With grants, we financially support specific projects or operations that are in line with our external action objectives. These financial donations can cover a wide range of sectors and areas and are mostly awarded following a call for proposals. Any natural or legal person or entity meeting the requirements of a specific call can apply for the related grant.
Definition
A grant is a financial donation awarded by the contracting authority to the grant beneficiary. It is funded by the EU general budget or the European Development Fund (EDF). There are two main types of grants:
- An action grant funds a specific action intended to help achieve one of our policy objectives.
- An operating grant funds the operating costs of an organisation pursuing an objective supporting our policies.
Standard rules for grants
A grant is awarded based on a proposal made by an applicant to the contracting authority (mostly in the frame of a call for proposals). The action to be covered by the grant must be clearly defined by the applicant in their proposal. Once the grant is awarded, the applicant becomes the grant beneficiary, is responsible for the implementation of the action, and owns its results.
Grants are governed by the following principles:
- Transparency and equal treatment – The grant award process is a public and fully transparent procedure and it guarantees non-discrimination between all applicants.
- Nationality rule – Applicants for grant contracts must be established in an eligible country, as defined in the terms of the calls for proposals.
- No-profit rule – The action covered by a grant may not generate profits.
Exception – The principle of no-profit is not applicable to low value grants and in other cases listed in Article 195 of the Financial Regulation. - Co-financing – Grants usually cover only part of the eligible costs and the grant beneficiaries need to pay part of the costs on their own.
Exception – The principle of co-financing is not applicable to grants in the form of financing not linked to costs, pursuant to Article 183(3) a) of the Financial Regulation. - Non-cumulation – A grant beneficiary may receive no more than one grant per action funded and no more than one operating grant per financial year.
- Non-retroactivity – Grants may not be awarded to actions that are already completed or have already started.
Exception – Exceptionally, if the applicant can duly justify the need for the action to start prior to the grant contract signature, we may accept for the grant to cover earlier costs.
Grant management modes - Direct management
Grants are generally managed in direct management. The Commission acts as the contracting authority, which means that it is responsible for the entire award procedure, from the publishing of calls for proposals to the award decisions, signing of the grant contracts, and monitoring of their implementation.
Further information on programmes can be found in the Policies section of this website.
Please note that grants in indirect management with partner countries are no longer used as an implementation modality. This does not prevent awarding grants to the partner country, who may then provide financial support to third parties, under the conditions laid down in the grant agreement.
How to apply for a grant?
- Search for a grant opportunity on the F&T portal at: Calls for proposals | EU Funding & Tenders Portal
- Read the guidelines for grant applicants carefully and check if your organisation is eligible
- Register your organisation in the Potential Applicant Data Online Registration (PADOR)
- Submit your application within set deadline and under the call’s terms, either by post if allowed or, in most cases, online via the e-Calls PROSPECT portal
These are the main steps to follow. For more information on how to apply for a grant, please visit the EXACT Wiki.