Political perspectives for the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08
- Programme
- Standing up for democracy
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- December 14, 2022
- Deadline
- March 14, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €9,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €2,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €3,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 3
- Keywords
- International relationsGeopoliticsForesightSocietal EngagementSocial sciences and humanitiesPolitical scienceGeopoliticsHORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08Eastern Neighbourhood
Description
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Improvement of the European Union’s neighbourhood policy and accession process, thanks to a clear vision for the political agenda of the European Union towards the Eastern Neighbourhood countries and the Western Balkans, based on a deep and nuanced analytical basis.
- Forecast and scenarios of the geopolitical ambitions of Russia, China and other countries towards the countries of the Eastern Neighbourhood and accession candidates.
- Strengthened resilience and foreign policy arsenal of the European Union against military threats on the European continent thanks to policy recommendations.
The political and economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine go well beyond Ukrainian borders. The European Union had to change overnight from a neighbourhood policy focused on incremental reform to one that is about the survival of some Eastern Neighbourhood countries as independent, self-determined states. Ukraine’s application for European Union membership has been immediately replicated by Georgia and Moldova. Russian and Chinese influence in some accession candidate countries is on the rise. This opens crucial questions about the European Union’s enlargement strategy, requiring not only political answers but also academic reflection and expertise. Therefore, proposals are expected to analyse the European Union’s current neighbourhood and enlargement strategy and toolbox in the light of the new situation where military aggression or the threat with it and political exploitation of economic dependencies are once more used as foreign policy tools in Europe. Based on this, they should provide innovative perspectives on the origins and evolutions of policies aimed at stabilising and democratising the Eastern Neighbourhood along with evidence-based policy options to adapt this strategy to the new state of play.
Furthermore, in the context of the accession process, there is need to strengthen mechanisms of compliance with the acquis in the area of social policies and to strengthen social cohesion to avoid brain drain and care drain in Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans countries.
Proposals are invited to take this dimension into account when developing robust evidence-based, forward-looking visions for the political agenda of the European Union towards the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans.
In addition, the Russian ambition to have a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union countries puts governments in the Eastern Neighbourhood in a much more vulnerable position. It increased their dependencies on big geopolitical powers, be it the West, China or Russia. It also highlighted Russia’s ambition to play an even more decisive political role in the larger region, including the power to install governments of its choice through a return to Cold War tactics. Is this shift back to brutal military intervention the sign of a new age in international relations and new geopolitical blocks? Proposals are expected to analyse and forecast possible scenarios regarding Russia, but also China and other countries’ geopolitical ambitions towards the countries of the Eastern Neighbourhood, grounded in a historical perspective. Based on sound and robust analyses, they should provide policy recommendations, scenarios and options to strengthen the Union’s resilience and diplomatic arsenal in a potential new era of military intervention on the continent. They are also expected to provide evidence-based advice on whether the European Union should factor military interventions into its foreign policy toolbox, and offer perspectives as to what implications that would entail.
Proposals are strongly encouraged to involve stakeholders, including non-state actors and citizens, from the countries in the topic scope. The consortium must include at least one entity from the following countries: Georgia, Republic of Moldova or Ukraine. Legal entities from these countries must take part in the project as beneficiaries.
Participation of Ukrainian researchers in exile with refugee status and employed by eligible beneficiaries is strongly encouraged and would be an asset.
International cooperation is strongly encouraged.
Proposals are encouraged to network with and build on previously funded projects under the Horizon Europe calls[1], Horizon 2020 or other EU programmes, e.g. Global Europe[2], as appropriate. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged.
[1] in particular HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-09: Global governance for a world in transition: Norms, institutions, actors, HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-04: Democratic politics in the EU’s neighbourhood, as well as other relevant projects funded under other clusters and pillars of Horizon Europe,
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/global-europe-programming_en
Destination & Scope
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which unfolds ominously while this work programme is prepared, has deep and extraordinary consequences on European security, international relations, as well as trust in democratic systems and in the media. However, it cannot be seen as an isolated event. It is part of an accelerated and ever intensifying movement of rejection and challenge of democracy and of the liberal international order. Indexes and reports measuring the overall situation of democracies in the world confirm their increased fragility and vulnerability over the last years: a process labelled as a “long democratic recession”, a shift in the nature of “autocratisation” or a “global expansion of authoritarian rule”, which quantitatively translates into the increase of the number of countries moving towards authoritarianism and the overall decline of the quality of democracies. [[ Cfr. the latest reports from Freedom House or the V-Dem Institute:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege;
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule
http://www.v-dem.net/static/website/files/dr/dr_2021.pdf;
https://v-dem.net/media/publications/dr_2022.pdf]]
Interdisciplinary research on the past and present challenges to and facilitators of democracy can help to understand them better, with a view to strengthen their resilience and stability. It will also help to counter the shift from governance based on expertise, rules-based multilateralism and consensual policymaking towards majoritarianism, unilateralism, nationalism, populism and polarisation. It will foster democracy’s further development with a view to enhancing representation, participation, openness, pluralism, tolerance, the effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, civic engagement, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. These reflect the European Union’s values as defined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty[[ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, Title 1 “Common Provisions”, Article 2: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail”.]].
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
- Democratic governance is reinvigorated by improving the accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and policies and through the expansion of active and inclusive citizenship empowered by the safeguarding of fundamental rights.
The implementation of the research activities of the destination will assist in the re-invigoration and modernisation of democratic governance. The aim is to develop evidence-based innovations, policies and policy recommendations, as well as institutional frameworks that expand political participation, social dialogue, civic engagement, gender equality and inclusiveness. Activities will also contribute to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policymaking. They will help improving trust in democratic institutions, safeguarding liberties and the rule of law and protecting democracy from multidimensional threats. Rich historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives, including a comparative dimension, will set the frame for soundly understanding present developments and help to map future pathways. In the medium to long term, the knowledge, data, scientifically robust recommendations and innovations generated will enhance decision-making on all aspects relevant to democratic governance. As the Destination aims directly at citizen engagement and at producing lasting change, it is of particular importance that the research and innovation actions promote the highest standards of transparency and openness. When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to civil society in the course of the research.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
The following additional eligibility criteria apply: In order to achieve the expected outcomes of the action, the consortium must include at least one entity from the following countries: Georgia, Republic of Moldova or Ukraine.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
-
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
-
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
-
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
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Latest Updates
EVALUATION results
HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01
Published: 07.12.2022
Deadline: 14.03.2023
Available budget: EUR 75 000 000
The results of the evaluation are as follows:
Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls): 97
Number of inadmissible proposals: 2
Number of ineligible proposals: 0
Number of above-threshold proposals: 58
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 184 724 528,25
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
The call HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01 has closed on 14.03.2023.
97 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-01: 10 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-02: 5 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-03: 4 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-04: 24 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-05: 11 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-06: 7 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-07: 19 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08: 17 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in July 2023.