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The call is now closed and applications under evaluation.
Objective of the call for proposals
The core objective of the call is to contribute to increased production and consumption of plural and independent information on European affairs across the European Union, and in the longer term a larger engagement of people in the EU with European news and affairs, increased levels of trust in media and an informed public debate.
Content of the proposals
To do so, this call proposes to support news media organisations and organisations active in the media sector to form or develop European-level media hubs (such as virtual or physical newsrooms). These would produce and disseminate pluralistic and appealing news media content (possibly including other informative, non-fictional and factual programming) on European affairs across Europe. Applicants are invited to make content available in as many European languages as possible (with a minimum of 5 official EU languages). The grant agreement will include a charter of independence to make sure that applicants are editorially free and operate without any political interference.
The added value of such hubs would be to go beyond local/national/regional perspectives and integrate viewpoints from all over the EU, with a view to creating a common understanding of our continental challenges and opportunities and fuel a more democratic debate.
Eligibility
The call is open to news media organisations and organisations active in the media sector focusing on reporting in EU Member States and established in an EU Member State, or in a candidate/potential candidate country. Proposals must be submitted by consortia of at least 5 applicants from 5 different eligible countries.
Financing
The maximum co-financing rate of is 80% of the total eligible costs. The Commission expects to fund 2 to 3 proposals, with an expected duration of 24 months. Grant amounts will range between €1.5 million and €4 million. The Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available and applicants are reminded that budget-cost effectiveness is part of the award criteria.
More information
The call for proposals, application forms and all relevant documents are available further down (if reading in another language, consult the English original for call documents).
Questions on the call can be sent to CNECT-NEWSMEDIA@ec.europa.eu until 5 working days before the deadline. All questions and answers will be published, anonymously, on this page.
This call is part of the EU’s Multimedia Actions and follows the publication of a previous call in 2021. Feel free to consult the results of the previous call.
Beyond this call:
- You can consult an overview of the EU support to the news media sector.
- You can subscribe here to automatic updates on DG CNECT’s website and stay updated via Twitter.