Study supporting the ex-post evaluation of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) and the Europe for Citizens (EfC) programmes and interim evaluation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme (2021-2027)

This study supporting the ex-post evaluation of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) and the Europe for Citizens (EfC) programmes (2014-2020) and interim evaluation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme (2021-2027) assesses these programmes for the five core Better Regulation criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value. The findings are evidence-based. The evidence is drawn from desk research, focus groups, surveys, interviews, and case studies covering all EU Member States or representative samples. The lessons learnt are intended to support the European Commission in considering whether changes are needed to the CERV programme over the remainder of its life and to feed any future iteration of this or similar programmes. The EfC and REC programmes are found to have been effective in achieving their objectives. Lessons learned from those programmes, including on simplification of procedures to produce efficiency gains for the European Commission and beneficiaries, and on visibility, have been translated into improvements under CERV. These are contributing to the conclusion that this programme is on track to achieve its objectives. The study concludes that there is a proven need for a programme addressing the issues covered by the CERV programme.