Chapter 3: Social Inclusion
We are excited to return with the third episode of our “EU Funding Digest” series, where we explore key EU funding opportunities under the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, examining funds that are directly, shared, or indirectly managed, each time focusing on a different topic.
We are kicking off this new chapter of our series with a key topic at the heart of AER’s work: social inclusion. As Europe becomes increasingly diverse, it is essential to harness the strengths and opportunities that this diversity brings, implementing initiatives to cultivate a sense of belonging and cultural understanding. Celebrating diverse identities while promoting equity is a delicate balance that requires robust policies to recognise and nurture the value of multicultural exchanges.
Thematic focus
Since 2018, AER’s members have expressed a strong desire to share experiences and best practices in building intercultural communities. This collective movement inspired the creation of the Intercultural Regions Network (IRN), a platform designed to share knowledge, resources, and experiences to promote intercultural integration at the regional level. Additionally, through various meetings and consultations, the AER developed and implemented three flagship projects, funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Integration, and Migration Fund (AMIF).
The first project, AMiD, was executed between 2018 and 2020, with the aim to support an efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities in the EU. Led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), it involved 12 partners from Belgium, Cyprus, France, Austria, Italy, Greece, Finland and Germany.
The second project, Includ-EU, ran from 2020 to 2023 under the coordination of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Its goal was to foster more inclusive and cohesive European societies by enhancing transnational knowledge exchange, cooperation, and partnerships among local and regional authorities from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain.
The third project, EU-Belong, began in 2022 and will continue until May 2025. Coordinated by the AER, this consortium includes 10 regional authorities from 7 European countries, along with 2 technical partners. The project aims to improve the socio-economic inclusion and sense of belonging among migrants by developing and testing regional integration strategies that incorporate an intercultural and multi-stakeholder approach.
These initiatives are inspired by the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) and align with key European policies and strategic documents, particularly the “Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion (2021-2027)”. They are supported by a broad network of relevant institutions and international organisations, contributing to policymaking processes at both European and local levels.
The outstanding results and high levels of participation achieved through these projects demonstrate AER’s deep commitment to social inclusion, which is a significant focus of the organisation’s work. Strongly believing in the benefits of an intercultural approach to regional policies and a multi-stakeholder governance model, AER is dedicated to expanding its efforts in these areas by engaging a broader range of regional actors and international stakeholders and fostering collaboration. Regular research and analysis of funding opportunities are crucial to ensuring meaningful engagement, resulting in a comprehensive mapping of financial opportunities.
Recognising the importance of knowledge sharing and reliable information exchange, this episode of the EU Funding Digest presents the results of our efforts, with the hope of sparking interest and initiating new impactful collaborations.
Focus: why an intercultural approach?
While assimilationism overemphasises equality neglecting diversity, and multiculturalism highlights cultural differences, the aim of interculturalism is to realise equality and societal cohesion by building on the diversity that enriches societies.
Interculturalism recognises the importance of culture in building cohesive communities, accessing rights and realising opportunities. It emphasises the need to enable each identity to survive and flourish, but also underlines the right of all cultures to contribute to the cultural landscape of the society in which they are present. Interculturalism derives from the understanding that communities thrive only in contact with others through interaction, not in isolation. It seeks to reinforce intercultural interaction as a means of building trust and strengthening the fabric of the community, creating a collective identity that embraces cultural pluralism, human rights, democracy, gender equality, and non-discrimination.
The Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme supports cities in reviewing their policies through an intercultural lens and developing comprehensive intercultural strategies to manage diversity positively and realise the diversity advantage. On the same line, the AER Intercultural Regions Network adopts this mission within a regional level of governance, through the implementation of flagship projects such as EU-Belong. In this context, a dedicated multi-stakeholder model framework and toolkit for regional intercultural integration strategies has been published to guide authorities in the application of the approach on the ground, along with many more free resources and tools. For more information, consult the EU-Belong website at https://eu-belong.aer.eu/get-the-gist/.
The framework
According to Eurostat, out of 448.8 million inhabitants living in the EU in 2023, 6% were non-EU citizens, while 9% were born outside the EU. Since 2015, the number of people crossing irregularly the European borders has significantly decreased.
Migration has always represented a hot topic in public and political debate in Europe, characterised by increasingly restricted policies and deterring practices. The spread of fake news and the use of alarming language led to a misinterpretation of the phenomenon, causing racist behaviours and extremists actions across the European continent. At the same time, Europe is confronting significant demographic challenges due to persistently low birth rates and higher life expectancy, resulting in an ageing population. Additionally, occupational shortages in specific sectors and regions across all skill levels are intensifying the global race for talent attraction and retention.
