The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) is an independent grant-giving organisation that supports actors of democratic change in the European Neighbourhood and beyond. EED is a joint initiative of EU member states and institutions. EED’s work is overseen by its Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

EED supports civil society organisations, movements, independent media, and individual activists working towards a pluralistic democratic political system. Official registration is not a requirement. We also support newly created or non-registered organisations, informal platforms, youth groups and individuals. In particular, EED assists those that cannot be supported by other donors and existing EU instruments. EED is demand-driven and responds to the needs and demands of local democracy actors. Direct beneficiaries of EED include pro-democracy movements and actors, civic groups and civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, independent media, journalists and bloggers, artists, and youth groups.

EED’s mandate is “to foster and encourage democratisation, and deep and sustainable democracy” in countries facing democratic transitions or democracy deficits in the European Neighbourhood region and beyond. Examples of activities supported by EED include (please note that the following list is not exhaustive):

• Promoting political pluralism and diversity
• Increasing state accountability
• Enhancing the inclusiveness of societies, including by fighting all forms of discrimination against women and minorities, and by increasing their participation
• Supporting citizens’ representation and involvement in decision-making processes, both at national and local levels
• Promoting an increased, more effective and more professional role of pro-democracy actors, such as political parties, unions and civil society organisations
• Promoting fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief

EED works predominantly in the European Neighbourhood (Eastern Partnership, Middle East and North Africa), the Western Balkans and Turkey. The countries eligible for support in the Eastern Neighbourhood are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The countries in the Southern Neighbourhood are: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia.
In 2015, the EED mandate was extended to enable provision of grants for applications from countries in the area adjacent to the neighbourhood depending on needs, available funds, and political priorities. These include: Bahrain, Chad, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In 2018, EED further expanded its operations to include Turkey and the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. EED may potentially consider applications from other countries in the future, depending on available funding.
It is not a requirement to be located in one of these countries, but proposed activities should generally have a strong involvement of actors from these countries and target the populations in those countries.

EED primarily seeks to support groups and activists that cannot be supported by existing EU instruments or other programmes. EED is complementary to other donor programmes, acts as a gap-filler and aims to provide fast and flexible support. EED accepts requests for support at any time. There is no deadline!
EED can support individuals and non-registered groups
EED accepts requests for support in a number of languages: Arabic, English, French, Russian, Turkish and the languages of the Western Balkans
EED can support operational costs (salaries, office and related costs, communications costs)
EED seeks to give applicants a final answer within 12 weeks and to provide rapid responses to emergency requests for support
EED is specialised in providing support in a discreet manner

EED plays a critical, complementary role to other EU or member state efforts to foster democracy. EED’s flexibility, rapid response and ability to take risks enables it to adapt to distinctive needs and challenging local contexts. Its niche lies in its capacity to operate in difficult, sometimes dangerous, environments that are often off limits to other donors. With its flexible approach, EED can be more responsive to changing circumstances on the ground.

EED is also well-placed to work with small, fledgling groups that often typify democratic movements in the early phases and help them build up their capacity to apply for larger funding schemes. In this way, EED addresses an important gap in EU democracy support.

Funding decisions are made by the EED Executive Committee at its regular meetings following an assessment made by the EED secretariat in line with the organisational mandate. EED observes, as far as possible, the geographical balance in the allocation of funds between the southern and eastern neighbourhoods.

Twenty-three European countries who are members of the EED Board of Governors have contributed to EED’s programme budget to date, as well as Canada through a special grant for Ukraine. The EED operations budget is covered by a European Commission grant.

EED was established on the joint initiative of EU member states and the EU institutions. It is not however a part of the European Union but rather an independent grant-making organisation.

EED’s support is based on a principle of fostering – not imposing – democracy and facilitating initiatives of local actors. A basic tenet is the notion that democracy cannot be imposed from the outside; only change originating from within can lead to a sustainable and inclusive democratic transition.

Applying for support is simple. Click on ‘Apply for Support’ to be directed to our secure application portal where you can find the application form and application guidelines.

All EED jobs are advertised on our jobs page. EED also offers a limited number of paid traineeships per year. Open tenders for the provision of services, works or supplies required for EED’s activities are also published on this page as such opportunities occur.

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