Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Debate Europe — building on the experience of plan D for democracy, dialogue and debate
Date: 2008-04-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU competence, EU programme, European citizenship, citizens' Europe, eligibility criteria, institutional reform, political participation, social dialogue (EU)

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.4.2008 
COM(2008) 158 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Debate Europe — building on the experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and 
Debate 

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CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................... 3 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

3. 

4. 

ASSESSING PLAN D — RESULTS AND EXPERIENCES .................................... 4 

THE WAY AHEAD – “DEBATE EUROPE”............................................................. 6 

Connecting citizens’ debates to representative political bodies................................... 7 

Enhancing cooperation with the European Parliament ................................................ 7 

Creating synergies between Commission programmes ............................................... 8 

Further developing other Plan D initiatives ................................................................. 9 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND DECENTRALISED ACTIONS ........................... 10 

CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 11 

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INTRODUCTION 

In  June  2005,  the  European  Council  called  for  a  period  of  reflection  on  how  to  take  the 
institutional  reform  forward1.  In  response  to  this  call,  the  European  Commission  adopted 
“Plan  D  for  Dialogue,  Democracy  and  Debate”  on  13  October  20052.  Its  aim  was  to 
encourage  Member  States  to  organise  a  broad  public  debate  on  the  future  of  the  European 
Union  involving  citizens,  civil  society,  social  partners,  national  parliaments  and  political 
parties, with the support of the EU institutions. 

The  main  thrust  of  Plan  D  was  “listening  better”,  “explaining  better”  and  “going  local”  to 
engage  citizens.  It  fostered  a  type  of  consultation  on  the  future  of  Europe  which  was 
complementary  to  the  stakeholder  and  general  public  consultations  on  specific  policy 
proposals. 

Plan  D  was  spearheaded  by  six  transnational  European  citizens’  projects  managed  by  civil 
society organisations (Annex 1). The aim of these projects was to test innovative consultation 
methods  and  enable  people  from  the  different  national  public  spheres  to  connect  with  each 
other as European citizens and debate the future of the EU. 

In  June  2006,  the  European  Council  acknowledged  the  Commission’s  contribution  to  the 
period  of  reflection  and  noted  that  the  EU’s  commitment  to  becoming  more  democratic, 
transparent  and  effective  goes  beyond  the  reflection  period.  It  also  noted  that  “reinforced 
dialogue with the citizens requires adequate means and commitment”3 and recommended that 
the period of reflection should be prolonged into 2007. 

The Commission responded to this call in November 2006 by drawing lessons from the first 
year, in an information note entitled “Plan D — Wider and Deeper Debate on Europe”4. The 
Commission renewed its commitment to the action taken under Plan D. It also decided to co-
fund a new series of civil society projects with a special emphasis on youth and women and 
on “going local”. 

The period of reflection came to an end in June 2007, when the European Council agreed on a 
mandate for a new intergovernmental conference (IGC) to reform the institutional framework 
of  the  Union.  The  IGC  was  concluded  in  October  and  the  “Reform  Treaty”  was  signed  in 
December  2007  in  Lisbon.  These  events  opened  a  new  phase,  with  ratification  of  the  new 
treaty  to  be  followed  by  the  European  elections  in  June  2009.  The  European  Council 
underlined  the  crucial  importance  of  communicating  more  and  better  with  the  citizens  by 
providing them with comprehensive information on the European Union and involving them 
in a permanent dialogue5. 

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Declaration by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union on the 
Ratification  of  the  Treaty  establish  a  Constitution  for  Europe,  European  Council  16-17  June  2005, 
paragraph 4. 
COM(2005) 494, 13.10.2005. 
Presidency Conclusions, European Council, 15-16 June, paragraph 3. 
SEC(2006) 1553. 
SI(2007) 500. 

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In October 2007, the Commission adopted a Communication on "Communicating Europe in 
partnership"6.  Its  overall  objective  is  to  strengthen  coherence  and  synergies  between  the 
activities undertaken by the different EU institutions and by Member States, in order to offer 
citizens  better  access  and  a  better  understanding  of  the  impact  of  EU  policies  at  European, 
national and local level. 

The present Communication addresses the future of the Plan D approach of "listening better, 
explaining  better  and  going  local"  which  lasted  from  2005  to  2007.  This  approach  will 
continue  with  certain  adaptations  in  2008  and  2009,  during  the  ratification  process  of  the 
Lisbon Treaty and with due regard to the next European elections. 

It  aims  to  contribute  to  one  of  the  central  objectives  of  the  Commission's  communication 
policy - empowering citizens by giving them access to information so that they may be in a 
position to hold an informed debate on EU affairs. 

1. 

ASSESSING PLAN D — RESULTS AND EXPERIENCES 

In order to encourage the development of a European public sphere, Plan D sought to promote 
two-way dialogue, both face to face and virtual, between the EU institutions and the citizens 
of the Union. This approach proved to be particularly useful in opening up the discussion on 
the  future  of  Europe  following  the  French  and  Dutch  “No”  to  the  Treaty  establishing  a 
Constitution for Europe. 

Alongside  other  programmes  managed  by  the  Commission  and  other  EU  institutions  and 
bodies,  Plan  D  has  played  a  key  role  in  testing  innovative  ways  in  which  civil  society 
organisations could involve citizens from all walks of life in debates on the future of Europe, 
combining: 

•  virtual and face to face communication, 

•  deliberative consultation and polling, 

•  country-level, cross-border and pan-European consultations. 

Internet  debates  were  conducted  on  the  “Debate  Europe”  web  site7.  The  Commission 
Representations  and  the  Europe  Direct  centres  were  used  intensively.  “Plan  D”  visits  by 
Members of the Commission played an important role in reaching out to national parliaments, 
civil society, business and union leaders, regional and local authorities in Member States. This 
confirmed the importance of personal contacts and of “putting a human face” on the EU. 

In  particular,  civil  society  projects  were  co-funded  by  the  Commission  as  part  of  Plan D. 
Citizens were chosen at random and met each other both nationwide and across borders. They 
were supplied with the relevant information (e.g. documentation on the issues to be debated, 
vetted by a representative panel of Members of the European Parliament) and with the means 
to overcome the language barrier so that they could  use  their mother tongue  throughout the 
consultation process. As a result, they were in a position to engage in substantial discussions 
with decision-makers and make suggestions for the future of the EU. Overall, approximately 

6 
7 

COM(2007) 568, 3.10.2007. 
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/wallstrom/communicating/conference/dialogue/ 
index_en.htm. 

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40 000  people  took  part  in  the  six  transnational  Plan D  projects  in  person  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  are  estimated  to  have  participated  virtually  via  the  Internet.  The  civil  society 
organisations  managing  the  projects  served  as  multipliers  and  disseminated  the  views 
expressed  by  citizens  through  their  political  and  media  networks,  at  different  stages  of  the 
projects. 

The  Plan  D  civil  society  projects  showed  that  participatory  democracy  can  usefully 
supplement  representative  democracy.  They  confirmed  the  feedback  received  from  other 
types  of  citizens’  programmes,  namely  that  consultation  events  offer  participants  both  a 
human  and  a  political  experience.  Regardless  of  their  opinion  on  the  EU,  citizens’  views 
evolved significantly in the course of the consultations. At the end of the process, they were 
anxious to receive feedback from decision-makers, in particular EU institutions and bodies. 

This is why, in December 2007, the Commission organised a concluding conference for the 
six Plan D citizens’ projects. It was entitled “The Future of Europe — The Citizens’ Agenda”. 
For  the  first  time,  at  a  pan-European  level,  citizens  who  had  taken  part  in  a  variety  of 
transnational  participatory  democracy  projects  had  a  chance  to  synthesise  their  wishes  and 
articulate them directly to decision-makers. 

The resulting recommendations were addressed in the form of an open letter to the EU Heads 
of State and Government, the national parliaments, the EU institutions and European political 
parties,  ahead  of  the  December  European  Council  (Annex  2).  It  called  on  the  European 
political  parties  to  address  the  recommendations  in  their  programmes  and  to  discuss  them 
with citizens in the run-up to the elections to the European Parliament in 2009. It also called 
upon  the  EU  Heads  of  State  and  Government  to  encourage  the  development  of  active 
European citizenship at all levels of governance. 

The citizens’ projects demonstrated several ways of doing this as they tested: 

•  a  European  debating  web  site  connected  to  a  network  of  national  debating  sub-sites, 

combined with local, national and European debating events; 

•  a multilingual, highly interactive web site, the content of which was determined by focus 
groups in different EU countries and adapted according to feedback from target audience 
workshops; 

•  national consultations on the same issues in all Member States, taking place more or less at 

the same time, leading to a European synthesis; 

•  pan-European  deliberative  polling,  where  a  random  sample  of  the  population  polled 

gathered for three days and debated face to face; 

•  local  debating  events  in  several  EU  Member  States  combined  with  polls  and  video 

recording of citizens’ views. 

Those projects showed that the development of participatory democracy on EU-related issues 
at  local,  regional,  national  and  cross-border  level  is  possible,  both  in  terms  of  quality  and 
logistics. 

In  terms  of  substance,  they  showed  that  there  was  sometimes  a  gap  between  citizens’ 
expectations  and  the  actual  domains  of  EU  competence,  for  example  in  the  field  of  social 
affairs,  education  and  diplomacy/defence.  By  participating  in  the  consultations,  people 
became more familiar with the EU decision-making process. By the end of the process, they 

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had a clearer view of how to challenge decision-makers and narrow the gap between policy-
makers and citizens in the future. 

Interesting  lessons  can  also  be  learnt  from  the  projects  in  terms  of  timing,  the  selection  of 
participants, moderator training, the logistics of cross-border and multilingual debate and the 
kind of information and expertise required to ensure that citizens from all walks of life are in 
a position to hold an informed debate on European issues. Easy access to scientific advice and 
expertise  is  notably  a  must  in  participatory  processes  involving  lay  stakeholders  and  policy 
makers. 

2. 

THE WAY AHEAD – “DEBATE EUROPE” 

In its first phase, Plan D focused on the “debate and dialogue” part of the process. The follow-
up to Plan D will take this process one step further and focus on “D for democracy”, further 
enabling citizens to articulate their wishes directly to decision-makers and making better use 
of the media in the process. That is why the new phase will be named “Debate Europe”, after 
the Commission’s dedicated Plan D website. 

Debate Europe will act as follows: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Articulate citizens’ consultations held by civil society with political decision-makers. 
The  conclusions  reached  by  citizens  will  be  synthesised  by  the  citizens  themselves  
and sent to elected politicians, political parties and foundations. A high point will be 
a debate between citizens and politicians on the proposals contained in the citizens’ 
platforms. In this process, Debate Europe will take advantage of the new European 
political and institutional context, including the new Regulation8 governing political 
parties and foundations at European level. 

Involve  close  cooperation  and,  wherever  possible,  joint  action  between  EU 
institutions and bodies in order to maximise the impact of their endeavour to promote 
the  European  Parliament’s 
active  European  citizenship 
communication strategies ahead of the 2009 elections and Agora debates with civil 
society  organisations;  and  initiatives  by  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  and  the 
Economic and Social Committee). 

(citizens’ 

forums; 

Add  leverage  to  existing  EU  initiatives,  including  Commission  programmes 
promoting  active  citizenship  —  e.g.  the  “Europe  for  Citizens”  programme,  the 
European Fund for Integration of Third-Country Nationals, social cohesion and anti-
poverty  programmes,  other  one-off  initiatives  to  mark  the  European  Year  of 
Intercultural Dialogue (2008) and the European Year of Creativity and Innovation as 
well  as  the  eParticipation  Preparatory  Action  and  related  activities  and  the  e-
Inclusion  initiative.  In  so  doing,  Debate  Europe  will  reinforce  the  Commission's 
efforts  to  explain  the  added  value  of  EU  policies  to  citizens  (e.g.  internal  market 
related success stories – roaming mobile charges, low cost flights, closing the gap in 
regional  development,  environmental  protection  and  the  fight  against  climate 
change). 