To address these transitions, Europe reviewed its immigration policies, and adopted the Pact on Migration and Asylum in April 2024, along with a dedicated Common Implementation Plan. Divided in ten interdependent building blocks, the Pact aims to provide a European solution to migration challenges by addressing multiple fronts simultaneously. One key component is the Resettlement, Inclusion, and Integration (Building Block 10), which reports the objectives and recommendations set in the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027, covering measures related to employment, training, language, health care and housing.
The Plan emphasises the importance of involving people with migration backgrounds in policymaking, encouraging their social, cultural, and economic contribution to European societies. However, Member States have the legislative competence in translating the Plan at the national level, causing important differences in the way countries manage migration and integration, facilitating or impeding access to employment or educational opportunities.
At European level, the above-mentioned scenario is translated into a cascade of financial opportunities to achieve the established common goals. In particular, the protection of people in vulnerable conditions is an element that can be found in multiple programmes under the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, enlarging the spectrum of possibilities to find economic support towards social inclusion initiatives.
Focus: The Pact on Migration and Asylum and its Common Implementation Plan
The Pact on Migration and Asylum is a set of new rules managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at EU level, based on four pillars: secure external borders; fast and efficient procedures; effective system of solidarity and responsibility; embedding migration in international partnerships.
The Common Implementation Plan, adopted on 12 June 2024, sets out the key milestones to make the policy operational by mid-2026. It provides a template for National Implementation Plans, that must be adopted by every Member States by 12 December 2024. Moreover, it outlines 10 fundamentally interdependent building blocks, to facilitate the practical efforts.
Analysis of funding opportunities
Access our mapped opportunities at this link!
The mapping exercise features key funding programmes that can be monitored to access financial support for social impacts initiatives. This is a non-exhaustive list that might change significantly in the future, also considering the relevant impact of the newly established Asylum and Migration Pact. The table below summarise the key characteristics:
| Funding Programme | Key focus |
|---|---|
| Asylum Migration and Integration (AMIF) | Strengthening the Common European Asylum System; Supporting legal migration; Countering irregular migration; Enhancing solidarity and responsibility |
| European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) | Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights via a shared management Strand, the Employment and Social Innovation Strand (EaSI) and the Social Innovation Plus Initiative |
| InvestEU | Sustainable infrastructure; Research, innovation, and digitalisation; Small and medium-sized businesses; Social investment and skills |
| European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) | Regional competitiveness; Smarter, greener, and more connected regions; Social inclusion; Citizen engagement. |
| Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) | Equality, rights and gender equality; Citizen engagement and participation; Fighting violence (Daphne); Upholding Union values |
| Justice Programme (JUST) | Judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters; Judicial training |
| ERASMUS+ | Cooperation among organisations and institutions, support to policy development and cooperation in the field of education, training, youth and sport in Europe |
| Creative Europe (CREA) | Culture Strand and Cross-sectorial Strand to support initiatives to foster cultural diversity, promote artistic expression, boost the economic potential of the creative industries |
| Europe for Health Programme (EU4H) | Access to health services for vulnerable populations; Non-communicable and communicable diseases; Mental health; Child health; Prevention-oriented healthcare |
| Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions (PPPA) | Testing new actions; Developing new EU policies and legislation |
As the map shows, the Asylum Migration and Integration (AMIF) Programme still remains one of the most relevant financial lines for social impact, especially when targeting migrant integration. The Programme is divided into four specific objectives (strengthen and develop the aspects of the Common European Asylum System; support legal migration; contribute to contouring irregular migration; enhance solidarity and responsibility) and has a global budgetary envelope reserved for grants of EUR 259 926 000.
Recently, the European Commission started a collaboration with the European Investment Bank on the implementation of AMIF objectives. This means that financial instruments (such as loans, guarantees, equity) can be established in the National Programmes, in a standalone mode or in combination with grants. Leveraging financial instruments can allow to achieve higher impact and make more efficient use of public resources.
Fi-compass is providing horizontal and tailored support to local, regional and national authorities, financial intermediaries and other stakeholders to access opportunities under AMIF programme, as well as European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and InvestEU. Those two financial programs have also demonstrated to have relevant opportunities for social inclusion projects.
ESF+ is the EU main instrument to support the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It brings together four funding lines previously separated (the European Social Fund, the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived, the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation) and it is managed both at national and European level. In particular, the European Commission reserved 142 billion EUR for Member States under the shared management strand, while 762 million EUR are still directly managed via the Employment and Social Innovation Strand (EaSI). While the former financial support can be accessed at national level, the latter operates through grants awarded to the networks that have signed a framework partnership agreement for the period 2022-2025.
