The Council of Europe cooperation with the EEA Grants and the Norway Grants is a “win-win”. It combines the financial means of the grant mechanisms with Council of Europe expertise, offering a privileged opportunity to support member states reforms based on European standards.

Building on the excellent cooperation in the framework of the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014, our Organisation and the Financial Mechanisms Office have signed a new Cooperation Agreement covering the period 2014-2021. This cooperation includes programmes in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia where it develops expertise and builds capacity in the following areas:

• Roma inclusion and empowerment
• Children and youth at risk
• Local development and poverty reduction
• Good governance, accountable institutions, transparency
• Human rights national implementation
• Correctional services, pre-trial detention
• International police cooperation and combating crime
• Domestic and gender-based violence

Acting as International Partner Organisation, we contribute to this partnership by providing high-level advice to beneficiary states’ institutions and to the donors on programme feasibility and scope and on new relevant priorities.

In addition the Council of Europe provides advice at an overall strategic level. It counsels programme operators, national focus points and the donor states on the preparation and implementation of the programmes by sharing relevant expertise, ensuring best practices and aligning the interventions with Council of Europe standards.

It is also involved as project promoter in the areas of education and youth, gender-based violence and access to justice in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. Such an involvement in projects is very similar to the cooperation activities implemented by the Organisation in many of its member states under different funding mechanisms.

Through the EEA and Norway Grants the Council of Europe supports policy making and programme design in its areas of excellence, broadening the scope of the expertise available to all partners.

Co-operation between the FMO and the Council of Europe is based on shared aims and values, having regard to the objectives of the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism of reducing economic and social disparities in the EEA and bearing in mind the Council of Europe’s core objective, the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Programmes where the Council of Europe is an international partner organisation