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Regulation (EC) No 1524/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2007. 

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4. 

Pursue  other  successful  Plan  D  actions  (internet  debates,  bringing  EU  officials  and 
citizens closer together; cooperation between Commission and European Parliament 
information offices, using EU information relays to “go local”). 

2.1. 

Connecting citizens’ debates to representative political bodies 

There  is  a  general  wish  to  bridge  the  gap  between  politics  at  national  and  European  level. 
European political parties need to be supported as they strive to engage in the debates taking 
place  within  each  national  public  sphere.  Particularly  during  European  election  campaigns, 
European  issues  must  be  brought  to  the  fore and  citizens  must  perceive  the  impact  on  their 
day-to-day lives of the political choices they make at European level. 

Debate  Europe  will  act  as  a  catalyst  to  reinforce  on-going  Commission  initiatives  to  bridge 
the  above-mentioned  gap.  It  will  co-fund  a  pan-European  citizens’  consultations  project 
managed by civil society organisations in partnership with think-tanks, research organisations 
and universities, political parties and foundations. It will also promote actions at national and 
regional level enabling citizens from all walks of life to debate, synthesise their views, discuss 
them with decision-makers and involve the media. 

It will benefit from the new EU Regulation on political parties and foundations, which is one 
of the practical measures to result from the first phase of Plan D. The Regulation widens the 
scope  of  activities  of  European  political  parties  and  supports  the  development  of  European 
political foundations, which will play an important role in involving citizens in a permanent, 
genuine and informed political dialogue. 

In 2007, those foundations submitted action plans to the Commission aimed at developing a 
series  of  pilot  activities  in  2008:  raising  citizens’  awareness  of  the  forthcoming  European 
elections  through  training  sessions,  targeted  communication  initiatives,  Internet  sites, 
brochures  and  the  creation  of  networks  with  national  foundations  and  think  tanks.  From 
September 2008 onwards, the political foundations will be subsidised on a permanent basis. 

Debate Europe will supplement those efforts by inviting the political foundations to contribute 
to citizens' consultations held by civil society. 

2.2. 

Enhancing cooperation with the European Parliament 

The December 2007 “Future of Europe — the citizens’ agenda” Plan D conference showed 
that  the  EU  institutions  have  more  impact  when  they  join  forces  and  take  part  together  in 
dialogue events with citizens. It is an opportunity for them to demonstrate the whole spectrum 
of EU democracy. This in turn allows citizens to understand the EU decision-making process 
better.  This  form  of  inter-institutional  cooperation  will  be  embedded  into  Debate  Europe 
projects at European and national and  regional level. 

In its elections communication strategy, the European Parliament calls for close cooperation 
between  EU  institutions.  Debate  Europe  will  contribute  to  meeting  this  need.  Indeed, 
cooperation  not  only  with  the  European  Parliament  but  with  the  Committee  of  the  Regions 
and the European Economic and Social Committee is crucial when it comes to encouraging 
active  European  citizenship.  Each  institution/body  has  acquired  considerable  experience  in 
organising citizens’ forums. 

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The Commission stands ready to work with incoming EU presidencies that wish to organise 
citizens’  summits  involving  the  different  EU  institutions  and  bodies,  thus  providing  a 
platform for giving a citizens’ perspective on concrete issues to European decision-makers. 

2.3. 

Creating synergies between Commission programmes 

Debate Europe will complement and operate in synergy with other Commission programmes 
which  promote  active  European  citizenship.  The  distinctive  feature  of  the  Debate  Europe 
projects will be their inter-institutional, political and media dimension — the outcome of the 
consultation  events  organised  at  regional,  national  and  pan-European  level  will  be  an 
informed, public debate between citizens and decision-makers from Member States and from 
all the EU institutions. 

The terms of reference of the Debate Europe calls for proposals will ensure that the projects 
selected  take  into  account  the  Commission’s  overall  political  effort  to  promote  active 
European citizenship, in particular: 

•  the  “Europe  for  citizens”  programme,  which  promotes  active  European  citizenship  by 
providing support to a whole range of actors (local authorities, civil society, business and 
consumer  organisations,  citizens),  so  that  they  may  act,  debate,  discuss  and  network 
together  in  a  variety  of  ways,  both  traditional  (town-twinning  activities,  civil  society 
transnational projects) and innovative (e.g. citizens’ panels); 

•  the  European  Year  of  Intercultural  Dialogue 

the  EU 
institutions/bodies  are  involved,  and  the  European  Year  of  Innovation  and  Creativity  in 
2009; 

in  which  all 

in  2008, 

•  the  European  political  foundations  and  parties  which  are  striving  to  raise  citizens’ 

awareness of the forthcoming European elections with Community support; 

•  the  European  Fund  for  the  Integration  of  Third-Country  Nationals.  Integration  of 
immigrants  is  a  process  in  which  close  partnerships  exist  between  different  levels  of 
government  and  non-governmental  actors  such  as  employers,  unions,  religious 
organisations,  civil  society,  migrants’  associations,  the  media  and  NGOs  supporting 
migrants; 

•  the  e-Participation  Preparatory  Action,  which  aims  at  increasing  the  involvement  of 
citizens  in  the  legislative  and  decision-making  processes  at  EU  level,  using  new 
technologies.  A  number  of  trials  are  already  being  implemented  on  new  forms  of 
interaction between citizens and the European Institutions; 

•  research  and  accompanying  initiatives  funded  by  the  Seventh  Research  Framework 
Programme  in  the  fields  of  governance  and  citizenship  (Social  Sciences  and  Humanities 
Work  Programme)  and  public  engagement  in  science  (Science  in  Society  Work 
Programme)9. 

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Decision  n°1982/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council;  Decisions  2006/971/EC  and 
2006/974/EC of the Council. 

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2.4. 

Further developing other Plan D initiatives 

Debate Europe will act in conjunction with ongoing initiatives in the Member States, many of 
which have valuable potential for inter-institutional cooperation. These include: 

•  Pilot  Information  Networks  (PINs)  —  the  networks  have  already  been  contracted.  They 
will bring together European, national and regional parliamentarians, journalists and other 
European opinion-makers to share information, knowledge and ideas on the EU. PINs will 
bring the European debate closer to national parliaments. They will use the Internet, other 
online tools and meetings to develop “idea networks” and help connect politicians and the 
media with innovative civil society projects. 

•  European  Public  Spaces  —  Commission  Representations  and  European  Parliament 
Information  Offices  in  Madrid,  Tallinn  and  Dublin  have  worked  together  to  create 
European  Public  Spaces  which  accommodate  exhibitions,  debates,  seminars  and  training 
sessions on EU matters. It is envisaged to extend this pilot project to other capital cities, 
starting with Rome, London, Copenhagen and Berlin. 

•  Citizens’ fora — the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee 
and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  organise  citizens’  fora  in  the  Member  States.  Debate 
Europe will encourage members of the various EU institutions and bodies to get together 
and jointly intervene in such fora, on the basis of the Plan D “European Round Tables for 
Democracy” concept10. 

•  Visits to the Member States — Commissioners’ “Plan D” visits to the Member States have 
reached out to the national parliaments, regional and local authorities, the media and civil 
society.  Commission  officials  have  been  encouraged  to  visit  their  old  schools.  Debate 
Europe  will  further  develop  such  “face  to  face”  contacts,  in  line  with  the  Commission's 
staff engagement strategy11 which encourages its staff to play an active role in the field of 
communication  as  ambassadors  of  the  Institution,  e.g.  such  as  the  "Back  to  School" 
operation and the Enterprise Europe Network. Debate Europe will also encourage members 
and officials of the other EU institutions and bodies to join in. 

•  Going  even  more  local  —  together  with  the  Commission  Representations,  the  Europe 
Direct  centres  have  organised  debates,  events  and  seminars  with  citizens  in  towns  and 
cities  beyond  the  capital  cities  of  the  Member  States.  Debate  Europe  will  continue  to 
develop these activities, taking advantage of the fact that a “second generation” of Europe 
Direct centres will be launched in 2009. 

•  Refining  the  Eurobarometer  opinion  polls  —  the  Commission’s  Eurobarometer  opinion 
polls  will  take  into  account  experiences  from  the  first  phase  of  Plan  D  projects,  which 
experimented  with  deliberative  polling  techniques  on  the  future  of  the  EU  on  a  pan-
European scale. 

•  Internet  debates  —  the  “Debate  Europe”  web  site  dedicated  to  Plan D  was  revamped  in 
January 2008 to increase its potential for interactive debate with Internet users on topical 
EU issues, with the participation of the Commission Representations. The recent re-launch 
of  web  discussions  will  be  followed  by  similar  online  discussions  later  in  2008  and  in 
2009. 

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11 

COM(2005) 494, section 4.1.5. 
SEC(2007) 912. 

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3. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND DECENTRALISED ACTIONS 

Debate  Europe  will  ensure  that  the  Commission’s  global  effort  to  promote  active  European 
citizenship  becomes  part  of  an  integrated  inter-institutional  effort  which  reaches  out  to 
decision-makers at all levels of governance. 

A twin-track strategy is suggested, backed by a EUR 7.2 million budget: 

•  pan-European  level:  a  centralised  call  for  proposals  to  co-finance  a  comprehensive  27-

Member-State transnational project with a budget of EUR 2 million; 

•  national and regional level: decentralised calls and actions supporting local projects with a 

budget of EUR 5.2 million12. 

At  pan-European  level,  the  terms  of  reference  will  state  that,  taking  into  account  the 
experience of the first series of transnational participatory democracy projects, Debate Europe 
will: 

•  hold citizens’ consultations in each Member State; 

•  establish  a  common  set  of  conclusions  at  European  level  and  send  them  to  European 

political organisations; 

•  engage  citizens 

in  dialogue  with  elected  representatives  and  European  political 
organisations, in close cooperation with the European Parliament, the European Economic 
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 

At national or regional level, Commission Representations: 

•  have planned approximately 140 actions in 2008 to stimulate public debate about the EU; 

•  will  co-fund  action  tailored  to  specific  needs  (e.g.  action  targeting  schools  and  youth 
centres,  exhibitions,  fairs  and  festivals,  conferences,  seminars,  events  with  NGOs  etc.) 
through local calls for proposals; 

•  will  carry  out  such  action  with  other  EU  institutions  and  bodies  through,  for  example, 
European  Public  Spaces,  the  European  Year  of  Intercultural  Dialogue,  the  planned 
European Year of Creativity and Innovation and EU national institutes of culture. 

Depending on the national context, even limited funding for country-level NGOs could result 
in fruitful dialogue on EU issues. Commission Representations, in cooperation with European 
Parliament's  Information  Offices,  will  increase  the  impact  of  such  dialogue  events  by 
involving regional and local authorities. 

These  initiatives  could  boost  existing  and  new  regional  and  local  networks  and  help  spread 
best  practice,  using  e-Participation  tools13.  They  could  also  be  of  interest  to  politicians 
standing for European elections, who could use these discussions as a basis for dialogue with 
their constituents. 

12 

13 

Commission Decision C(2008) 924 on the annual work programme on grants and contracts in the field 
of communication for 2008, adopted by the Commission on 12 March 2008 (Table 2.6.2). 
Such as those described by the e-Participation Community at www.epractice.eu. 

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4. 

