The EU provides support to local governments in Serbia – among other things – to implement the green transition as quickly and successfully as possible. Thanks to the Interreg EU programme, Serbia cooperates with neighboring countries to solve issues of mutual interest, especially in areas close to state borders.

Do you work in local self-government, do you want to improve and modernize it, or do you want to contribute to environmental protection?

Are you interested in what cross-border and transnational cooperation between our country and its neighbors looks like?

Below you can see what all the possibilities are in these areas:

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(CERV) programme was launched in 2021 and will run until 2027. It was created alongside the Justice 2021-2027 programme within the Fund for Justice, Rights and Values.

The CERV programme seeks to support and develop open societies based on the rule of law, which foster democratic values, equality, and inclusiveness. Such societies include a vibrant and empowered civil society, which encourages people’s democratic, civic, and social participation and nurtures the rich diversity of European society, based on our common values, history, and memory. The programme provides financial support for the promotion of civil activism, equality for all, and the rights and values ​​of the European Union. It is intended for local self-government units and civil society organisations.

The CERV programme has four pillars:

  1. Equality, rights and gender equality – promoting laws, anti-discrimination, and equality (including gender equality);
  2. Engagement and participation of citizens – promoting citizen engagement and participation in the democratic life of the EU, exchanges between citizens of different member states, and raising awareness of common European history;
  3. Daphne – focusing on the fight against violence, including gender-based violence and violence against children;
  4. EU values – protection and promotion of EU values.

Civil society organisations active at the local, regional, national, and transnational levels, as well as other interested parties, can apply to receive funds from CERV for initiatives aimed at citizen engagement, equality for all, and the protection and promotion of EU rights and values.

The national contact point for this programme in Serbia is the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. Here you can apply for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(CERV) programme.

Through the competent Ministry for European Integration, Serbia is involved in programmes with almost all its neighbours: Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, as well as in the transnational cooperation programmes Adrion, Danube, and the interregional cooperation programme URBAKT.

Projects can be submitted by all non-profit institutions (e.g., ministries, provincial government and local self-government bodies, public companies, universities, schools, hospitals, agencies, associations, chambers, civil society organisations, etc.) that are registered in the territory covered by the programme.

Within the transnational cooperation programme, private companies and profit-making organisations can also participate.

There are several such programmes, which you can find out about in this brochure.

Support for sustainable social protection services in the community and inclusion policies at the local level, known as the SpaRI project, aims to create conditions for improving the quality and scope of social protection services and encouraging the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalised groups, especially the Roma population at the local level. This will contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of social inclusion policies and promoting equal opportunities and active participation for both women and men.

Within this project, there will be three funding opportunities: two in May and one in December.

For more information, visit the website of the Standing Conference of Towns and Town Municipalities.

ROMACTED is a joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The target groups of the project are local public administrations (elected representatives and relevant officials) and Roma communities from selected municipalities. These groups are also the initial short-term beneficiaries of the project. Overall, the project will be implemented in 80 municipalities in the region. Partner cities and municipalities in Serbia include Aleksinac, Apatin, Bač, Kostolac, Kragujevac, Kruševac, Lebane, Niš, Pirot, Prokuplje, Subotica, Vrnjačka Banja, Zaječar, and Zvezdara. Medium and long-term beneficiaries are the Roma population and the general population of the municipalities.

As part of the ROMACTED small grants scheme, 14 partner municipalities and cities will receive financial support for the implementation of two projects: one general (addressing specific needs identified by the community) and one focused on overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More information can be found on the website: http://www.coe-romacted.org

The Regional Programme of Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2, known as the ReLOaD2 project, aims to strengthen democracy and the EU integration process in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society and encouraging young people to actively participate in the decision-making process. It also seeks to improve the legal and financial framework to further encourage the development of civil society.

The programme is implemented by UNDP, and you can find more opportunities within the framework of this initiative at this link.

The programme “European Union Support for Social Housing and Active Inclusion” (EU SHAI) has conducted three public calls: one for local self-government units to submit proposals for social housing and the active inclusion of vulnerable groups, one for small-scale infrastructure projects, and one for proposals to provide technical support to local self-government units in developing or revising local housing strategies.

The programme is implemented by UNOPS, and more information and tender documents are available at the link.

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