Justice, rights and European values: MEPs endorse citizens’ and justice programmes worth €1.86bn

Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme, whose total budget will raise to 1.55 billion for seven years, focuses on the support to civil society organisations at local, regional, national and transnational level, dedicated to the promotion and protection of the EU common values enshrined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty.

Its specific objectives will be promoting equality -including gender equality- and non-discrimination, encouraging citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic process, fighting violence and, for the first time in this programme, protecting the EU common values.

To these ends, it will have €641.7 million (in current prices) for the seven-year period. This amount could be increased with a maximum of €912 million, a key demand of the European Parliament negotiators.

Justice Programme

The Justice Programme’s goal is to foster an EU area of justice based on rule of law, mutual recognition, trust and judicial cooperation. The €305 million budget for the seven year period will support activities related to raising awareness, mutual learning, developing e-justice tools, helping civil society organisations and NGOs. In all its actions, the Programme also seeks to promote gender equality, the rights of the child, the protection of victims and the effective application of the principle of equal rights and non-discrimination in EU member state legal systems.

More specifically, the Justice Programme will:

• facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, promote the rule of law, independence and impartiality of the judiciary;
• support and promote judicial training, with a view to fostering a common legal and judicial culture based on the rule of law;
• facilitate effective and non-discriminatory access to justice for all, and effective redress, including by electronic means (e-justice).