CONCLUSION 

Involving citizens 

Public  support  for  the  EU  can  only  be  built  through  lively  and  open  debate  and  by  getting 
citizens actively involved in European affairs. In addition to the many stakeholder and general 
public  consultations  carried  out  by  the  Commission  on  specific  policy  issues,  the  EU  needs 
more  political  debate  and  awareness  if  it  is  to  achieve  its  objectives  and  deliver  the  right 
policies. This is one of the central objectives of the Commission’s communication policy14: to 
empower citizens, by promoting active European citizenship. 

Connecting to policy makers 

Political parties and their elected representatives are in a privileged position to raise European 
issues in national debate and to spark cross-border public debate across Europe. Cross-border 
communication channels are required to promote debate and dialogue on issues of common 
concern  on  the  European  agenda.  The  Commission  has  contributed  to  developing  these 
channels  through  legislative  proposals  designed  to  facilitate  the  development  of  European 
political  parties,  through  a  series  of  citizens’  programmes  and  NGO  outreach  activities  and 
through Plan D. 

Following the series of pilot projects carried out, the challenge is to ensure that their output 
feeds  into  the  political  decision-making  process.  The  first  phase  of  Plan  D  confirmed  that 
there is clear demand for measures to strengthen and expand political dialogue on European 
issues and that participatory democracy can usefully supplement representative democracy. 

In  the  next  phase,  covering  2008  and  2009,  and  in  the  wake  of  the  European  elections, 
“Debate  Europe”  will  provide  an  operational  framework  for  reaching  out,  connecting,  and 
acting in partnership. But it must also be viewed in the long term: “Debate Europe” seeks to 
change  the  perception  that  EU  matters  are  too  abstract  and  disconnected  from  the  national 
public  sphere  to  be  of  interest  to  citizens,  and  it  gives  an  opportunity  to  break  the  often 
artificial divide between national and European issues. 

14 

COM(2007) 568, 3.10.2007. 

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Annex 1: 

Plan D project descriptions 

Annex 2: 

Open  letter  /  recommendations  from  the  participants  at  the  concluding 
conference of the six Plan D citizens’ projects 

Annex 3: 

Draft centralised call for proposals 

Annex 4: 

Draft decentralised call for proposals 

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ANNEX 1 

Citizens'  consultations  projects  co-funded  by  the  Commission  in 
the framework of Plan D in 2006-2007 projects 

Speak Up Europe 

•  Co-ordinator: European Movement International 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 1,039,310.63 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR 719,375.70 
•  Pan-European 
•  An  integrated approach  combining  virtual and face to face communication, both 

on a European level and on a national level. 

•  Virtual:  each  partner  created  a  national  web  site.  Web  animation  (e.g.  cartoon 

"What has Europe ever done for us?).". 

•  Face to face: a series of local, national and European events. 
•  27  000  people  had  taken  part  physically  in  the  project  by  the  end  of  September 

2007. 

•  Specific multimedia site targeting youth, called "European Vibes". 
•  Specific  site  launched  by  one  of  the  partners,  Euractiv,  called  "EU  debates  and 
opinions"  to  promote  the  outcome  of  Speak  Up  Europe  had  received  110  000 
viewers by end of September 2007. 

European Citizens' Consultations 

•  Co-ordinator: King Baudouin Foundation 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 2.715.376,60 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR 1.895.751,95 
•  Pan-European. 
•  Deliberative consultation of citizens on a national level, on the basis of an agenda 

set at European level by a sample of citizens. 

•  European synthesis of the outcome of the national consultations and a European 

web site. 

•  1 800 citizens participated in the project altogether. 
•  Feedback from 1 000 out of the 1 800 citizens involved via an evaluation survey. 

Tomorrow's Europe 

•  Co-ordinator: Notre Europe 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 1.352.500 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR 849.500 
•  Pan-European 
•  Europe-wide deliberative poll. 
•  3 550 citizens polled on the future of the EU. 
•  362 of them were randomly selected to deliberate for three days in Brussels, with 

the help of experts. 

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•  They filled in a questionnaire at the beginning of the deliberative phase and were 

polled at the end to measure the evolution of their views. 

Our message to Europe 

•  Co-ordinator: Deutsche Gesellschaft e.V. 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 358.000,00 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR 250.000,00 
•  Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland. 
•  4 000 participants altogether. 
•  70  intensive  dialogue  events  (54  in  Germany,  4  in  Austria,  4  in  Slovakia,  4  in 

Czech Republic, 4 in Poland) with panel discussions. 

•  Opinion  polls  carried  out  during  those  events:  2600  people  polled  altogether, 

under 21 and over 21. 

•  In 20 of the events people had the opportunity to have their individual "message to 

Europe" recorded on video - 300 audiovisual messages collected altogether. 

Radio Web Europe 

•  Co-ordinator: CENASCA-CISL 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 794.475,03 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR, 556.132,50 
•  Italy, Lithuania, Austria, UK, Spain, Portugal, Malta. 
•  Creation  of  a  multimedia  and  interactive  website  targeting  18-35  years  old. 
Content determined by face to face meetings with target audience through focus 
groups (two per country). At a second stage, workshops to collect feedback. 

•  National reports served as a basis for a synthesis report. 
•  Users  can  view  and  download  audiovisual  products  and  post  their  own 
(comments,  videos,  interviews,  games,  cartoons…).  At  the  end  of  the  project, 
website  hosted  200  multimedia  products.  Average  number  of  monthly  visits:  5 
000. 

Our Europe-Our Debate-Our Contribution 

•  Co-ordinator: European House Budapest 
•  Amount of the project: EUR 364.000 
•  Grant from the EU budget: EUR 254.500 
•  Hungary, Austria, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia. 
•  Fostering  debate  at  grass-root  level  by  meeting  people  in  the  streets  and  public 
transport,  asking  them  to  reply  to  a  questionnaire  (also  posted  on  the  project's 
English-language website). 

•  A "regional events" dimension (face to face meetings). 
•  A  European  bus  touring  the  five  countries,  displaying  a  "European  labyrinth"  at 
every  stop  which  people  were  invited  to  enter  with  a  "European  passport". 
People's views were recorded on video at every stop. 

•  The  aim  was  to  collect  2  500  people's  views  on  Europe  either  through  the 

questionnaire or by video. 

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Projects  co-funded  by  the  Commission  Representations  in  the 
framework of Plan D in 2007-2008 

Representation 

Project 

Bulgaria 

Regional Dialog Open Forum: Women for Social Inclusion 

The Tender Europe: targeting more marginalised social groups – meetings 
and debates in schools, youth organisations, municipalities, chambers of 
commerce etc. 

An Investment for Creating Qualified and Internationally Educated Young 
People Corresponding to the Requirements of the European Single Market: 
Advertise the possibilities provided through European funding under the 
ERASMUS Program. 

No to Discrimination in United Europe: Let us Talk about the Different! Civic 
debate on issues related to discrimination and dissemination of EU best 
practices in the field of anti-discrimination measures in the cross-border 
region Svishtov (BG) - Zimnitch (RO). 

Czech Republic 

Gender Studies OPS: Flexicurity/labour market/ professional-private life - 
survey, video, discussions, leaflets, audit of pre-school establishments. 

Klub mladych Evropanu, o.s.: Generation EU: Target group - young people 
15-19years. Workshops on labour market, education, security, freedom, 
future, European social model, European identity/values, 1 national 
conference. 

Denmark 

Your Europe 

Food Safety in the Consumers’ EU 

Gender Divided Labour Market and Violence against Women 

Global Citizen and EU 

The Model Parliament 

Estonia 

Federation of Estonian student unions - Estonia in the EU’s higher 
educational system (seminars, conference, articles in student press, 
discussions on internet forums, publication). 

Junior Achievement Estonia - Youth Entrepreneurship Conference on 
gender equality 
Project activities. 

NGO umbrella organisation in Viljandi - promotion of equal opportunities of 
local level citizens in the EU (conference, seminars, youth forum, study visit 
to Finnish rural areas). 

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France 
Paris 

Europe, the future and citizenship in the Aquitaine region.  

Brittany youth's contribution to a European strategy to limit the scale of 
climate change. 

Know more about Europe to understand it better. 

Young European prize. 

Les Eurois, citizens of Europe. 

Europe for and by the young. 

A silent majority: women in the EU. Awareness raising among women, a 
major stake for the future of Europe.  

Etats généraux de l'Europe. 

Etats généraux de l'Europe. 

Deedale – Vendée region. 

Hungary 

Launch of the Hungarian chapter of the European Youth Parliament (Pillar 
Foundation) 

Ireland 

National consultation of women (Partners Hungary Foundation) 

Climate Change Youth Campaign (WWF Hungary) 

Institute of European Affairs (Future of Europe including immigration; crime 
and terror; climate change; Reform Treaty; Citizens Europe; EU@50; What 
has Europe done for citizens; use of overall theme "Europe 2.0". Use of web 
based products to widen and deepen the debate; meetings and debates 
across colleges, and other centres; production and dissemination of 
publications; explaining the new Treaty to different groups and especially the 
target groups; specifically target young professionals. Virtual tools and 
meetings, debates, high visibility events; dedicated Europe 2.0 website; 
podcasts; production of "6 Pack" information items for use with the target 
groups; production of a book "What the Reform Treaty Means", pamphlets; 
Young Professional network; high profile discussions and debates. 

Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA) : legal rights in Europe; Irish farm 
Families; Quality of Life in Europe; Migration; Social Reality. Regional 
Seminars; training of co-ordinators; use of co-ordinators for training and 
organisation of seminars; use of expert speakers. Focus is on 16,000 
families.  

Latvia 

Regional debates on social reality 

Youth observers in local and district authorities on cohesion and regional 
policy 

Training of multipliers - schoolchildren and teachers - on corruption and 
transparency issues  

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Malta 

Portugal 

Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit 

Porto, Coimbra, Santarém, Évora and Faro 
Environment protection / Energy- Youth 

National: Future of Europe; Europe in the world; Migrations; Security - Youth 

All islands of the archipelago of Azores 
European integration; Future of Europe; Europe in the world 

Vila Real district 
Prosperity; Solidarity; Segcurity and Freedom e Liberdade; Future of 
Europe; Europe in the world 

Beira Interior 
Solidarity – European Year Equality; European Year of Intercultural 
Dialogue; Cohesion and Rural Developement 
Sept.2007 to August 2008 

Spain  
Madrid - Barcelona 

Fundación Ciudadanía  
Euro activos. 
ex:talleres para jóvenes que quieren darle la vuelta a Europa 

The Netherlands 

Europa Action and Lobby 
Development of a multilingual forum.  

Infocentro de Zaragoza  
Europa Joven, 50 años de logros 

Casal d'Europa de Sabadell  
Euroaptive,T 

Communicado Foundation 
Le Camping: Development of a pilot episode for six broadcastings for NL 
school TV. EU is visualised as a campsite; Member States are tents with 
their habitants. EU cooperation issues (enlargement, environment etc..) are 
explained through interaction of the actors in a comprehensible and 
educational way. 

ETV NL 
Europe is Fun! : Production of an educational project for secondary 
education scholars. A competition for digital EU stories, study materials and 
teachers training. 

Stichting Eggietalk (io) 
Eggietalk. Communication translation programme: pupils can communicate 
in their own language with pupils in other EU languages.  

Click on Europe. "Debatainment" with website and educational material for 
lower secondary education. Organisation aims at stimulating hard-to-reach 
target group to debate Europe in a competitive way. 

Nationaal oorlogsmuseum/ CHO Consultants 
Freedom and Democracy: Fundamental rights in Europe. Creating 
awareness and stimulating debate among youth in the national war museum. 
Electronic info pillars will be placed in the museum (including a voting 
system), and a website will be launched with small clips on 4 basic rights.  

