedon, security and justice, dealing with one of the key areas for priority action set out in the Action Plan on the Hague Programme.

The Hague Programme sets the political priorities in the fields of justice, freedom, and security underlining, at the same time, the importance of supporting then through adequate funding. This has allowed the Commission to fully ensure coherence between the political priorities and the financial instruments supporting their implementation in the period 2007-2013.

The Programme aims to strengthen the prevention of crime and terrrorism, ensuring effective operational co-operation in the fight against them, and supporting the provision of intelligence on a European scale.

The framework programme consists of two financial instruments encompassing the following specific programmes:

The Framework Programme encompasses two specific programmes:

i) Prevention of and Fight against Crime

ii) Prevention, Preparedness and Consequence Management of Terrorism and other-security related risks

Prevention of and fight against crime

i) Objectives This programme will contribute to citizen’s security by preventing and combating crime, in particular terrorism, trafficking in human beings, drugs and arms, corruption and fraud. Having taken stock of the relevant results of the AGIS programme, this new programme will focus on the following four stands:

•Crime Prevention
•Law Enforcement
•Protection and support to witnesses
•Protection of victims

ii) Applicants The programme is open to organisations based in one or more Member State. Profit oriented organisations may have access to grants only if participating with non-profit or state organisations. Third countries and international organisations may participate in transnational projects as partners, but they cannot submit projects directly.

iii) Eligible Actions

• Projects with a European dimension run by the Commission;

• Transnational projects involving at least two Member States or one Member State and an Acceeding or Candidate Country;

• National Projects which prepare or complement transnational projects or community actions or which develop innovative and potentially transferable tools;

• Operating grants for NGO’s working on the prevention and fiht against crime at European level.

iv) Funding

Prevention, Preparedness and Consequence Management of Terrorism and other-security related risks

i) Objectives

This programme will contribute to protecting people and critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks and other security-related incidents. On the one hand, prevention and preparedeness will be fosteredv, particularly by raising the protection of critical infrastructures. On the other hand, the programme will focus on consequence management, to ensure a smooth co-ordination of crisis management and security actions, in particular regarding terrorist attacks.

ii) Applicants

The programme is open to organisations registeres in one or more Member States. Profit-oriented organisations may have access to grants only if participating with non-profit or state organisations. Third countries and international organisations may participate as partners in transnational projects, but they cannot submit the projects directly.

iii) Eligible Actions

• Projects with a European dimension run by the Commission;

• Transnational projects involving at least two Member States or one Member State and an Acceeding or Candidate Country;

• National Projects which prepare or complement transnational projects or community actions or which develop innovative and potentially transferable tools;

Financial support may be provided in particular for actions aimed at increasing operational co-operation, monitoring and evaluation activities, the development and transfer technology and methodology, training and exchange of staff, and awareness and disemination activities.

iv) Funding

Justice and fundamental rights (link 3)

The Framework Programme on fundamental rights and justice takes these challenges and provides new instruments to cope with them.

It encompasses five specific programmes, namely:

Fundamental rights and citizenship

Civil Justice

Criminal Justice

Prevent and Combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk (DAPHNE III)

Drugs prevention and Information

Total amount over the 2007-2013 period: 542,90 M€

Fundamental rights and citizenship

i) Objectives

The aim of this programme is to promote the development of a European society based on respect for Fundamental Rights and rights derived from citizenship of the Union as well as to strengthen civil society and fight racism, xenophobia and antisemitism. It will also improve the contacts, exchange of information and networking between legal, judicial and administrative authorities and the legal professions, including by way of support of judicial training, with the aim of better mutual understanding among such authorities and professionals.

ii) Applicants

Access to this programme shall be open to public or private organisations and institutions (local authorities at the competent level, university departments and research centres) working to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women or to protect against such violence or to provide support for victims or to implement targeted actions to promote rejection of such violence or to encourage attitude and behaviour change towards vulnerable groups and victims of violence. The programme shall also be open to public or private organisations and institutions (local authorities at the competent level, university departments and research centres) working to inform and prevent drugs use.

iii) Actions

This programme will support the following types of actions:

• specific actions taken by the Commission;

• specific trans-national projects of Community interest presented by an authority or any other body of a Member State, an international or non-governmental organisation;

• support to the activities of non-governmental organisations or other entities pursuing an aim of general European interest.

iv) Funding

Civil Justice

i) Objectives

The Civil justice programme will promote the elimination of obstacles to the good functioning of cross-border civil proceedings in the Member States and aims to improve the daily life of individuals and businesses, notably by fostering access to justice. Projects financed under this programme will improve the contacts, exchange of information and networking between legal, judicial and administrative authorities and the legal professions, including by way of support of judicial training.

