The EU provides financial support and grants for projects in various areas such as education, health, consumer protection, conservation, and humanitarian aid. Grants are subject to strict rules to ensure funds are spent transparently and accountably. Some key EU funds that provide grants include the European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and European Fund for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Croatia faces challenges like unemployment, skills mismatches, and regional disparities. EU funding supports priorities like developing job skills, improving education, promoting social inclusion, and strengthening civil society. Successful grant applications must demonstrate relevance, quality solutions, partnerships, methodology, risk assessment, sustainability, and a detailed budget.

1. EU
EU Funds- awarded grants
mag.Zdenkica Stanec
Samobor, CROATIA 2014.

2. The EU provides financial support and grants for a number of
projects and programs in areas such as:
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Education
health
Consumer protection
conservation
providing humanitarian aid

3. Using the grant is subject to strict rules to ensure the immediate
supervision of how to use the funds with a view to their spending
in a transparent and accountable manner.

4. Methods of financing :
1.grants
2.public contracts
The European Commission of the EU provides financing through
numerous specific calls for project proposals. These may be within
Framework Programmes. Although there are many 7 year
programmes that are renewed that provide money for various
purposes. These may be structural funds, Youth programmes and
Education programmes. There are also occasional one off grants to
deal with unforeseen aspects or special projects and themes. Most
of these are administered through what are called National
Agencies, but some are administered directly through the EU
Commission in Brussels.

6. Users funds:
-small bussiness
-nongovermental and civil society organization
-young people
-researchers
-farmers

7. Grants can be obtained from:
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European Regional Development Fund
European Social Fund
Cohesion Fund
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
European Fund for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

8. In the coming year, it is necessary to
solve the following priorities:

9. 1.Development professions people for the job
Croatia has to face several challenges: low employment rate, high
rate of unemployment among the youth, qualifications do not
match the jobs market and regional differences in accessibility
options. In an attempt to change the situation, with the support of
IPA IV, efforts have been made to launch a program of professional
practice which will help young unemployed people to acquire a
one-year work experience and practical skills.

10. 2.Regional disparities
Years of regional disparities remain an issue that worries and plays
an important role in developing activities based on the IPA. Some
of the reasons for this situation are determined by differences in
the social security system, increased mobility of skilled labor, as
well as an inability to attract investment. Return of refugees
increases the problems caused by the aging population.
Government investment and donor support to small, local
businesses, agriculture and tourism, but many people still have no
access to transport and other services.

11. 3.Better education for more people
Should provide the skills that will be needed in the labor market to
young people looking for work permit to have all the qualifications
needed to find a good deal. In Croatia, with the help of funding
approved in part IV of the IPA, the activities to improve the quality
and efficiency of the education system, including ways of
establishing comprehensive national standards and to harmonize
education with the needs of the labor market.

12. 4.Promoting social inclusion of disadvantaged groups
The share of the population threatened by poverty and social
exclusion in the 2011th year increased to 32.7%, which is
significantly higher than the EU average (24.2%). Persons who
are facing social exclusion of persons with disabilities, members
of ethnic minorities (especially Roma and Serbs), women, poor
educated people, unemployed young people and those who are
long term unemployed and people from less developed regions.
Particularly vulnerable are the elderly and children. IPA IV
supports the implementation of activities to promote the social
inclusion of long-term unemployed, social assistance
beneficiaries, including vulnerable groups in the education system
and the labor market, increasing the employability of
disadvantaged and accelerates the process of
deinstitutionalization

13. i
5.Strengthening the role of civil society and the promotion
of social dialogue
Civil society organizations in different regions is developed to a
very different degree due to the unbalanced regional development
and the limited capacity of NGOs. Social partners often lack the
experience and technical capacity. Activities supported by the IPA
have contributed to strengthening the role of civil society and the
promotion of social dialogue in line with the importance attached to
these issues in the context of the Croatian accession.

15. What every EU project should
have to get a grant

16. 1.Prerequisites and maturity for implementation
The basic prerequisite in any competition for grants is the
eligibility of an applicant, a partner (if any) and project ideas in
relation to the sectors or themes, or activities. It is usually
defined by the types of legal persons who may apply for a grant.
In addition to the eligibility criteria, the applicant must
demonstrate the financial and operational capacity to implement
the project.

17. 2.Relevance
Relevance of project ideas in relation to the objective of the
contest is extremely important element of that proposal has to
meet in the assessment of project ideas, often just for relevance
can achieve the highest score

18. 3.Quality solutions to the problems of the target groups or
areas
Projects must propose some form of added value for the target
group of the project and its direct beneficiaries. Given that the
tenders seeking delivery of project ideas aimed at solving specific
problems of certain groups of people or organizations, an
important element in deciding which projects will be funded and
skrojenost project specifically for the needs of the target groups
that the project addresses.

19. 4.Partnership and support from other organizations
Except that the partnership sends a message to a number of
organizations attended and gave support one project idea, it
allows for the dissemination and wider overall impact of the
project. The partnership is mandatory in most of the competition,
but it's still a criterion that is significantly pronounced in EU than
is the case with the IPA.

20. 5.Methodology
Each project must have a methodology to elucidate his approach
and work, and must be described and justified in the consistency
of the actions and results with respect to the goals they want to
achieve and demonstrate a systematic approach to selected
problem.
Proposed activities must be formulated in a way to achieve the
goal of the project, but must be sufficient, or should be neither
too much nor too little activity.

21. 6.The risk analysis, prevention measures and corrections
In the application stage often happens that the project idea
imagines in ideal conditions, but every serious project must have
analyzed the risks and assumptions. Identification of the risks
associated with the proposed activity is important because it
proves a systematic, thoughtful approach to applicants in defining
the vision and the circumstances in which the project would be
spent

22. 7.The sustainability of the project results
Sustainability of project ideas is an important element of the
project proposal owing to structural problems at the level of
policy can not solve the one-time action but a systematic
approach to the problem with a series of small steps. This is
evident in the overall objective, which should be defined in the
project proposal and that is not something that the applicant can
independently solve, but to contribute to its resolution

23. 8.Elaborated budget and the expenditure
Each project must have its own budget. Under the budget
consider the list of expenses, although there are significant
differences in how detailed specification of the costs should be on
the individual competitions. Sometimes they seek only the
general budgets for group activities or a percentage of the total
costs, and sometimes required specifications of each, and the
lowest cost.

24. Conclusion
To project passed the competition, primarily must meet the
requirements concerning the eligibility of an applicant, a partner
and the proposed activities, and it is important to thoroughly read
the tender. Then it is important to meet the criteria that are
common in most of the competition, of which perhaps the most
important relevance. It is important to choose quality solutions
and find partners who participate in the project give some
legitimacy to the idea of ​the project.

25. See links:
http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/index_en.htm
http://europeangovernance.livingreviews.org/Articles/lreg-2007-2/
http://www.slideshare.net/badrmou/structural-funds-after-2013
https://www.google.com/#q=european+disability+forum
http://www.delhrv.ec.europa.eu/?lang=en&content=2137
Thank you for your attention
zdenkica.stanec@zg.t-com.hr