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Passage Christelijk-Maatschappelijke Vrouwenbeweging 
Living together in Europe: Project proposed by the 4 largest woman 
movements in NL combined. The target group is approximately 120.000 
female members, including many housewives. Newsletter, symposium, study 
days and an EU crafts contest. spin-off through family, friends etc. Create 
awareness of European issues among the members and to promote woman 
participation (use of voting right) in the 2009 European Parliament elections.  

Nationale Jeugdraad All about Europe.nl: website aiming at providing youth 
with a complete overview of the EU, to facilitate a structured dialogue. 
Bundle all relevant info for youth in one website. 
Nationale Jeugdraad (National Youthcounsil) portal website: 
Allesovereuropa.nl. This portal will bundle all relevant EU information for 
youth and youngsters in an understandable manner. Advertising campaign.  

CED Groep 
Europe in the news: 8 special topics on the EU. Communication with pupils 
in other EU countries. EU section added to existing website.Website is part 
of "learning by discussing/debating" teaching method. 

United Kingdom 
London 

Women in Northern Ireland – Connecting to Europe. Northern Ireland 
Women's European Platform. The platform aims to promote any charitable 
purpose for the benefit of women in Northern Ireland including the 
advancement of their education and development. 

My Voice in Europe 
The Community Development Foundation is a leading source of intelligence, 
guidance and delivery on community development in England and across 
the UK. The overall aim of the European and International Unit of CDF is to 
link and feed into practice and policy within the European and International 
arena by acting as a bridge between the UK and relevant international 
mechanisms. 

Voicing young people’s views on climate change 
Inspire, support and celebrate young people as agents for change in society. 
Their aim is to create a generation of young, active citizens, drawn from all 
sectors of the UK population who will be a force for change in achieving 
global social and environmental justice. 

Flexicurity: young workers’ views in a cohesion region Bevan Foundation,at 
the forefront of new thinking about achieving a fair and just Wales by 
carrying out research, organising conferences and debates, and by 
publishing articles and reports. 

Fem e-U Link,FATIMA Women's Network Innovation Centre. Fatima is a 
socially responsible minority ethnic-led organisation supporting the social 
and economic empowerment of all women through inter alia personal 
development, education and training, networking and engagement, as well 
as research and consultation. 

Forward Ladies Limited  
Non-profit business support network for women -networking opportunities, 
inspirational speakers, training, mentoring, coaching, business support and 
facilitates international trade missions. 

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People and Politics Day-Europe: promoting democracy and active 
citizenship. Research, conferences, reports, promotion of democratic 
change. 

Decentralised  communication  actions  planned  by  Commission 
Representations in 2008 

Plan D decentralised actions planned for 2008  

Action type 

Member State 

Associated 
communication 
priority 

€ 

1. Local calls 

Programmed 

UK 

Italy 

Energy & CC 

150 000 

Intercultural Dialogue 

150 000 

Netherlands  

None 

Austria  

Germany  

Sub-total 

To 
be 
programmed 

Amounts confirmed 

Netherlands  

None 

Malta  

Germany 

Slovakia 

Czech Rep.  

Lithuania 

Sub-total 

Amounts TBC 

Latvia  

None 

Slovenia 

Reform Treaty 

Total  

2. Other actions 

Total Plan D 

Allocated 

Requested 

142 000 

203 000 

200 000 

845 000 

258 000 

150 000 

100 000 

50 000 

50 000 

20 000 

628 000 

TBC 

TBC 

1 473 000 

3 429 867 

5 200 000 

4 902 867 

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ANNEX 2 

Open  letter  /  recommendations  from  the  participants  at  the 
concluding conference of the six Plan D citizens’ projects 

The future of Europe-the citizens' agenda 

Open letter to the EU Heads of State and Government, 
the National Parliaments, the European Union Institutions 
and European political parties 

Brussels, 9 December 2007 

Next week, the Heads of State and Government of the European Union will sign the Lisbon Treaty. 
The  EU  celebrated  its  50th  Anniversary  this  year.  Since  1957,  the  European  Union  has  progressed 
from  economic  cooperation  to  a  political  union  that  affects  the  lives  of  almost  500  million  citizens. 
This  evolution  also  brings  responsibilities  for  the  political  leaders  of  Europe.  The  permissive 
consensus that existed at the beginning has to be turned into an actively earned consensus in dialogue 
with the European citizens. 

Associating citizens to the European construction is more than ever a fundamental issue. If we do not 
want the citizens to desert once more the European elections in 2009, political leaders need to regain 
the  citizens'  trust  and  confidence  in  the  European  project  and  show  they  care  about  citizens' 
involvement in the decision-making machine. 

Plan  D  launched  by  Commission  Vice-President  Margot  Wallström  responded  to  this  challenge  in  a 
novel manner. It co-financed a series of projects to learn how ordinary citizens can be invilved in the 
EU decision-making and how they view the EU's future. This exercise responds to a basic value of the 
EU in the 21st century: active citizenship. 

The  European  Movement  International,  the  King  Baudouin  Foundation,  Notre  Europe,  Deutsche 
Gesellschaft, European House Budapest and CENASCA-CISL, with a large network of partners across 
Europe  have  engaged  actively  in  Plan  D.  A  series  of  grass  roots  debates,  consultations,  polls  and 
events aimed at  consulting citizens on their visions of Europe have been  carried out in a  number of 
Member States, while deliberative polling and consultation has taken place on a pan-European scale. 

Thousands of citizens took part in those projects throughout the European Union in 2007. Over 250 of 
them have assembled in Brussels on 8 and 9 December to debate on the major concerns which have 
emerged through Plan D. There was a clear consensus among participants that more opportunities of 
this kind should be provided to involve citizens in the debate over Europe's future. 

They have structured these concerns into three themes: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
They have consolidated their conclusions into a single set of recommendations (annexed to this letter). 

The human aspects of globalisation 
Enlargement, political integration and EU citizenship 
The EU's role on the world stage. 

They have debated those  recommendations with decision-makers  representing the EU institutions as 
well as the present Portuguese and future Slovenian Presidencies of the EU: 
•  Mrs. Margot Wallström, Vice-President, European Commission. 
•  Mrs Jillian van Turnhout, Vice-President, European Economic and Social Committee. 
•  Mr. Ivo Opstelten, Mayor of Rotterdam, Member of the Committee of Regions, 

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•  Mr. Pierre Jonckheer, Member of the European Parliament 
•  Mr. Valter Lemos, Portuguese Secretary of State for Education, 
•  Ambassador Igor Sencar, Permanent Representative of Slovenia. 

They call on the European political parties to address those recommendations in their programmes and 
to discuss them with citizens in view of the elections to European Parliament in 2009. 

They call upon the EU Heads of State and Government, both in their capacity as European but also as 
national  leaders,  to  heed  those  recommendations  and  thereby  encourage  the  development  of  active 
European citizenship, without which there cannot be a truly political Union. 

They call for the dialogue with citizens on European issues to be continued and deepened in the future. 

The participants to the conference on 
"The future of Europe-the citizens' agenda 

Twenty–seven recommendations 

1. 
As work is considered a crucial dimension for individual emancipation, the welfare systems should 
protect citizens’ life conditions during periods of transition for example by providing people with an 
unemployment indemnity when changing jobs. 

2. 
Citizens expect more action from the EU in the area of social policy and social cohesion in order to 
fight the black market, reduce salary gaps, promote gender-equality, ease unemployment and to make 
it attractive to work longer before retiring. 

3. 
The EU should promote equal rights, comparable standard of living in all EU member states and 
foster equal opportunities through harmonised social and economic policies and a welfare model for 
all member states. 

4. 
The Member States and the EU should make sure that migrants enjoy equal rights and opportunities 
and have access to education and work if they observe the laws, rules and values of the host country 
and commit to learning the language. 

5. 
The  European  migration  policy,  so  far  based  only  on  restrictive  measures,  should  adopt  a  more 
sophisticated approach aiming at the social and economic development of the involved countries. The 
EU needs to clarify its approach to economic refugee status. 

6. 
Migration needs to be acknowledged as one of today’s most pressing issues, and cannot be tackled 
without a coherent development aid strategy. 

7. 
The  EU  should  ensure  that  part  of  each  country’s  national  curriculum,  in  both  schools  and 
universities,  requires  a  section  on  Democracy  and  European  Citizenship,  to  ensure  a  greater 
understanding of the EU, its history, and its opportunities. 

8. 
The  EU  should  show  more  commitment  to  educational  promotion  in  general  but  also  specifically 
regarding European issues, e.g. through the expansion of existing educational EU programmes or the 

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establishment of new EU programmes as well as the incorporation of the European integration process 
as a central topic in the national school curricula. 

9. 
Exchange  projects  need  further  support  to  encourage  young  people  to  recognise  the  importance  of 
their EU citizenship in the global context. 

10. 
The  EU  should  help  preserving,  appreciating  and  respecting  the  diversity  of  peoples,  knowledge, 
customs and languages identities - while recognising common and shared European values. 

11. 
Integration strategies such as the educational policy incorporating the EU into school curricula will 
favour the development of a European identity. 

12. 
The EU should prioritise creating and communicating a new ‘memory’ about Europe, to move away 
from  the  stereotypes  associated  with  certain  countries  and  history,  so  that  all  citizens  can  be  valued 
and we can understand each other better. 

13. 
The EU should increase opportunities for a  more active,  direct participation of European citizens 
from  all  walks  of  life  in  policy-making  through  regular  citizen  Plan  D-type  participatory  projects, 
debates, public hearings, etc. at EU but also at regional and national levels. More transparency-more 
influence for European citizens! 

14. 
The  EU  should  make  sure  that  the  current  citizen  recommendations  are  considered  and  discussed 
not  only  by  the  EU  but  also  national  policy-makers  or  become  part  of  existing  policy-making 
processes (e.g. impact assessments, public consultations). The EU should not only listen but also learn. 

15. 
The  EU  should  become  more  interactive,  citizen  friendly  and  inclusive,  recognising  the  growing 
significance of regional approach and identity. New and innovative information technique should be 
used  to  improve  communication  with  citizens  especially  young  people.  Specific  attention  has  to  be 
paid to the frequently neglected gender issues.  

16. 
Climate  change  and  energy  security  cannot  successfully  be  dealt  with  at  the  national  level  alone. 
The EU should be given stronger powers to develop a common energy policy and ensure that Member 
States live up to the commitments they have made at European level. 

17. 
In a global world, it makes sense for the EU to take greater responsibility than today in the fields of 
military  action,  foreign  aid  and  diplomatic  relations.  The  EU  should  be  able  to  speak  with  one 
voice on a global level to defend its values. 

18. 
The  EU  can  be  more  efficient  than  national  governments  in  security,  police  and  struggle  against 
drugs traffic and cartels. 

19. 
The EU should lead the world in protecting the environment and promoting clean energy. 

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20. 
Europe should develop a strong voice on the global stage with common foreign and security policies 
that  promote  peace,  security  in  regional  conflicts  democracy  and  the  respect  for  human  rights 
providing  for  a  strong  role  model  across  the  world,  whilst  recognizing  the  importance  of  the  nation 
state. 

21. 
The  EU  should  show  a  united  front  in  international  affairs;  the  current  practice  is  influenced  too 
much by national short-term interests and considerations. 

22. 
The  EU  should  tackle  the  impact  of  Europe’s  energy  use  on  both  the  economy  and  the  energy  and 
foster the transition to environmentally clean, safe and sustainable energy sources. 

23. 
European citizens want the EU to take the lead when it comes to social, energy and environmental 
standards on a global level. 

24. 
The  EU  should  develop  specific  educational  and  action-oriented  programmes  for  citizens  on 
global issues such as trade, energy and the environment. 

25. 
The EU should coordinate its aid programmes with NGOs engaged in humanitarian work to bring 
timely and efficient relief to crisis regions or to promote sustainable development. 

