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EU funding programs

Crime prevention projects can obtain funding from a wide variety of EU financial instruments. Below we give you an overview of the most relevant funds for crime prevention. A complete guide to EU funding can be found here and additional information on how to participate can be found here.

 

1. Internal Security Fund

The Internal Security Fund will contribute to reach a high level of security in the EU, in particular by preventing and combating terrorism, radicalisation, serious and organised crime and cybercrime, by assisting and protecting victims of crime, and by preparing for, protecting against and effectively managing security-related incidents, risks and crises. The ISF contains €1.93 billion for the 2021-2027 budget. The fund will partially be allocated to Thematic Facility to handle any unforeseen or emerging needs in the Union and will be used to steer policies to handle these issues.

The ISF has three objectives

  • Increase information exchange among and within the EU law enforcement, and other competent authorities and relevant EU bodies, as well as with non-EU countries, and international organisations;
  • Intensify cross-border cooperation, including joint operations, among and within the EU law enforcement and other competent authorities, in relation to terrorism and serious and organised crime with a cross-border dimension;
  • Support efforts to strengthen capabilities to combat and prevent crime, terrorism and radicalisation, as well as manage security-related incidents, risks and crises, in particular through increased cooperation between public authorities, civil society and private partners across the Member States.

Beneficiaries of the ISF can be: State/federal police, customs and other specialised law enforcement services (including national cybercrime units, anti-terrorism and other specialised units), local public bodies, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, Union agencies, private and public law companies, networks and research institutes and universities.

The budget can be implemented in three different types of management:

  • Direct (Commission, Union delegations, Executive Agencies);
  • Indirect (Third countries, international organizations and their agencies,…);
  • Shard (Member States distribute funds and manage expenditure).

2. Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund will finance actions in the field of asylum, legal migration and integration, return and countering irregular migration. Member States will implement the largest share of the allocation through multiannual national programmes. In addition to this, the Commission will also implement actions of particular EU added-value - the Union actions. The AMIF contains €9.88 billion in the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework period. The fund will partially be allocated to Thematic Facility to handle any unforeseen or emerging needs in the Union and will be used to steer policies to handle these issues.

The objectives of AMIF are

  • Strengthening the Common European Asylum System, including the international dimensions;
  • Strengthening legal migration to the Member States and increasing the effectiveness of integration and social inclusion of third country nationals;
  • Countering irregular migration and promote safe and effective readmission of third country nationals;
  • Stimulate solidarity and responsibility between Member States.

The budget can be implemented in three different types of management:

  • Direct (Commission, Union delegations, Executive Agencies);
  • Indirect (Third countries, international organizations and their agencies,…);
  • Shard (Member States distribute funds and manage expenditure).

3. Horizon Europe – Civil Security for Society

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a total budget of €99.5 billion. This also includes the Civil Security for Society cluster with a budget for the period of 2021-2027 of €1.60 billion. The Civil Security for Society cluster belongs to pillar II ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ of Horizon Europe.

Projects falling under the Civil Security for Society cluster should

  • Contribute to establishing, deploying and stewarding resilient critical digital and physical infrastructure, both private and public and their ability to supply and provide services, as well as the security and safety of all producers and users;
  • Strengthen European cybersecurity industrial capacities and the uptake of architectural principles of ‘security-by-design’ and ‘privacy-by-design’ in digital technologies;
  • Increase the open strategic autonomy and competitive edge and leadership in global markets vis-à-vis foreign technologies;
  • Defend the EUs high standards concerning the right to privacy, protection of personal data, and the protection of other fundamental rights in the digital age on the global stage.

4. Justice Programme

The Justice Programme (JUST) provides funding to support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters such as training to judges and other legal practitioners and effective access to justice for citizens and businesses. It contributes to the further development of an European area of justice based on the rule of law, including independence and impartiality of the judiciary, on mutual recognition, mutual trust and judicial cooperation. It is strengthening democracy, rule of law, and fundamental rights with a total budget of €305 million for the period of 2021-2027.

The JUST programme has three priorities

  1. Judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters;
  2. Judicial training;
  3. Effective access to justice in Europe, including rights of victims of crime and procedural rights in criminal proceedings.

5. Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme – Daphne and Equality, Rights and Gender Equality

Two of the four pillars of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV) are also related to crime prevention, Equality, Rights and Gender Equality, which promotes rights, non-discrimination, equality and non-discrimination mainstreaming and Daphne which tackles gender-based violence. CERV has a total budget of €1.56 billion for its programmes between 2021-2027.

