The European Commission has launched a Call for Proposals, funded with 3M€, for the AMICUS Preparatory Action in youth voluntary works, which is part of the Youth in Action European Programme. The deadline for submission of applications is October 31st 2008.

This call for proposals is the implementing instrument for the Amicus preparatory action, whic aims to:

• Promote the transnational character of youth placements in civic service and voluntary work activities.
• Encourage the development of a European framework to facilitate the interoperability of existing civic service and voluntary work opportunities for young people in the Member States (whether they originate in civic service structures or civil society organisations).
• Allow a testing and evaluation phase by way of specific European cooperation projects (transnational dimension) in the field of civic service and voluntary work for young people.

The Commission department responsible for the implementation and management of this action is the "Youth in Action" unit of the Education and Culture Directorate-General., which is entitled to develop cooperation in youth actions within the European Union.

The eligible applicants for this call of proposals can fall under two different categories. First, and as a priority, public bodies whose main activity is in the field of civic service; and also non-government organisations or not-for-profit associations whose main activity is in the field of youth voluntary work.

Moreover, to be eligible, applicants should have their head office in one of the Member States, have legal status, and be able to demonstrate at least two years' experience in the area of placing young people in civic or voluntary service at national level.

Budget

The total budget dedicated for the co-financing of projects under this call amounts to  3M€.

The Commission plans to support 27 projects, which means one project per Member State. However, the Commission envisages the possibility not to cover the total amount of the funding or all the countries, if there are not eligible projects to do so, or to award more than one project to one country.

Besides,  the maximum amount awarded to a given project will be in line with the funding rules laid down in the technical specifications of the call for proposals and the population of the country concerned. A ceiling has been established for each Member State:

• For projects proposed by applicants whose head office is in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Romania or the United Kingdom, the amount of funding awarded will be a maximum of 181,000 €.
• For projects proposed by applicants whose head office is in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, the amount of funding will be a maximum of 91.150 €.
• For projects proposed by applicants whose head office is in Luxembourg or Malta, the maximum amount of funding will be 46,150 €.

The deadline for submission of applications to the European Commission is 31 October 2008, as per the postmark, and the full text (Specifications) of this call for proposals, the application form and the Applicants' guide are available on the Youth website of the European Commision.