26. 
The EU should lower barriers to international trade as, overall, freer trade benefits developed and 
developing countries. 

27. 
The  EU  should  show  more  commitment  in  the  fields  of  international  peacekeeping  as  well  as 
humanitarian aid during catastrophes. 

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CENTRAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS - DG COMM No < A2-1/2008 > 

ANNEX 3 

Financial support for an initiative emanating from organisations with a significant 
trans-national dimension as provided by the European Commission’s Debate Europe 
Communication 

1. 

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND 

On  13  October  2005  the  Commission  approved  its  Communication  to  the  Council,  to  the 
European Parliament, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee 
of the Regions: Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate. 

This was a listening exercise so that the European Union can act on the concerns expressed by 
its citizens. The Commission aimed to stimulate debate and widen recognition for the added 
value that the E U provides. 

It was a two-way process which: 

•  informed the public about the EU's role, with examples of its projects and achievements, 

•  identified their expectations for the future in return. 

On  29  November  2006  Vice  President  Wallström  presented  an  information  note  to  the 
College of Commissioners on Plan D – Widen & deepen the debate. The purpose of this was 
to take stock and further widen and deepen the debate in the period of reflection. 

On  2  April  2008,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  to  the  Council,  the  European 
Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 
entitled "Debate Europe-building on the experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and 
Debate". It noted that the first phase Plan D focused on the "debate and dialogue" part of the 
process. The next phase of Plan D will take this process one step further and focus on "D for 
democracy",  further  enabling  citizens  to  articulate  their  wishes  directly  to  decision-makers 
and making better use of the media in the process. This new phase has been named "Debate 
Europe". 

In October 2005 the Commission launched a series of Europe-wide civil society projects for 
2006,which it co-financed. In 2007, it promoted a further series of initiatives, targeting young 
people and women in particular. 

2. 

OBJECTIVES 

One of the key lessons from this first round of projects and the concluding conference of Plan 
D is that the interface between citizens and EU decision-makers needs to be strengthened to 
ensure  that  issues  of  interest  and  concern  Europe-wide  are  debated  and  addressed  at  a 
European  level.  There  is  a  need  to  communicate  those  Europe-wide  issues  and  concerns 
which  affect  to  a  large  degree  all  of  Europe's  citizens  identified  from  consulting  on  a  pan-

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European  basis  and  to  communicate  these  to  European  political  decision-makers  and  media 
especially in view of the June 2009 European elections. 

As  a  result,  the  Commission  wishes  to  strengthen  the  existing  debate  about  the  future  of 
Europe and its impact on citizens' daily lives by launching one or more pan-European projects 
with the following objectives: 

In a first phase; 

•  Carry  out  a  Europe-wide  dialogue  between  citizens,  political  decision-makers  and  other 
key  opinion  formers  through  a  series  of  debates/conferences/consultations  and  other 
events,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  citizens'  principal  issues  and  concerns  at  a  European 
level  which  touch  their  daily  lives.  This  dialogue  will  ensure  a  close  involvement  of  the 
other EU institutions (EP, EESC, COR) and European political parties' foundations. 

•  The  conclusions  arising  from  these  events  should  be  synthesised  and  made  public.  At  a 
concluding event they should be presented to European decision makers to give them the 
opportunity  to  react  and  take  into  account  the  concerns  of  the  European  electorate.  This 
phase of the project should be completed ideally before the June 2009 European elections. 

In a second phase, the contractor could continue with a series of meetings with newly-elected 
MEPs and representatives from the principal European media (television, radio, press). 

In  carrying  out  both  phases,  the  contractor  will  take  into  account  the  European  Year  of 
Intercultural  Dialogue  and  on-going  Commission  programmes  such  as  Europe  for  Citizens 
and e-Participation. 

The  resulting  projects  will  involve  consortia  of  civil  society  organisations  with  a  view  to 
replying  to  these  objectives  on  a  Europe-wide  scale.  These  consultations  will  complement 
those  planned  to  be  held  at  local  level  designed  to  address  concerns  focused  on  European 
issues with a more local impact. 

3. 

TIMETABLE 

3.1. 

Submission of applications 

Publication of call beginning April 2008. 

Applications must be submitted by end June 2008 at the latest. 

Contracts will be signed September 2008. 

Please  read  carefully  section  10  of  this  call  for  proposals  concerning  the  procedures  for 
submitting applications. 

3.2. 

Duration of projects 

The project should begin between 1 September and 1 October 2008 and will be in two phases 
as described above. 

The first phase will be completed by mid-May 2009 (before the European elections) and the 
second phase by 1 November 2009. 

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Applications must clearly state the project's starting and finishing dates (dd/mm/yy). 

The maximum duration of projects is 14 months. 

However,  if,  after  the  signing  of  the  agreement  and  the  start  of  the  project,  the  beneficiary 
observes  that,  for  fully  justified  reasons  beyond  his  control,  it  becomes  impossible  to 
complete the project within the scheduled period, an extension to the eligibility period may be 
granted.  A  maximum  extension  of  3  months  will  be granted, provided that this  is  requested 
before the deadline specified in the grant agreement. The maximum duration will then be 18 
months. 

The period of eligibility of expenditure resulting from implementation of a project will begin 
on  the  day  of  signature  of  the  grant  contract  by  the  last  of  the  parties.  If  the  nature  of  the 
project  requires  the  project  to  start  before  the  contract  is  signed,  expenditure  may  be 
considered  eligible  before  the  signature  of  the  contract.  Under  no  circumstances  can  the 
eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application. 

3.3. 

Information on the results of the selection 

It is planned that applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection procedure in July 
2008. 

The lists of selected projects will be published on the following website: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/grants/index_en.htm 

Applicants whose applications have not been selected will be informed in writing. 

4. 

FINANCING 

The budget initially available for part-financing projects is estimated at € 2 000 000. 

If during the 2008 budget year, additional amounts are allocated to boost the initial budget for 
this call for proposals, they might be allocated to co-financing projects which were adopted at 
the  selection  phase  but  not  given  priority  for  co-financing  in  the  overall  budget  initially 
available. The Commission therefore reserves the right to set up a “reserve list” of proposals 
evaluated  positively  in  order  to  take  account  of  the  resources  actually  available  in  the  2008 
budget. 

The grant awarded may not exceed 70% of the total eligible project costs. 

Community contributions are meant to facilitate the implementation of a project which could 
not  otherwise  be  implemented  easily  without  the  support  of  the  European  Union.  They  are 
based on the co-financing principle. 

Consequently,  a  minimum  of  30%  of  the  total  estimated  eligible  expenditure  of  the  project 
must  come  from  sources  other  than  the  European  Union  budget.  Applicants  must  include 
evidence  that  co-financing  is  available  (secured)  for  the  remainder  of  the  total  cost  of  the 
project. 

The Commission intends to finance 1 to 2 projects for a budget of € 1 or € 2 million in total.. 

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The European Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available. 

The amount allocated by the Commission may not in any circumstances exceed the amount 
requested.  Moreover,  the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  award  a  grant  lower  than  the 
amount requested by the applicant. 

An organisation is not entitled to receive more than one grant from the Commission for the 
action covered by the selected project. 

After  approval  by  the  Commission,  a  “grant  contract”,  a  draft  of  which  is  reproduced  at 
Annex VI, expressed in euros and specifying the conditions and the financing level, will be 
concluded between the Commission and the beneficiary. The originals of the finance contract 
must be signed and returned to the Commission immediately for signature. The Commission 
will be the last party to sign. 

The payment methods are detailed in the draft contract (Article I.4), with a list of eligible and 
ineligible costs (Article II.14 of the general conditions and Article I.3 of the special conditions 
of the grant contract). 

5. 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 

Applications  which  comply  with  the  following  criteria  will  be  the  subject  of  an  in-depth 
evaluation. 

5.1 

Eligible countries 

Grant applications are eligible if they are presented by organisations having a legal status and 
established in one of the 27 Member States. 

Organisations established in countries other than the countries listed above are not eligible. 

5.2 

Types of cooperation eligible 

The types of cooperation eligible include partnerships. The term partnership/partners implies 
full or partial active intellectual collaboration in the execution of the project. In no case will 
financial  support  alone  (sponsorship)  be  deemed  to  constitute  a  partnership.  However,  any 
financial  support  accompanied  by  active  intellectual  collaboration  in  the  execution  of  the 
project  will  be  accepted  as  a  partnership.  In  all  cases,  the  purpose  of  partnership  is  to  add 
value to the project. 

6. 

EXCLUSION CRITERIA 

Applicants must certify on their honour, by signing the application form, that they are not in 
one of the situations mentioned in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation applicable to 
the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities  (Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No 
1605/2002 of 25 June 2002), which are listed below. 

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Applicants will be excluded from participating in this call for proposals if they are in one of 
the following situations: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

they  are  bankrupt  or  being  wound  up,  are  having  their  affairs  administered  by  the 
courts,  have  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  creditors,  have  suspended  business 
activities,  are  the  subject  of  proceedings  concerning  those  matters,  or  are  in  any 
analogous  situation  arising  from  a  similar  procedure  provided  for  in  national 
legislation or regulations; 

they  have  been  convicted  of  an  offence  concerning  their  professional  conduct  by  a 
judgement which has the force of res judicata; 

they  have  committed  serious  professional  misconduct  recorded  by  any  means  that 
awarding authorities can justify; 

they  have  not  fulfilled  obligations  relating  to  the  payment  of  social  security 
contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the 
country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting 
authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; 

they  have  been  the  subject  of  a  judgment  which  has  the  force  of  res  judicata  for 
fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity 
detrimental to the Communities’ financial interests; 

following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the 
Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for 
failure to comply with their contractual obligations. 

Applicants will not receive financial support if, during the grant allocation procedure: 

a) 

b) 

they are subject to a conflict of interests; 

they  are  guilty  of  misrepresentation  in  supplying  the  information  required  by  the 
European Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure, 
or fail to supply this information. 

In accordance with Articles 93 to 96 of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial 
penalties may be imposed on applicants who are guilty of misrepresentation or are found to 
have  seriously  failed  to  meet  their  contractual  obligations  under  a  previous  contract  award 
procedure. 

To respect these provisions, the applicant and his partners must provide evidence that they are 
in none of the situations listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation. 

7. 

SELECTION CRITERIA 

The selection criteria are designed to demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to see the project 
through to a successful conclusion. 

Applicants must provide evidence of stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain the 
activity throughout the period during which the project is being carried out and/or grant-aided, 

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as well as evidence of their financial participation. The applicant must also provide evidence 
of  professional  competencies,  qualifications  and/or  experience  relevant  to  the  proposed 
project. 

7.1 

Technical capacity 

Candidates  must  show  that  they  have  the  operational  (technical  and  management)  capacity 
needed  to  complete  the  proposed  action  and  provide  evidence  of  their  capacity  to  direct  a 
large-scale  activity  corresponding  to  the  dimension  of  the  project  for  which  the  grant  is 
requested. Particular attention will be devoted to the capacity for integration in society in the 
Member States, to the mobilisation of the public and to the analysis of their contributions. The 
capacity to operate in a large number of Member States (ideally in all of them) would be an 
advantage. 

Applicants must attach to the grant application a curriculum vitae for the project leader and 
for the personnel of their organisation who will actually do the work. They must also enclose 
a recent activity report . 

7.2 

Financial resources 

In order to permit assessment of this criterion, applicants must submit with their application 
the following documents: 

–  annual accounts for the last complete financial year; 

–  the “financial identification” form (bank details) (Annex III), completed by the beneficiary 

and certified by the bank (with original signatures). 

If,  on  the  basis  of  the  submitted  documents,  the  Commission  assesses  that  the  financial 
capacity of the applicant is not sufficient, it may: 

•  reject the request for a Community grant; 

•  ask for further information; 

•  ask for the deposit of a guarantee; 

•  propose a grant agreement without a pre-financing payment. 

