Call for proposals for action grants to provide financial contributions to ADR Bodies and RAD Qualified Entities
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The Single Market Programme (SMP) covers the single market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics. Specifically, the programme brings together aspects in order to streamline, exploit synergies and provide a better flexible, transparent, simplified and agile framework to finance activities aiming at a well-functioning sustainable internal market.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
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.
The consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and consumer Representative Actions are equally important tools helping European consumers to enforce their rights towards infringing traders.
Detailed Call Description
‘ADR bodies’ are bodies designated by the EU Member States pursuant to the ADR Directive 2013/11/EU or established in countries with which the EU has signed a Single Market Programme Agreement 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.
RAD ‘Qualified Entities’ are designated by the EU Member States pursuant to Article 4 of the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828 or entities established in countries with which the EU has signed a Single Market Programme Agreement covering the Consumer pillar and for which the competent national authority confirms in writing the mutatis mutandis compliance with Article 4 of the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828.
It 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 for cooperation, 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).
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.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
75%
Thematic Categories
- Public Administration
- Social Affairs & Human Rights
Eligibility for Participation
- Associations
- Central Government
- Consumer Organisations
- Legal Entities
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- State-owned Enterprises
- Training Centres
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
and - 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 or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (list of participating countries)
and
- be, 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
or, - be, 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
or, - 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
or, - 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
or, - 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.
Consortium composition:
Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant as well as by a consortium.
In case of a multi-beneficiary grant – Consortium composition: 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.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry
Industry and Technology Service
1421, Nicosia, Cyprus
Email: sit@meci.gov.cy
Contact Person:
Spyros Triantaphyllidis
Telephone: 22867333
Email: striantafyllides@meci.gov.cy
EU Contact Point
For help to this call, please contact: EISMEA-CONS-grants@ec.europa.eu