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Call key data
Call for proposals for action grants to provide financial contributions to ADR Bodies and RAD Qualified Entities
Funding Program
Single Market Programme
Call number
SMP-CONS-2024-ADR-RAD
deadlines
Opening
26.03.2024
Deadline
06.06.2024 17:00
Funding rate
75%
Call budget
€ 1,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
The objective of this Call for proposals is to facilitate consumers' access to effective and efficient alternative dispute resolution bodies compliant with Directive 2013/11/EU and to build the capacity of qualified entities to efficiently protect consumers’ collective interests pursuant to Directive (EU)2020/1828.
Call objectives
The call aims to support concrete improvements in the following areas:
- Awareness-raising on ADR and/or representative actions.
- Protection of vulnerable consumers.
- Networking of Alternative Dispute Resolution entities and/or Qualified Entities at national and EU-wide levels.
- Capacity building, expertise of staff.
- Use of transparent and innovative digital tools, efficient case handling and good governance.
‘Qualified entities’ applying under this call for proposals have to use EC-REACT forcooperation, to discuss and share the results of the actions financed under this call with some or all other qualified entities.
Actions by qualified entities should be conceived in a way to promote the future re-use of results by other already designated or future qualified entities.
Applicants who already received funding under previous calls, including of the Consumer Programme (2018, 2019, 2020 Work Programmes) and the Consumer pillar of the Single Market Programme (2021, 2022 and 2023 Work Programmes), and which plan to apply again under this call for proposals must clearly explain in their proposal how their proposed Action will build on and differ from the Action(s) funded under the previous call(s).
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Expected effects and impacts
This call for proposals has a wide scope. It is expected that results will impact in concrete improvements within the following areas:
- To raise awareness among consumers and traders and increase consumer trust in ADR and Representative Actions.
- To support cooperation among ADR and/or Qualified Entities at national, regional and EU levels.
- To increase accessibility of ADR, Representative Actions and Qualified Entities to consumers, including in a cross-border context.
- To improve operational capacity and expertise of ADR in resolving consumer disputes and Qualified Entities in bringing representative actions.
Expected results
A wide range of activities are eligible provided that they can be linked to the expected results mentioned above. Such activities may include for instance (non-exhaustive list):
- Awareness raising campaigns, communication activities and translations.
- Creating and supporting of networks among ADR entities and/or Qualified Entities.
- Development/procurement of case handling tools.
- Accounting tools and services.
- Trainings for staff.
- Study visits to other ADR entities or Qualified Entities.
- Organisation of seminars to exchange best practices.
- Statistical analysis of consumers’ complaints.
- Studies or trainings (including via procurement) on identifying mass harm situations, providing relevant legal and economic analyses in the context of representative actions and quantifying consumers’ damage.
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Armenia (Հայաստան), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Liechtenstein
eligible entities
Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs)
Mandatory partnership
No
Project Partnership
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Single Market Programme (list of participating countries)
- Comply with one the following:
- on the date of the submission of the proposal, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entity notified to the European Commission pursuant to Article 20(2) of Directive 2013/11/EU on consumer ADR. Applicants are advised to verify their status by consulting the public list of ADR entities registered on the European ODR platform, and to contact their national competent authorities in case they are not listed in the platform or their details are incorrect
- on the date of the submission of the proposal, a Qualified Entity designated by the EU Member State in advance to specific representative actions pursuant to Article 4 of Representative Actions Directive (EU)2020/1828. Applicants must present the proof of their designation as Qualified Entity issued by the competent national authority or public body pursuant to the national legislation transposing Directive (EU) 2020/1828 in the country of their designation
- bodies established in countries associated to the Single Market Programme, covering the Consumer pillar and for which the competent national authority confirms in writing the mutatis mutandis conformity with the quality criteria set out in the ADR Directive 2013/11/EU
- entities established in countries associated to the Single Market Programme, covering the Consumer pillar and for which the competent national authority confirms in writing the mutatis mutandis designation in compliance with Article 4 of the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828
- exceptionally, and only in EU Member States where ad hoc designation is allowed, entities which comply with the criteria set out in the national legislation transposing Article 4, paragraph 6, of the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828, for being designated on ad hoc basis. Applicants must present the proof of their compliance with these criteria issued by the competent national authority or public body.
Specific cases:
Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of selfemployed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).
International organisations — International organisations are not eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.
Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.
EU bodies — EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’ . Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).
Countries currently negotiating association agreements — Beneficiaries from countries with ongoing negotiations (see above) may participate in the call and can sign grants if the negotiations are concluded before grant signature (with retroactive effect, if provided in the agreement).
other eligibility criteria
Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant as well as by a consortium. In case of a multi-beneficiary grant: each of the beneficiary entities within the consortium has to be eligible as per the conditions above. Entities can originate from the same or different eligible countries.
Applicants may submit more than one application. Applicants who submit multiple applications must clearly explain how each proposal differs from the other(s). BUT: if there are proposals for very similar projects, only one application will be accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw the other or the applicant/application will be rejected.
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
project duration
24 months
Additional Information
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System ( NOT the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information).
Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:
- Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
- Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
- mandatory annexes and supporting documents (templates available to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
- detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the Submission System)
- proof of designation as RAD qualified entity, if applicable.
Your application must be readable, accessible and printable. Proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any additional pages.
Call documents
SMP-CONS-2024-ADR-RAD Call documentSMP-CONS-2024-ADR-RAD Call document(819kB)
Contact
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