ii) Applicants

Access to this programme shall be open to public or private organisations and institutions (local authorities at the competent level, university departments and research centres) working to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women or to protect against such violence or to provide support for victims or to implement targeted actions to promote rejection of such violence or to encourage attitude and behaviour change towards vulnerable groups and victims of violence. The programme shall also be open to public or private organisations and institutions (local authorities at the competent level, university departments and research centres) working to inform and prevent drugs use.

iii) Actions

Different types of actions are envisaged such as:

• specific actions taken by the Commission, such as, studies and research, opinion polls and surveys, formulation of indicators and common methodologies, collection, development and dissemination of data and statistics, seminars, conferences and expert meetings, organisation of public campaigns and events, development and maintenance of websites, preparation and dissemination of information material, support for and management of networks of national experts, analytical, monitoring and evaluation activities;

• actions providing financial support for specific projects of Community interest under the conditions set out in the annual work programmes;

• actions providing financial support for the activities of non-governmental organisations or other entities under the conditions set our in the annual work programmes;

• an operating grant to the Association of the Council of States and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union which pursues an objective of general European interest by promoting exchanges of views and experience on matters concerning the jurisprudence, organisation and functioning of its Members in the performance of their judicial and/or advisory functions, particularly with regard to Community Law.

iv) Funding

Criminal Justice

i) Objectives

The Criminal Justice programme provides financial support for activities aimed at promoting judicial cooperation in criminal matters and thus contributing to the creation of a genuine European area of justice based on mutual recognition and mutual confidence. It will promote a reduction in existing legal obstacles to the proper functioning of judicial cooperation, with a view to strengthening the coordination of investigations and to increase compatibility of the existing judicial systems in the Member States to the European Union. The compatibility in rules applicable in the Member States to improve judicial cooperation will also be promoted. The programme will aim to improve the contacts and exchange of information and best practice between legal, judicial and administrative authorities and the legal professions, with a view to enhancing mutual trust, therefore ensuring the protection of rights of victims and defendants.

ii) Applicants

The programme is destined for inter alia, legal practitioners, representatives of victims' assistance services, and other professionals involved in the work of the judiciary, the national authorities and the citizens of the Union in general. However, b odies and organisations which are profit oriented will have access to the programme only in conjunction with non profit oriented or state organisations.

iii) Actions

The actions envisaged are as follows:

• specific actions taken by the Commission, such as studies and research, opinion polls and surveys, formulation of indicators and common methodologies, collection, development and dissemination of data and statistics, seminars, conferences and experts meetings, organisation of public campaigns and events, development and maintenance of websites, preparation and dissemination of information materials, support to and animation of networks of national experts, analytical, monitoring and evaluation activities;

• specific transnational projects of Community interest presented by at least three Member Sates under the conditions set out in the annual work programmes;

• support to the activities of non-governmental organisations or other entities pursuing an aim of general European interest regarding the general objectives of the programme under the conditions set out in the annual work programmes.

• an operating grant to co-finance expenditure associated with the permanent work programme of the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children which pursues an aim of general European interest in the field of children’s rights and protection.

iv) Funding

Prevent and Combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk (DAPHNE III)

This programme is being managed by the EU Funds section within the Ministry for Social Policy

Drugs prevention and Information

i) Objectives

This programme builds on the EU’s Drugs Strategy and Action plans, the ultimate aim of which is to significantly reduce the social harm and health damage caused by the use of, and trade in, illicit drugs. The general objectives of this programme relate to the prevention and reduction of drug use, dependence and drug-related harms, the contribution to the improvement of information on the effects of drug use and support of the EU Drugs Strategy implementation.

ii) Applicants

This programme will be open to public and private organisations working in the area of information on and prevention of drugs use and support.

iii) Actions

The following types of actions will be supported:

• specific actions taken by the Commission, such as studies and research, opinion polls and surveys, formulation of indicators and common methodologies, collection, development and dissemination of data and statistics, seminars, conferences and experts meetings, organisation of public campaigns and events, development and maintenance of websites, preparation and dissemination of information materials, support to and animation of networks of national experts, analytical, monitoring and evaluation activities

• specific transnational projects of Community interest presented by at least two Member States, or at least one Member State and one other state which may either be an acceding or a candidate country under the conditions set out in the annual work programme

• support to the activities of non-governmental organisations or other entities pursuing an aim of general European interest regarding the general objectives of the programme under the conditions set out in the annual work programmes