Since the Agency inception on 1 April 2021, the Consumers strand of the Single Market Programme is largely implemented by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA).

On 26 March 2024, four calls have been launched in the filed of Consumer protection, all with deadline on 6 June 2024.

With a budget of €1.200.000, a novelty call aims at financing public and private non-profit organisations active in consumer protection or consumer education with the objective of supporting consumer education, awareness raising and local advice to consumers. The beneficiaries – which need to be from the described organisations – will empower consumers by enhancing their knowledge of their rights, obligations, and choices in the market – with particular attention to the most vulnerable consumers.

For more information, visit the dedicated Call for proposals for action grants to support consumer education, awareness raising and local advice to consumers (SMP-CONS-2024-EDU) page.

Two renewed calls are open to specific categories of applicants.

One targets public bodies or private non-profit bodies such as NGOs, charities, Consumer associations able to provide stable debt advice services in the 27 Member States – with a budget of €1.000.000

For more information, visit the dedicated Call for proposals for action grants to promote stable debt advice services (SMP-CONS-2024-DA) page.

The other is open to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Bodies notified to the European Commission pursuant to Article 20(2) of Directive 2013/11/EU on consumer ADR and Qualified Entities pursuant to Article 4 of the Representative Actions Directive (EU)2020/1828, which can get €1.000.000 under this action grant.

More details on the eligible applicants and info on the call are available in the Call for proposals for action grants to provide financial contributions to ADR Bodies and RAD Qualified Entities (SMP-CONS-2024-ADR-RAD) webpage.

For this call, EISMEA will organise (date to be soon announced) an online info session targeted to potential applicants wishing to learn more about the call objectives and how to increase their chances of submitting a successful proposal.

Finally, the EU renews its support to the activities of BEUC, the consumer organisation at the Union level. BEUC is the umbrella group for 45 independent consumer organisations from 31 countries and represents the consumers to the EU institutions, defending their interests.

The action grant called “Invitation for the Operating Grant to support the activities of the consumer organisation at the Union level – award to the beneficiary identified in the legal base – BEUC” has BEUC as pre-identified beneficiary, with a budget of  €2.400.000. It is thus not open to other organisations, but represents another concrete support of the EU to consumer protection.

For more information, visit the Invitation for the Operating Grant to support the activities of the consumer organisation at the Union level – award to the beneficiary identified in the legal base – BEUC page.

The calls, funded under the Consumers objective of the Single Market Programme, are open to specific types of or pre-identified beneficiaries.