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Call key data
Political perspectives for the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans
Funding Program | Horizon Europe - Cluster 2 - Destination 1: Innovative research on democracy and governance | |
Call number | HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08 | |
deadlines | Opening 14.12.2022 | Deadline 14.03.2023 17:00 |
Funding rate | 100% | |
Call budget | € 9,000,000.00 | |
Estimated EU contribution per project | between € 2,000,000.00 and € 3,000,000.00 | |
Link to the call | ec.europa.eu | |
Link to the submission | ec.europa.eu |
Call content
Call objectives | The political and economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine go well beyond Ukrainian borders. The European Union had to change overnight from a neighbourhood policy focused on incremental reform to one that is about the survival of some Eastern Neighbourhood countries as independent, self-determined states. Ukraine’s application for European Union membership has been immediately replicated by Georgia and Moldova. Russian and Chinese influence in some accession candidate countries is on the rise. This opens crucial questions about the European Union’s enlargement strategy, requiring not only political answers but also academic reflection and expertise. Therefore, proposals are expected to analyse the European Union’s current neighbourhood and enlargement strategy and toolbox in the light of the new situation where military aggression or the threat with it and political exploitation of economic dependencies are once more used as foreign policy tools in Europe. Based on this, they should provide innovative perspectives on the origins and evolutions of policies aimed at stabilising and democratising the Eastern Neighbourhood along with evidence-based policy options to adapt this strategy to the new state of play. Furthermore, in the context of the accession process, there is need to strengthen mechanisms of compliance with the acquis in the area of social policies and to strengthen social cohesion to avoid brain drain and care drain in Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans countries. Proposals are invited to take this dimension into account when developing robust evidence-based, forward-looking visions for the political agenda of the European Union towards the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans. In addition, the Russian ambition to have a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union countries puts governments in the Eastern Neighbourhood in a much more vulnerable position. It increased their dependencies on big geopolitical powers, be it the West, China or Russia. It also highlighted Russia’s ambition to play an even more decisive political role in the larger region, including the power to install governments of its choice through a return to Cold War tactics. Is this shift back to brutal military intervention the sign of a new age in international relations and new geopolitical blocks? Proposals are expected to analyse and forecast possible scenarios regarding Russia, but also China and other countries’ geopolitical ambitions towards the countries of the Eastern Neighbourhood, grounded in a historical perspective. Based on sound and robust analyses, they should provide policy recommendations, scenarios and options to strengthen the Union’s resilience and diplomatic arsenal in a potential new era of military intervention on the continent. They are also expected to provide evidence-based advice on whether the European Union should factor military interventions into its foreign policy toolbox, and offer perspectives as to what implications that would entail. Proposals are strongly encouraged to involve stakeholders, including non-state actors and citizens, from the countries in the topic scope. The consortium must include at least one entity from the following countries: Georgia, Republic of Moldova or Ukraine. Legal entities from these countries must take part in the project as beneficiaries. Participation of Ukrainian researchers in exile with refugee status and employed by eligible beneficiaries is strongly encouraged and would be an asset. International cooperation is strongly encouraged. Proposals are encouraged to network with and build on previously funded projects under the Horizon Europe calls, Horizon 2020 or other EU programmes, e.g. Global Europe, as appropriate. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged. read more |
Expected results |
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Regions / countries for funding | EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Island (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom |
eligible entities | EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) |
Mandatory partnership | Yes |
Project Partnership | To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic. A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality. Specific cases:
In order to achieve the expected outcomes of the action, the consortium must include at least one entity from the following countries: Georgia, Republic of Moldova or Ukraine. |
Additional information
Topics |
Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, Demographic Change, European Citizenship, Migration, Equal Rights, Human Rights, People with Disabilities, Social Inclusion |
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) |
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Additional Information | All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible. Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc. The application form will have two parts:
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system). The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages. |
Call documents | HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 2, Destination 1 (1125kB) |
Contact | National Contact Points for Horizon Europe Website |
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