The Citizens, Equality, Rights & Values (CERV) programme aims to strengthen and promote EU rights and values with an overall budget of 1.55 billion euros for the next programming period.

EUR 292 million are available alone in 2021-22 and allow to translate the EU objectives into practical results on the ground by providing unparalleled funding opportunities to civil society organisations active at local, regional, national and transnational level engaged in upholding EU values and rights. The programme consists of four pillars:

1. Union Values – to protect and promote Union values

2. Equality, Rights and Gender Equality – to promote rights, non-discrimination and equality, including gender equality, and to advance gender mainstreaming and the mainstreaming of non-discrimination

3. Citizens’ engagement and participation – to promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between citizens of different Member States, and to raise awareness of their common European history

4. Daphne – to prevent and combat gender-based violence and violence against children