Projects under Equality, Rights and Gender Equality should

  • Prevent and combat inequalities and discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and respecting the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds provided for in Article 21 of the EU Charter;
  • Promote women’s full enjoyment of rights, gender equality, including work-life balance, women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming;
  • Combat all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, afrophobia, antisemitism, anti-gypsism, anti-muslim hatred, and other forms of intolerance, including homophobia and other forms of intolerance based on gender identity both online and offline;
  • Protect and promote the rights of the child, awareness raising of children rights in judicial proceedings, capacity-building of child protection systems;
  • Protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, for their active inclusion and full participation in society;
  • Tackle the challenges related to the protection of personal data and data protection reform, as well as to support the stakeholder dialogue in this area;
  • Support the efforts to enable people to exercise their rights as EU citizens and enforce free movement rights, as well as tackling the abuse of those rights.

Projects looking for funding under Daphne should

  • Prevent and combat at all levels all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls and domestic violence, also by promoting the standards laid down in the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention);
  • Preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, young people, as well as violence against other groups at risk, such as LGBTQI persons and persons with disabilities;
  • Support and protect all direct and indirect victims of such violence, such as domestic violence exerted within the family or violence in intimate relationships, including children orphaned by domestic crimes, and supporting and ensuring the same level of protection throughout the Union for victims of gender-based violence.

6. Union Anti-Fraud Programme

The Union Anti-Fraud Programme (EUAF) promotes activities against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the EU through action grants. The EUAF is managed by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and continues the financial support previously offered by the HERCULE III programme. The programme has a budget of €114.2 million in the 2021-2027 budget period.

The calls for the Union Anti-Fraud Programme (EUAF) - Hercule component - are divided into two thematic fields

Technical Assistance

The programme provides for technical assistance for projects with the main purpose of the acquisition of specialised equipment, tools and data technologies, including an accompanying training component on the use of purchased equipment. Four broad categories selected for support are described in the Call documents.

  • Investigation and surveillance equipment and methods;
  • Digital forensic hardware;
  • Each proposal must address only one call and only one topic. Applicants wishing to apply for more than one call or topic must submit a separate proposal under each call and topic.
  • Data analytics technologies and data purchases;
  • Detection of illicit trade.

Training, Conferences, Staff Exchanges and Studies

Financial support is available for training, conferences, seminars, studies, webinars and e-learning activities. With the aim of encouraging transnational and multidisciplinary cooperation, exchanges of knowledge and best practices, and the creation of networks between national authorities, as well as between practitioners and academics involved in protecting the EU financial interests. The EUAF also aims at further raising the awareness of the judiciary and other branches of the legal profession to protect the EU financial interests.

  • Specialised training sessions;
  • Conferences, workshops and seminars;
  • Staff exchanges;
  • Comparative law studies and periodical publications.

Each proposal must address only one call and only one topic. Applicants wishing to apply for more than one call or topic must submit a separate proposal under each call and topic.

7. Pericles IV

The Pericles IV programme follows-up on the Pericles 2020 Programme to combat euro-counterfeiting by funding staff exchanges, seminars, trainings and studies for law enforcement and judicial authorities, banks and others. The programmes can take place in the euro area, Member States outside the euro area and third countries and has a total budget of €6.2 million for the period of 2021-2027.

The Pericles IV programme has two objectives

  1. Prevent counterfeiting and related fraud to strengthen the trust of citizens and businesses in the currency and so preserve its integrity. This to enhance confidence in the Union’s economy and secure sustainability of public finances;
  2. Support and supplement the measures undertaken by Member States in developing and maintaining a close and regular network between themselves and the Commission. This to stimulate cooperation and the exchange of best practices between themselves, and where appropriate including third countries and international organisations.

8. Digital Europe Programme

The Digital Europe Programme will provide funding for supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society of the Union. €1.6 billion will be allocated to cybersecurity out of the €7.6 total for the long-term EU budget of 2021-2027.

The priorities for cybersecurity will be to

  • Strengthen cybersecurity coordination between Member States tools and data infrastructures;
  • Support the wide deployment of the cybersecurity capacities across the economy.

9. Drug–related projects

For the 2021-2027 period several funds are envisaged to address various drugs-related challenges