Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV) aims to protect and promote European Union rights and values as enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It aims to contribute to sustaining and further developing open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies based on the rule of law.

EACEA manages key parts of the CERV programme on behalf of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.

At EACEA we manage funding opportunities under the following two strands of the CERV programme:

• Union Values: protecting and promoting the values of the European Union’s Member States.
• Citizens’ engagement and participation: promoting citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the European Union.

This encompasses the town-twinning, networks of towns and remembrance actions, as well as the European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level and European think-tanks in the areas of Union Values. We also manage the Programme Contact Points.

• CERV programme page on DG JUST's website
• Programme Contact Points: list of national contact points for the CERV programme.
• Video introducing the CERV programme
• Video on Union Values 
• Video on Citizens engagement
• CERV communication campaign website - funding projects and success stories
• Champions of change: the organisations funding the future (in collaboration with Reuters)

CERV legal basis – the legal basis underpinning the CERV programme.