7.3 

Audit 

Where the cost of the project to be financed exceeds €300 000, the grant application must be 
accompanied by an external audit report produced by an approved auditor. 

This report must certify the accounts for the last year available and give an assessment of the 
applicant’s financial viability. 

8. 

AWARD CRITERIA 

Account will also be taken of other Commission programmes such as the European Year for 
Intercultural  Dialogue  in  2008,  Europe  for  Citizens  and  INTI  (Integration  of  Third-Country 
Nationals). 

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Eligible projects will be evaluated on the basis of: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

g) 

9. 

the  consistency  of  the  overall  concept  of  the  project  with  the  objectives  of  Debate 
Europe, as described at point 2 of the call for proposals; 

the quality of the work programme and the modus operandi; 

the dynamics of networking and the establishment of pan-European cooperation; 

the capacity of the project to: 

•  act in the largest number of Member States as possible, and ideally in all 27; 

•  involve the largest number of citizens as possible; 

•  ensure their diversity of origin and their representativeness; 

•  provide for the use of the largest number of national languages possible; 

•  generate transnational results; 

the  likely  multiplier  effect  through  the  media  and  civil  society  networks,  as 
calculated on the basis of the measures proposed to give visibility to the project and 
its outcomes; 

the system of feedback to European political decision-makers and citizens involved, 
as recommended by Debate Europe; 

the mechanism for evaluation of the objectives pursued by the project. 

PUBLICITY 

Provided  the  successful  tenderer  agrees  (unless  the  publication  of  information  is  likely  to 
endanger the successful tenderer’s safety or harm his interests), the Commission will publish 
the following information in whatever form and on whatever medium it wishes, including the 
Internet: 

–  the name and address of each beneficiary; 

–  the subject of the grant; 

–  amount awarded and rate of funding. 

10. 

PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS 

10.1 

Publication 

The  text  of  the  call  for  proposals,  the  annexes  and,  for  information  purposes,  a  copy  of  the 
standard agreement can be obtained from the Europa website at the following address: 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/grants/index_en.htm 

10.2 

Application form 

Applications must be presented in one of the official languages of the EU. 

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Since the call is addressed first of all to organisations operating in several Member States, DG 
Communication would, however, appreciate it if grant applications (which must be made out 
on  the  2006  form  devised  for  the  purpose)  are  accompanied  by  a  version  in  one  of  the 
European Commission’s working languages (French, English or German). 

This form can be downloaded from the above Internet address. 

Only  grant  applications  submitted  on  the  application  forms  attached  to  this  call  for 
proposals  and  comprising  all  the  necessary  documents  mentioned  in  Annex  D  will  be 
considered. 

Applications must be: 

•  typed; hand-written applications will not be accepted; 

•  duly dated, filled in and signed by the legal representative of the organisation; 

•  sent in quadruplicate (the original, which must be identified as such, plus three copies). 

10.3 

Submission of the application 

Deadline for the submission of applications: end May/early June 2008 

Applications submitted after will not be considered. 

Applications may be submitted in one of the following ways: 

Proposals must be submitted on paper: 

•  by registered post to the following address, for which purposes the relevant date is to be 
the date of dispatch by post, as evidenced by the postmark or the registered delivery receipt 
issued by the postal services: 

European Commission 

Directorate-General COMMUNICATION 

Unit A2 (Communication: planning and priorities) 

Debate EuropeOffice BERL 5/234 

B-1049 Brussels 

Belgium 

•  by hand delivery or courier service. 

For  security  reasons,  applications  submitted  personally  or  conveyed  by  a  courier  service 
can  be  presented  only  to  the  Commission’s  Central  Mail  Department  (Rue  de  Genève  1, 
1140 Evere,Belgium), and envelopes must be marked “ DG COMMUNICATION, Unit A2 
(Communication: planning and priorities), BERL 05/234 – Debate Europe Project”. In the 
event of hand delivery, the submission date is the date of receipt. In the event of delivery 
by a courier service, the submission date is the date of receipt by the mail department. 

Applications submitted by fax or e-mail will not be considered. 

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No modification of the application will be authorised after the submission of the application 
and  its  annexes.  However,  the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  request  any  additional 
information needed for it to take a final decision on the award of financial support. 

Applicants will be informed in writing when their application is received. 

Only applications complying with the eligibility and exclusion criteria will be considered for 
the possible award of a grant. 

Applicants  whose  applications  are  judged  to  be  ineligible  will  be  notified  by  mail,  with  an 
explanation as to why they were judged ineligible. 

Tenderers will be informed, as soon as possible, of the decision taken by 

the  Commission  on  their  grant  application.  No  information  will  be  released  until  the 
Commission's decision on project selection has been taken. 

All selected applications will be subject to technical and financial analysis. In this connection 
the  Commission  may  ask  the  applicant  organisation  for  supplementary  information,  or 
possibly for guarantees. 

Any applicant whose application for a Community grant is not accepted will be informed in 
writing. 

10.4 

Legal framework 

•  European  commission  Communication  dated  ….March  2008  (Comm  ….):  "Debate 

Europe-building on the experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate". 

•  European  Commission  Communication  dated  13 October 2005  (COM(2005)  494  final): 
The  Commission’s  contribution  to  the  period  of  reflection  and  beyond:  Plan  D  for 
Democracy, Dialogue and Debate 

•  European Commission Communication dated 03 October 2007 (COM(2007) XXX final): 

Communicating Europe in Partnership 

•  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002 (Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 
on  the  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European 
Communities) 

•  OJ  L  357,  31.12.2002  (Commission  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  2342/2002  of  23 
December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation 
(EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget 
of the European Communities) 

10.5 

Contacts 

The  Commission  department  responsible  for  the  implementation  and  management  of 
call for proposals DG COMM No A2-1/2006 is Unit A2 (Communication: planning and 
priorities) of Directorate-General Communication (COMM). 

Additional information can be obtained by electronic mail or by fax, either at the electronic 
address COMM-A2@cec.eu.int , or by fax number from ++ 32 2 295 24 69 , indicating clearly 
the reference of this call for proposals. 

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Annexes: 

Annex A: Daily allowance scale 

Annex B: Contractual obligations 

Annex C: Text of the banking guarantee to be completed (only on request) 

Annex D: Application checklist 

Annex I: Application form (parts A and B) 

Annex II: Budget form 

Annex III: Financial identification form 

Annex IV: Financial capacity form 

Annex V: Legal entity form 

Annex VI: Draft contract (for information) 

Annex VII: Acknowledgement of receipt of the application 

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ANNEX 4 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS MANAGED BY  
EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPRESENTATIONS IN EU MEMBER STATES 
(LOCAL CALL)  
- DG COMM No xxxxxx, EC Representation xxxxxxxx 

Grants for local and national civil society initiatives 
to promote public debate about European issues 
- part of the European Commission’s "Debate Europe" initiative 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

On  13  October  2005  the  Commission  approved  its  Communication  to  the  Council,  the 
European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of 
the Regions entitled "Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate". 

This was a listening exercise to enable the European Union (EU) to act on citizens' concerns. 
The Commission aimed to stimulate debate and widen recognition for the added value that the 
EU provides. 

It was to be a two-way process which: 

•  informed the public about the EU's role, with examples of its projects and achievements, 

•  identified their expectations for the future in return. 

On  29  November  2006  Vice  President  Wallström  presented  a  note  to  the  Commissioners 
entitled, "Plan D – Widen & Deepen the Debate". Its purpose was to take stock and further 
widen and deepen the debate in the period of reflection. The note is publicly available and has 
been sent to Member States and other EU institutions. 

On  2  April  2008,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  to  the  Council,  the  European 
Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 
entitled "Debate Europe - Building on the Experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and 
Debate". It noted that the first phase of Plan D focused on the "debate and dialogue" part of 
the process. The next phase of Plan D will take this process one step further and focus on "D 
for democracy", further enabling citizens to articulate their wishes directly to decision-makers 
and making better use of the media in the process. This new phase has been named "Debate 
Europe". 

In October 2005 the Commission launched a series of Europe-wide civil society projects15 for 
2006, which it co-financed. In 2007, it promoted a further series of initiatives, targeting young 
people and women in particular. 

15 

“Tomorrow’s Europe” introduced by the foundation “Notre Europe” (Paris) 
http://www.notre-europe.eu/ 
“European Citizens’ Consultations” introduced by the “King Baudouin Foundation” (Brussels) 
http://www.european-citizens-consultations.eu 
“Speak up Europe” introduced by the “European Movement International” (Brussels) 
http://www.europeanmovement.org/emailing/newsletter/speakupeurope_briefing_nonote.pdf 

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Drawing  on  this  experience,  the  Commission,  through  its  Representations  in  EU  Member 
States, will offer grants in each Member State for civil society initiatives focusing on "Debate 
Europe" priority issues16. These are: 

•  Priority issue 1: involvement of citizens with political decision-makers; 

•  Priority  issue  2:  joint  action  between  EU  institutions  and  bodies  to  promote  active 

citizenship. 

Differences  in  economic,  social  and  other  aspects  of  national  life  greatly  affect  the  public's 
attitudes  to  the  EU  and  to  particular  European  issues.  So  the  new  round  of  local  calls  will 
therefore be tailored to each Member State's needs. 

The  Commission’s  Representations  will  help  define  the  content,  and  manage  and  follow  up 
the  calls.  Depending  on  the  national  context,  even  limited  funding  for  country-level  NGOs 
could result in a fruitful debate on EU issues. 

2. 

OBJECTIVES 

2.1. 

General 

The  Commission  wishes  to  help  fund  national  and  regional  initiatives  by  civil  society 
organisations to: 

•  solicit  citizens'  views  on  European  issues  which  have  a  direct  impact,  locally  and 

nationally, on their daily lives; and 

•  encourage citizens to become more informed about these issues, and to discuss and debate 

them with local opinion-formers. 

“Our message to Europe” introduced by the Deutsche Gesellschaft (Berlin) 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/grants/index_fr.htm 
“Radio Web Europe” introduced by CENASCA (Rome) 
http://www.cenasca.cisl.it/entra.htm 
“Our Europe – Our Debate – Our Contributions” introduced by the European House (Budapest) 
http://www.europeanhouse.hu/ 
All data on the 6 Plan D projects are summarized at the following address: 
http://europa.eu/debateeurope/paneurope_en.htm. 
Priorities  specified  in  the  Commission's  communication  entitled  "Debate  Europe  -  Building  on  the 
Experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate"(2 April 2008) and in its 2008 annual work 
programme. 

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These initiatives will: 

•  facilitate  dialogue  between  citizens,  national  and/or  local  political  decision-makers  and 

opinion-formers through debates, conferences, consultations and/or other events; 

•  closely involve local members of: 

° 

° 

the  European  Parliament,  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee,  and 
Committee of the Regions, and 
European political parties, and those parties' foundations 

•  collate and publish these events' conclusions to: 

° 

° 
° 

identify  specific  European  issues  which  matter  to  people  in  their  particular 
local/national environment; 
raise local media and politicians' interest in the debate on Europe; 
increase understanding of the EU's impact on citizens' everyday life; 

•  create  networks  of  participatory  democracy  which  integrate  the  European  dimension  of 

local/regional/national debates; 

•  complement: 

° 
° 

Commission Representations' other initiatives to target local constituencies; 
current EU programmes with similar goals, including: 
(cid:224) 
(cid:224) 
(cid:224) 
(cid:224) 

the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (EYID) 2008 
Europe for Citizens 
e-Participation 
Integration of Third Country Nationals (INTI). 

•  be tailored to meet each Member State's specific needs. 

2.2. 

