Guida ai finanziamenti europei 2014-2020

Un’ottima guida in inglese (chiara, sintetica) ai finanziamenti europei, realizzata a cura del Gruppo parlamentare europeo dei Verdi. Si può scaricare dal link qui sotto.

GuidetoEUFunding-2014-2020

1) Introduction

The European Union (EU) allocates considerable financial

resources to projects and actions that are related to EU

policies and their implementation. This money is used for investments

in a broad spectrum of areas, such as sustainable

economic development, decent work, research & innovation,

education, culture, health and environmental protection.

Whereas some funds are allocated to EU Member States,

where national or regional authorities implement them, other

funds are distributed and managed directly by the European

Commission.

At the end of 2013, the European Parliament and the

Council of the European Union came to an agreement on the

budget for the EU for the next 7 years (2014-2020). A huge

part of this new budgetary plan, with a total amount of 960

billion €, is used for EU funding instruments, programmes

and initiatives. Parallel to the negotiations on the multiannual

budget 2014-2020, as well the EU’s investment programmes

and funding instruments have been redesigned.

In the last two years, the European Parliament and the

Member States reviewed, in cooperation with the European

Commission, the strategic outline of these programmes,

adapted them to current social, economic and environmental

challenges and set new thematic priorities for the upcoming

7 years of EU investments.The Greens/EFA group in the European

Parliament played an active role in the negotiations

of the Multiannual Financial Framework and the revision of

the EU funds for the period 2014-2020. We advocated for

more sustainable, integrative, environmental and climate

friendly, transparent and simplified EU funding programmes.

This year, the implementation of the new programmes

begins. We want to ensure that our achievements during the

negotiations on the new programme strategies do actually

deploy a change towards more Green EU investments on

the level of implementation. With this guide we seek to

provide local and regional actors, as well as young people,

user-friendly information on how to access EU funding

opportunities for your own projects and ideas.

This documents follows 3 key objectives:

• It gives our local and regional Green stakeholders, namely
  local and regional councillors and non-governmental organisations
  (NGOs), an insight into the functioning of the huge
  variety of EU funds.
• It provides young people in the EU with information on
  how they can directly benefit from Europe by taking part in
  one of the numerous EU programmes.
• It offers guidance on how to set-up your own EU project.

a) How to read this Guide

Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of EU funding opportunities

adapted to specific target groups. Here you will find a summary

of the most important information on your eligibility for EU

funds, plus relevant programmes for your field of work.

Chapter 3 offers a step-by-step guide to your EU project.

This serves as a guide, from the very first considerations to

be made, to the important aspects of your project proposal

and budgetary planning.

Chapter 4 is written in the format of a reference book. It will

give you a comprehensive overview of EU funds for the

period 2014-2020 divided into thematic fields. Here you will

find brief explanations of the different EU programmes and

suggestions on where to find further information.

b) What are EU funds?

The EU funds can roughly be divided into three types:

structural and investment funds, programmes and initiatives

and third country funds. Whilst the first two types are allocated

internally within the EU, the latter particularly addresses

actions outside the EU. This guide addresses explicitly only

the first two types of funding – EU funds invested within the

EU. The types of financing from the EU budget can vary. EU

funds are mostly allocated through grants awarded on the

basis of calls for proposals, in which different actors compete

for the support of the EU. Two types of grants can be

distinguished: action grants for projects with a limited lifetime

during which proposed specific activities are implemented;

and operating grants providing financial support for the

regular work and activities of an organisation.

Furthermore, EU institutions award public contracts, which

are awarded through calls for tenders to buy services, goods

or works that ensure the operations of the EU institutions

and their programmes. Eventually, several other types of

financing by EU funds exists, such as direct subsidies or

indirect funding through intermediary bodies in the form of

loans, risk capital, seed funding, subsidies, etc.

Another aspect to differentiate between the EU funds is

their respective management structure. In some cases the

European Commission manages the funds itself, i.e. the

responsible department (Directorate General) or external

agency publishes calls for proposals that invite candidates

to present project proposals, selects projects, monitors the

implementation and evaluates the outcome.

In other cases, the implementation of the funds are

delegated to the EU’s Member States, which then designate

national or regional managing authorities. This is called

shared management, because the Commission only supervises

the implementation of funds, but the Member State

takes responsibility for the management. This is especially

the case for the European Structural and Investment Funds.

The calls for proposals are published by the national or

regional managing authorities on the basis of operational

programmes, which outline the investment strategy of each

fund or priority. This takes into consideration national or

regional needs and challenges.