ECHOFunds – Enhancing Charter Compliance of EU Funds

About the Project

Research Topic & Roadmap

EU funds form a significant share of national budgets and are regulated by a set of common provisions. For the funding period of 2021-2027, the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) foresees that the principles enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU have to be complied with throughout the funding cycle as horizontal enabling conditions. Additionally, the CPR also foresees a more articulated role for bodies representing civil society and national bodies with a human rights remit.

ECHOFunds aims at enhancing the human rights conditionality of EU Funds by ways of raising awareness about Charter rights and their implications and contributing to a common understanding of the roles of different stakeholders in EU funding in all stages of the funding period.

Research Focus

Research objectives will include to provide

  • an overview of the implementation of EU funding regulations for the period 2021-2027 and Charter conditionality as well as of stakeholders involved and the (potential) role of national bodies with a human rights remit (NHRIs, equality bodies, ombuds institutions) and NGOs.
  • national and European wide fora for the development of concrete ideas for the involvement of various actors and/ or other forms of cooperation.
  • a path to information on EU funding and funding procedures and the relevance of human rights in this regards in an easy accessible way.

Research Method

ECHOFunds will conduct research on the functioning of the EU funding cycle, the relevant legal framework and the relevance of the Charter conditionality of EU funds. Project partners will reach out to national stakeholders and organize national workshops and working sessions to jointly discuss the impact of Charter conditionality and together develop ideas for the involvement of different actors. European wide open consultation days will serve as a platform for presenting those ideas and exchanging good practice as well as identifying issues at stake. Project findings will be presented at a European conference and will be transposed into online materials for practical use.

Further Information and News about the Project
EU Funds – Providing technical assistance to national bodies with a human rights remit Publication – EU funds: Ensuring compliance with fundamental rights Project start: ECHOFunds

Project Data