Detailed 

2.2.1.  Form 

Projects can: 

•  take many different forms – from public debates to online fora. 

•  be combined with events targeting the public 

° 
° 
° 
° 

schools and youth centres, 
exhibitions, 
fairs and festivals, 
conferences and seminars 

2.2.2.  Content 

They should: 

•  define  specific  issues  to  be  addressed  around  the  overarching  topic  of  debating  the 

relevance of the EU to ordinary citizens lives; 

•  be accessible to the public and provoke their interest; 

•  link in with current issues: 

° 
° 

of local/regional/national interest 
at EU level. 

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•  allow a variety of opinions to be expressed, without excluding any opinions 

•  include: 

° 
° 

dialogue with local, national or EU political authorities; 
participation by members of the European Parliament, European Economic and 
Social Committee and Committee of the Regions; 

•  use the internet to promote the project and facilitate debate. 

2.2.3. 

Impact 

As a result, projects should: 

•  make a lasting contribution to the debate on the EU; 

•  promote genuine local and national participation in debates on the EU; 

•  lead to the creation of regional and local networks or strengthen existing ones with a view 

to continuing and deepening the involvement of citizens in the debate on Europe; 

•  identify  those  issues  at  EU  level  of  greatest  local  concern  and  how  best  they  can  be 

addressed on an ongoing basis. 

2.2.4.  Action plan 

To allow the Commission to assess whether proposals meet these criteria, the applicant will 
need to present an action plan setting out: 

•  the issues which the project will address; 

•  the project's overall concept and the tools it will use; 

•  measures to attract the awareness and involvement of the: 

•  media - through partnerships and press relations activities; 

•  target audience 

•  actions  to  follow  up  the  debate  including  the  preparation  of  a  structured  summary  of 
citizens' concerns and describe how these will be brought to the attention of local decision-
makers including Members of the European Parliament; 

•  a detailed schedule which respects the deadlines in section 3.1 below. 

3. 

TIMETABLE 

3.1. 

Submission of applications 

Applications must be submitted by end June 2008. 

Please  read  carefully  section  12  of  this  call  for  proposals  concerning  the  procedures  for 
submitting applications. 

3.2. 

Duration of projects 

The project should begin before 1 September 2008. 

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The project must finish no later than 01 November 2009. 

Applications must clearly state the project's starting and finishing dates (dd/mm/yy). 

The maximum duration of projects is 14 months. 

The period of eligibility of expenditure resulting from implementation of a project will begin 
on  the  day  of  signature  of  the  grant  contract  by  the  last  of  the  parties.  If  the  nature  of  the 
project  requires  the  project  to  start  before  the  contract  is  signed,  expenditure  may  be 
considered  eligible  before  the  signature  of  the  contract.  Under  no  circumstances  can  the 
eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application. 

3.3. 

Information on the results of the selection 

It  is  planned  that  applicants  will  be  informed  of  the  outcome  of  the  selection  procedure 
[deadline needs to be no later than Jul. 2008] 

The lists of selected projects will be published on the following website: 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/grants/index_en.htm & 

http:// xxxxxxxxx 

Applicants whose applications have not been selected will be informed in writing. 

4. 

FINANCING 

The budget available for this call for proposal is € [to be filled by each Representation]. 

The grant awarded may not exceed 70% of the total eligible project costs. 

Community contributions are meant to facilitate the implementation of a project which could 
not  otherwise  be  implemented  easily  without  the  support  of  the  European  Union.  They  are 
based on the co-financing principle. 

Consequently, a minimum of 30% of the total estimated eligible and final expenditure of the 
project  must  come  from  sources  other  than  the  European  Union  budget.  Applicants  must 
include evidence that co-financing is available (secured) for the remainder of the total cost of 
the project. 

Indicatively, the amount of the grant from the EU will be between 50 000 and 100 000 EUR 
per project. 

The European Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available. 

The amount allocated by the Commission may not in any circumstances exceed the amount 
requested.  Moreover,  the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  award  a  grant  lower  than  the 
amount requested by the applicant. 

An organisation is not entitled to receive more than one grant from the Commission for the 
action covered by the selected project. 

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After  approval  by  the  Commission,  a  “grant  contract”,  a  draft  of  which  is  reproduced  at 
Annex VI, expressed in euros and specifying the conditions and the financing level, will be 
concluded between the Commission and the beneficiary. The originals of the finance contract 
must be signed and returned to the Commission immediately for signature. The Commission 
will be the last party to sign. 

The payment methods are detailed in the draft contract (Article I.4), with a list of eligible and 
ineligible costs (Article II.14 of the general conditions and Article I.3 of the special conditions 
of the grant contract). 

5. 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 

Applications  which  comply  with  the  following  criteria  will  be  the  subject  of  an  in-depth 
evaluation. 

5.1. 

Eligible organisations 

Grant applications are eligible if they are presented by organisations having a legal status and 
established in one of the 27 Member States17. 

6. 

EXCLUSION CRITERIA 

Applicants must certify on their honour, by signing the application form, that they are not in 
one of the situations mentioned in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation applicable to 
the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities  (Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No 
1605/2002 of 25 June 2002), which are listed below. 

Applicants will be excluded from participating in this call for proposals if they are in one of 
the following situations: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

they  are  bankrupt  or  being  wound  up,  are  having  their  affairs  administered  by  the 
courts,  have  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  creditors,  have  suspended  business 
activities,  are  the  subject  of  proceedings  concerning  those  matters,  or  are  in  any 
analogous  situation  arising  from  a  similar  procedure  provided  for  in  national 
legislation or regulations; 

they  have  been  convicted  of  an  offence  concerning  their  professional  conduct  by  a 
judgement which has the force of res judicata; 

they  have  committed  serious  professional  misconduct  recorded  by  any  means  that 
awarding authorities can justify; 

they  have  not  fulfilled  obligations  relating  to  the  payment  of  social  security 
contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the 
country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting 
authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; 

17 

Based on the organisation's registered place of business or its place of main activity. 

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39 

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e) 

f) 

they  have  been  the  subject  of  a  judgment  which  has  the  force  of  res  judicata  for 
fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity 
detrimental to the Communities’ financial interests; 

following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the 
Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for 
failure to comply with their contractual obligations. 

Applicants will not receive financial support if, during the grant allocation procedure: 

a) 

b) 

they are subject to a conflict of interests; 

they  are  guilty  of  misrepresentation  in  supplying  the  information  required  by  the 
European Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure, 
or fail to supply this information. 

In accordance with Articles 93 to 96 of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial 
penalties may be imposed on applicants who are guilty of misrepresentation or are found to 
have  seriously  failed  to  meet  their  contractual  obligations  under  a  previous  contract  award 
procedure. 

To respect these provisions, the applicant and his partners must provide evidence that they are 
in none of the situations listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation. 

7. 

SELECTION CRITERIA 

The selection criteria are designed to demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to see the project 
through to a successful conclusion. 

Applicants must provide evidence of stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain the 
activity throughout the period during which the project is being carried out and/or grant-aided, 
as well as evidence of their financial participation. The applicant must also provide evidence 
of  professional  competencies,  qualifications  and/or  experience  relevant  to  the  proposed 
project. 

7.1. 

Technical capacity 

Candidates  must  show  that  they  have  the  operational  (technical  and  management)  capacity 
needed  to  complete  the  proposed  action  and  provide  evidence  of  their  capacity  to  direct  an 
activity  corresponding  to  the  dimension  of  the  project  for  which  the  grant  is  requested. 
Particular attention will be devoted to the capacity for mobilising the public and to analyse of 
their contributions. The capacity to involve organisations from other EU countries would be 
an advantage. 

Applicants must attach to the grant application a curriculum vitae for the project leader and 
for the personnel of their organisation who will actually do the work. They must also enclose 
a recent activity report . 

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7.2. 

Financial resources 

In order to permit assessment of this criterion, applicants must submit with their application 
the following documents: 

–  annual accounts for the last complete financial year; 

–  the “financial identification” form (bank details) (Annex III), completed by the beneficiary 

and certified by the bank (with original signatures). 

If,  on  the  basis  of  the  submitted  documents,  the  Commission  assesses  that  the  financial 
capacity of the applicant is not sufficient, it may: 

•  reject the request for a Community grant; 

•  ask for further information; 

•  ask for the deposit of a guarantee; 

•  propose a grant agreement without a pre-financing payment. 

8. 

AWARD CRITERIA 

Commission Representations will evaluate eligible projects against four criteria: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

9. 

consistency  – is the project's overall concept consistent with the: 
i. 
ii. 

objectives of Plan D? 
general and detailed objectives of the call (see point 2 above) 

quality 

– are the work programme and working methods of sufficient quality? 

feasibility 

– is the project feasible, based on the action plan? 

visibility 

– what is the likely effect of the project's actions to raise awareness? 

ELIGIBLE COSTS 

For  all  projects,  the  eligibility  period  for  expenditure  relating  to  the  implementation  of  a 
project  will  be  stipulated  in  the  grant  agreement  and  will,  except  as  described  in  the  next 
point, be no earlier than the signature of the agreement by the Commission. 

A grant may be awarded for a project which has already begun only where the applicant can 
demonstrate  the  need  to  start  the  project  before  the  agreement  is  signed.  In  such  cases, 
expenditure  eligible  for  financing  may  not  have  been  incurred  before  responding  to  the  call 
for proposals. 

The  eligibility  period  for  expenditure  will  not  exceed  the  time  allowed  under  each  type  of 
action, and may not go beyond. 

Only the categories of expenditure listed below are eligible, provided that they are properly 
accounted  for  and  evaluated  in  accordance  with  the  market  conditions,  and  that  they  are 
identifiable and verifiable. They must be direct costs (i.e. generated directly by the project 
and indispensable for its implementation, having regard to the cost/benefit principle): 

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–  personnel  costs  incurred  exclusively  for  the  purpose  of  implementing  the  project  are 
eligible only where the accounting systems of the applicants in question can clearly isolate 
and demonstrate the percentage of staff time devoted to the implementation of the project 
within the period of expenditure eligibility, and therefore the percentage of personnel costs 
which can be attributed to the project; 

–  travel  /  accommodation  /  subsistence  costs  associated  with  the  project.  Organisations 
must use their own daily scales to calculate these costs. However, these may not exceed the 
maximum amounts set by the Commission18; 

–  the  cost  of  organising  and  running  conferences  and  seminars  (rental  of  rooms, 

welcoming and reception services, interpretation, speaker fees); 

–  cost of hire or depreciation of technical equipment and services (only the depreciable 

element of durable goods can be considered); 

–  information  dissemination  costs  (production,  translation,  distribution  and  dissemination 

costs, etc.); 

–  cost of consumables and supplies 

–  costs  entailed  by  other  contracts  awarded  by  the  beneficiary  for  the  purposes  of  the 

project (also see Section 10); 

–  costs arising from requirements imposed by the agreement; 

–  general  costs  (or  "eligible  indirect  costs":  office  supplies,  sundry  consumables, 
depreciation of computer equipment, etc.). These costs may be eligible if incurred by the 
beneficiary for the purpose of implementing the project, but may not exceed 7% of total 
eligible direct expenditure. 

N.B.:  indirect  costs  will  not  be  eligible  if  the  applicant  already  receives  an  operating  grant 
from the Commission during the lifetime of the project. 

10. 

NON-ELIGIBLE COSTS 

Non-eligible expenditure 

The following expenditure cannot be considered eligible under any circumstances: 

–  costs of invested capital; 

–  general provisions (e.g. for losses, possible future liabilities); 

–  debts; 

–  interest owed; 

–  doubtful debts; 

–  exchange losses; 

–  expenditure on luxuries; 

18 

Commission  Decision  C(2004)  1313  of  7  April  2004:  General  implementing  provisions  adopting  the 
Guide to missions for officials and other servants of the European Commission. 