Another part of the ESF+ budget is used to support the Social Innovation Plus Initiative, managed by the European Competence Centre for Social Innovation set up by the Lithuanian European Social Fund Agency. With a focus on social innovation and knowledge sharing, the Centre publishes EU calls for proposals to conceptualise tested approaches, scale up promising models, and help social innovation organisations to build up and expand their capacity across Europe.
InvestEU Programme supports sustainable investment, innovation and job creation in Europe by bringing together a multitude of financial instruments. Via the InvestEU Fund, the European Commission supports public and private investments in four policy areas (sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitisation; small and medium-sized businesses; and social investment and skills). Project promoters can find available financial intermediaries by accessing a dedicated interactive website.
The European Commission financial resources dedicated to social impact initiatives are cascaded down to Member States not only via AMIF, ESF+ and InvestEU programmes, but also at territorial level through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Fund wants to invest in initiatives able to make European regions more competitive and smarter, greener, more connected, more social and closer to citizens. It therefore links to other financial lines, such as Interreg Europe, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the EU Solidarity Funds. Further information varies on the specific agreements between the European Commission and single Member States, and can therefore be found at national level.
The next two financial programs relevant for social inclusion initiatives are part of the Justice, Rights and Values Fund: Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) and Justice Programme (JUST).
CERV sustains and develops open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies based on the rule of law by operating on four pillars: equality, rights and gender equality; citizens’ engagement and participation, daphne (fighting violence) and union values. In particular, the call for proposals related to the first pillar (under the acronym EQUAL) represents a great opportunity for initiatives aimed at fighting various sources of discrimination and promoting diversity not only among the population but also in public institutions and workplaces.
JUST supports judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters such as training to judges and other legal practitioners and effective access to justice for citizens and businesses. Notably, this funding line could be used to finance initiatives focused on judicial training, to increase knowledge of EU civil, criminal and fundamental rights instruments and improve cooperation.
Initiatives that focus on fostering collaboration towards inclusive education, as well as addressing the skill gaps and enhancing access to training opportunities, can find financial support from the ERASMUS+ Programme. In particular, under its Key Action 2 (Cooperation among organisations and institutions), the Programme reinforces transnational networks’ operations in the field of education, training, youth and sport. Moreover, Key Action 3 (Support to policy development and cooperation) enhance initiatives that develop ways to increase participation of adults, especially the up- and reskilling of in-transition-workers, unemployed or inactive people, from sectors in decline to sectors that are growing and in need of more workers with skills for the green and digital economy.
Social inclusion projects that aim to enhance cross-border cultural understanding, can benefit from the Creative Europe (CREA) Programme. Aimed at safeguarding, developing and promoting European cultural and linguistic diversity while increasing competitiveness of the cultural sector, the Programme is divided in three strands (culture, media and cross-sectorial). Social inclusion projects can find particular support in the first and third strand. The Culture strand facilitates cross-border circulation of works and the mobility of cultural players towards a more accessible and inclusive culture. The Cross-sectorial strand addresses common challenges and opportunities, such as the promotion of knowledge, content creation and quality journalism.
The Europe for Health Programme (EU4H) is another funding line that could be considered for projects that want to enhance the access to health services towards vulnerable sectors of the population. In particular, inclusion of vulnerable people is specified in the following subtopics: non-communicable and communicable diseases; mental health challenges; reducing the burden of disease on public health; promoting a comprehensive, prevention-oriented approach to children’s health.
Finally, Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions (PPPA) represent a funding opportunity that works in a different way compared to classic calls for proposals. While Pilot Projects are experimental initiatives designed to test the feasibility of new actions, Preparatory Actions are designed to develop new EU policies, legislations, programmes etc. A list of funded PPA is envisaged annually and each Director General of the European Commission can launch and manage PPA call for proposals.
This mapping exercise demonstrated that protecting people and fostering an inclusive society are cross-cutting priorities which can be addressed through multiple perspectives across funding programs. Therefore, starting from regional priorities and initiatives’ goals it is possible to find a particular financial support under different programmes of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027.
Next steps
The AER continues its effort to foster a truly inclusive European society via initiatives such as EU-Belong and the Intercultural Regions Network. Would you like to participate?
- Express your interest in developing or joining a project via a dedicated questionnaire
- Have a look at the Project Unit work: https://aer.eu/eu-projects/
- Contact Agnese Pantaloni [email protected] and Giulia Moretto [email protected]
Stay tuned for the next EU Funding Digest Chapter foreseen in January on the topic of green transition. If you like to suggest other topics for the upcoming chapters, let us know via our questionnaire.
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