European youth: grants to bodies active at European level, 2004-2006 action programme

PURPOSE : to establish a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of youth. LEGISLATIVE ACT : Decision 790/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of youth. CONTENT : Based on article 149, this Decision seeks to promote participation by young people in the exercise of active European citizenship through civil society. The programme will support the ongoing work programme activities of bodies active at European level in the field of youth. Their activities must contribute to the development of communities actions in the field of youth. Likewise, the programme will support the ongoing programme activities of the European Youth Forum, in so far as it represents and co-ordinates non-governmental youth organisations and relays information on youth to the European institutions This Decision establishes a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of youth. The general objective of the programme is to support the activities of these bodies. These activities are the ongoing work programme of a body, which pursues an aim of general European interest in the field of youth or an objective forming part of the European Union's policy in this area. In particular, these activities must contribute, or be capable of contributing, to the active participation of young citizens in public life and in society and to the development and implementation of Community cooperation actions in the field of youth in the broad sense. Cooperation with the European Youth Forum contributes to this general objective in so far as the European Youth Forum represents and coordinates non-governmental youth organisations and relays information on youth to the European institutions. The programme shall start on 1 January 2004 and shall end on 31 December 2006. To be eligible for an operating grant, a body must satisfy the requirements of the Annex and have the following characteristics: - its activities must be in accordance with the principles underlying Community action in the youth policy area and take account of the priorities set out in the Annex; - it must have been legally established for more than one year; - it must operate at European level, either alone or in the form of various coordinated associations, and its structure and activities must have a potential impact throughout the Union or cover at least eight of the countries referred to in Article 3, including the Member States. Participation in actions under the programme may be opened to bodies established in: - acceding States which signed the Treaty of Accession on 16 April 2003; - the EFTA/EEA countries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement; - Romania and Bulgaria, the conditions for participation to be laid down in accordance with the European Agreements, their additional protocols and the decisions of the respective Association Councils; - Turkey, the conditions for participation to be laid down in accordance with the Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Turkey of 26 February 2002 on the general principles for the participation of the Republic ofTurkey in Community programmes. Participation in this programme may also be open to bodies established in the Balkan countries forming part of the Stabilisation and Association process for countries of South Eastern Europe and to some countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, in accordance with the conditions and procedures to be agreed with these countries. The programme covers two types of beneficiaries: - group 1: operating grants shall be directly awarded to the beneficiaries referred to in point 2 of the Annex; - group 2: operating grants shall be awarded in accordance with the overall criteria laid down in the Annex by means of a call for proposals to the permanent activities of a body pursuing an aim of general European interest in the field of youth. The financial framework for the implementation of the programme is hereby set at EUR 13 million. The Commission shall be responsible for, and shall regularly inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States concerning, the implementation of this programme in accordance with the provisions set out in the annex. No later than 31 December 2007, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the achievement of the programme's objectives. This report shall be based, inter alia, on an external evaluation report which must be available no later than the end of 2006 and which shall appraise at least the overall pertinence and coherence of the programme, the effectiveness of its execution (preparation, selection, implementation of the actions) and the overall and individual effectiveness of the various actions in terms of achievement of the objectives set out in Article 1 and in the Annex. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 1 May 2004.