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–  the  production  of  material  and  publications  for  commercial  purposes;  however, 
monographs,  books,  journals,  discs,  CDs,  CD  ROMs  and  videos  will  be  taken  into 
consideration if they are an integral part of the project; 

–  VAT, unless the beneficiary proves that he cannot recover it; 

–  contributions in kind. 

Contributions in kind 

Part  of  the  contribution  from  project  sponsors  to  the  project  costs  may  be  in  kind.  These 
contributions in kind must be included in the provisional budget under the "receipts" section, 
expressed as a financial equivalent of the services or materials provided, and for an identical 
amount in the "expenditure" section, but separately from the rest of the budget. In fact, they 
cannot be considered as eligible costs. 

Contributions  in  kind  refer  in  particular  to  the  provision  of  durable  capital  goods,  raw 
materials and unpaid voluntary work by a private individual or corporate body. 

The amount declared by the beneficiary as contributions in kind must be valued either on the 
basis  of  objective  factors  or  on  the  basis  of  official  scales  laid  down  by  an  independent 
authority or by an outside independent professional. 

The  cost  of  private  charity  work  must  be  valued  in  accordance  with  the  national  rules 
regarding the calculation of hourly, daily or weekly labour costs. 

Contributions in kind will not be accounted for as eligible costs but rather as an increase in the 
grant in terms of value or as a percentage of the eligible costs. 

The  Community  contribution  is  subject  to  a  ceiling  relating  to  the  total  eligible  cost  (70% 
maximum of the total eligible cost), excluding the value of contributions in kind. 

Subcontracting and calls for tender 

Where the implementation of subsidised actions requires a subcontract or the launch of a call 
for  tender,  the  beneficiaries  of  the  grant  must  award  this  contract  to  the  tender  offering  the 
best  value  for  money,  respecting  the  principles  of  transparency  and  equal  treatment  of 
potential contractors and ensuring there is no conflict of interests. None of the basic activities 
of the project may be subcontracted, et subcontracting must account for only a limited part of 
the project. 

For  all  contracts,  beneficiaries  must  keep  evidence  that  the  selection  of  subcontractors  was 
competitive,  involving  at  least  three  offers,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  only  one  supplier 
exists in a given market. Grants may only be awarded after a project's start date (given in the 
application) upon prior written approval from the Commission. 

11. 

PUBLICITY 

The  Commission  will  publish  the  list  of  successful  applicants  (unless  the  publication  of 
information  is  likely  to  endanger  the  successful  applicant  safety  or  harm  his  interests).  The 
Commission  will  publish  the  following  information  in  whatever  form  and  on  whatever 
medium it wishes, including the Internet: 

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–  the name and address of each beneficiary; 

–  the subject of the grant; 

–  amount awarded and rate of funding. 

12. 

PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS 

12.1. 

Publication 

The  text  of  the  call  for  proposals,  the  annexes  and,  for  information  purposes,  a  copy  of  the 
standard agreement can be obtained from the Europa website at the following address: 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/grants/index_en.htm & 

http:// xxxxxxxxx (Website of the Representation) 

12.2.  Application form 

Applications must be presented in one of the official languages of the EU. 

This form can be downloaded from one of the above Internet addresses. 

Only  grant  applications  submitted  on  the  application  forms  attached  to  this  call  for 
proposals  and  comprising  all  the  necessary  documents  mentioned  in  Annex  D  will  be 
considered. 

Applications must be: 

•  typed; hand-written applications will not be accepted; 

•  duly dated, filled in and signed by the legal representative of the organisation; 

•  sent in quadruplicate (the original, which must be identified as such, plus three copies). 

12.3. 

Submission of the application 

Deadline for the submission of applications: 30 June 2007 

Applications submitted after will not be considered. 

Applications may be submitted in one of the following ways: 

Proposals must be submitted on paper: 

•  by registered post to the following address, for which purposes the relevant date is to be 
the date of dispatch by post, as evidenced by the postmark or the registered delivery receipt 
issued by the postal services: 

European Commission 

EC Representation XXXXXXXX 

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•  by hand delivery or courier service. 

For  security  reasons,  applications  submitted  personally  or  conveyed  by  a  courier  service 
can be presented only to the Commission’s Representation xxxxxx, and envelopes must be 
marked “DG COMMUNICATION, EC Representation xxxxxxxx - Plan D Project”. In the 
event of hand delivery, the submission date is the date of receipt. In the event of delivery 
by a courier service, the submission date is the date of receipt by the mail department. 

Applications submitted by fax or e-mail will not be considered. 

No modification of the application will be authorised after the submission of the application 
and  its  annexes.  However,  the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  request  any  additional 
information needed for it to take a final decision on the award of financial support. 

Applicants will be informed in writing when their application is received. 

Only applications complying with the eligibility and exclusion criteria will be considered for 
the possible award of a grant. 

Applicants  whose  applications  are  judged  to  be  ineligible  will  be  notified  by  mail,  with  an 
explanation as to why they were judged ineligible. 

Tenderers will be informed, as soon as possible, of the decision taken by 

the  Commission  on  their  grant  application.  No  information  will  be  released  until  the 
Commission's decision on project selection has been taken. 

All selected applications will be subject to technical and financial analysis. In this connection 
the  Commission  may  ask  the  applicant  organisation  for  supplementary  information,  or 
possibly for guarantees. 

Any applicant whose application for a Community grant is not accepted will be informed in 
writing. 

12.4.  Legal framework 

•  European  Commission  Communication  dated  2  April  2008  -  COM(2008)  158:  "Debate 

Europe-building on the experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate" 

•  European  Commission  Communication  dated  13 October 2005  -  COM(2005)  494:  The 
Commission’s contribution to the period of reflection and beyond: Plan D for Democracy, 
Dialogue and Debate 

•  Information note from Vice President Wallström to the Commission – Plan D, Wider and 

deeper debate on Europe - SEC(2006) 1553, 24.11.2006. 

•  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002 (Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 
on  the  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European 
Communities) 

•  OJ  L  357,  31.12.2002  (Commission  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  2342/2002  of 
23 December  2002  laying  down  detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of  Council 
Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  on  the  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the 
general budget of the European Communities) 

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12.5.  Contacts 

The  Commission  department  responsible  for  the  implementation  and  management  of 
the call for proposals Is EC Representation XXXXXXXX 

Additional information can be obtained by electronic mail or by fax, either at the electronic 
address xxxx@ec.europa.eu, or by fax number from ++ xx xx xx xx xx , indicating clearly the 
reference of this call for proposals. 

Annexes: 

Annex I: Application form (parts A and B) 

Annex II: Budget form 

Annex III: Financial identification form 

Annex IV: Financial capacity form 

Annex V: Legal entity form 

Annex VI: Draft contract (for information) 

Annex VII: Acknowledgement of receipt of the application 

Annex VIII: Application checklist 

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BUDGETARY IMPACT STATEMENT 

Communication from the Commission: Debate Europe- building on the experience of 
Plan D for "Democracy, Dialogue and Debate" 

POLICY AREA: 

COMMUNICATION 

ACTIVITY: 

SPECIFIC ACTIONS ON PRIORITY THEMES, OF WHICH PRINCE 

WORK PROGRAMME FOR: 2008 

1. 

BUDGET HEADING CONCERNED AND TITLE 

16.0304 - Specific actions on priority themes, of which PRINCE 

2. 

LEGAL BASIS 

Tasks resulting from the Commission's prerogatives at  institutional level,  as  provided  for in 
Article  49(6)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  of  25 June  2002  on  the 
Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities  (OJ 
L 248,  16.9.2002,  p.  1),  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 1995/2006  (OJ  L 390, 
30.12.2006, p. 1). 

3. 

◘ 

OVERALL FIGURES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR (IN EUROS) 

3.a – Current year 

Initial appropriation for the financial year 
(budget)  

Transfers 

Additional appropriation  

Total appropriation 

Appropriations already set aside by another 
work programme 

Balance available 

Amount for the action proposed 

CA 

12 830 000 

0 

0 

12 830 000 

0 

12 830 000 
7 200 00019 

19 

The amount of the action (EUR 7.200.000) belongs to the appropriations of the 2008 budget for budget 
line  16.0304  (Specific  actions  on  priority  themes,  of  which  PRINCE).  No  additional  resources  are 

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◘ 

3.b – Carry-overs 

N/A 

◘ 

3.c – Next financial year 

N/A 

4. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION 

Debate  Europe  will  prolong  Plan  D  in  2008  and  2009.  It  will  ensure  that  the  Commission's 
global  effort  to  promote  active  European  citizenship  is  an  inter-institutional  effort,  in 
connection with the EU institutions' political and communication priorities, which reaches out 
to the decision-makers at all levels of governance. 

A twin-track strategy is suggested, backed by a 7.2 million EUR budget: 

•  a centralised call for proposals to co-finance a global trans-national project with a budget 

of 2 million EUR; 

•  decentralised calls and actions supporting local projects with a budget of 5.2 million EUR. 

On a Pan-European level – The terms of reference of the call for proposal will state explicitly 
that,  taking  into  account  the  experience  gained  by  the  first  series  of  trans-national 
participatory democracy projects co-funded under Plan D, Debate Europe will support a civil 
society initiative which organises citizens' consultations in each Member State, establishes a 
common  set  of  conclusions/proposals  at  European  level  and,  on  the  basis  of  this  common 
platform,  engages  the  citizens  in  a  dialogue  with  elected  representatives  and  European 
political organisations, in partnership with European political foundations. 

On a country level - Taking into account the experience gained by the civil society projects 
co-funded by Commission  Representations in some Member States, Debate Europe will co-
fund decentralised actions tailored to specific needs (e.g. actions targeting schools and youth 
centres,  exhibitions,  fairs  and  festivals,  conferences,  seminars,  events  with  NGOs…).  These 
actions will comprise local calls for proposals and other actions as defined in the framework 
of Debate Europe (e.g. Internet debates, visits by Commissioners, activities in the framework 
of European Public Spaces and Pilot Information Networks, going local through the Europe 
Direct Centres…). 

therefore requested. 
The  detailed  breakdown  of  this  amount  is  described  in  the  Commission  decision  on  the  annual  work 
programme  on  Grants  and  Contracts  concerning  the  field  of  Communication,  for  2008,  C(2008)  924, 
adopted by the Commission on 12 March 2008 (cf. Table 2.6.2). 

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5. 

METHOD OF CALCULATION ADOPTED 

The 7.2 million EUR budget allocated to Debate Europe is divided as follows: 

•  As  already  mentioned,  one  call  for  proposals  will  be  launched  by  DG  COMM's 
Headquarters  for  an  estimated  sum  of  2 million  EUR,  in  order  to  co-finance  a  global 
transactional project. 

Furthermore,  the  Representations  will  launch  decentralised  calls  for  proposals  for  an 
estimated  amount  of  3.1  millions  EUR.  There  will  probably  be  one  call  for  proposal  per 
Member State; with an average budget between 100 000 and 200 000 EUR. 

These figures have been estimated on the basis of previous experience (2007's Plan D calls 
for proposal amounted to 2.4 million EUR for 13 Member States). 

•  Regarding  the  remaining  2.1 million  EUR,  in  addition  to  ongoing  contracts,  the 
Representations  foresee  to  launch  approximately  136  calls  for  tender  (131  of  them 
≤ 60 000 EUR and 5 of them > 60 000 EUR). 

6. 

PAYMENT SCHEDULE (IN EURO) 

Line 16.0304 

Commitments  

Payments 

2008 

7 200 000 

3 600 000 

2009 

2010 

0 

0 

1 800 000 

1 800 000 

Total 

7 200 000 

7 200 000 

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