Equality women and men: promoting organisations active at European level, 2004-2005 action programme

PURPOSE : to establish a Community Action Programme to promote organisations active at European level in the field of equality between men and women. LEGISLATIVE ACT : Decision 848/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community action programme to promote organisations active at European level in the field of equality between men and women. CONTENT : the general objective of the programmes is to support the activities of such organisations, of which an ongoing programme of work or a specific action serves the general European interest in the field of equality between men and women or pursues an objective which is part of the European Union's policy in this area. The programme shall start on 1 January 2004 and shall end on 31 December 2005. The financial framework for the implementation of the programme for the period from 2004 to 2005 shall be EUR 2,2 million. In order to be eligible for a grant, an organisation active at European level in the field of equality between women and men must comply with the provisions laid down in the Annex and its activities must: - contribute to the development and implementation of Community actions to promote equality between men and women; - be in accordance with the principles underlying, and the legal provisions governing Community action in the policy area of equality between men and women; - have transnational potential. The organisation in question must have been legally established for more than one year, acting alone or in the form of various coordinated associations. In addition to organisations established in the Member States, participation in the programme shall be open to organisations active at European level in the field of equality between men and women which are established in: - Accession 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, on the basis that the conditions for their participation are to be laid down in accordance with the European Agreements, their additional Protocols and the Decisions of the respective Association Councils; - Turkey, on the basis that the conditions for its participation are to be laid down in accordance with the Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Turkey on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Turkey in Community programmes. The activities carried out by organisations which are eligible to receive a Community grant under the programme will come under one of the following strands: - Strand 1: ongoing activities of the European Women's Lobby, whose members are inter alia, women's organisations in the Member States of the European Union, subject to observance of the following principles: it must be free to select its members and it must be free to pursue its activities. - Strand 2: ongoing activities of an organisation pursuing an objective of general European interest in the field of genderequality or an objective forming part of the European Union's policy in this area. In accordance with Article 2, this applies to a non-profit-making body carrying out its activities exclusively in order to achieve equality between women and men or an organisation with a wider aim which carries out part of its activities exclusively to promote equality between women and men. An annual operating grant may be awarded to support the implementation of such an organisation's ongoing programme of work. - Strand 3: specific actions of an organisation pursuing an objective of general European interest in the field of equality between women and men or an objective forming part of the European Union's policy in this area. Concerning the awarding of grants, operating grants awarded to organisations active at European level in the field of equality between men and women may cover no more than 80% of the organisation's total eligible expenditure for the calendar year for which the grant is awarded. A derogation shall be made from the principle of degressivity for grants awarded under the programme. This Decision sets out transitional clauses. For grants awarded in 2004, it will be possible for the period of eligibility of expenditure to start on 1 January 2004, provided that the expenditure does not precede the date on which the grant application was lodged or the date on which the beneficiary's budgetary year starts. During 2004, in the case of beneficiaries whose budgetary year starts before 1 March, an exception may be granted to the obligation to sign the grant agreement within the first four months of the start of the beneficiary's budgetary year. In this case, the grant agreement should be signed by 30 June 2004 at the latest. By 31 December 2006 at the latest, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the achievement of the objectives of the programme. That report shall be based on the results obtained by the beneficiaries and shall assess, in particular, their effectiveness in achieving the objectives. ENTRY INTO FORCE : the Decision shall enter into force on 1 May 2004. It shall apply from 1 January 2004.