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European Youth Foundation Grants 2027: Council of Europe Opens €850,000 Funding Call for International Youth Projects

Muhammad Chishti
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The European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe has opened two major calls for proposals to support international youth cooperation activities and long-term youth projects taking place from 2027 onwards.

Through a combined indicative budget of €850,000, the Foundation intends to support approximately 20 international youth initiatives addressing democracy, human rights, inclusion, peacebuilding, youth participation and the development of youth work.

The two funding opportunities are:

  1. International one-off youth cooperation activities in 2027, offering grants of up to €25,000.
  2. International long-term youth cooperation projects in 2027, offering grants of up to €60,000.

These opportunities are intended for eligible youth-led non-governmental organisations rather than individual applicants. Organisations must be registered and validated in the European Youth Foundation’s online system before they can submit a proposal.

The officially advertised application deadline for both calls is 1 October 2026 at 23:59 CET. Applications must be submitted through the Support4Youth online grant-management platform.

The official announcement was published by the European Youth Foundation on 17 August 2026.

European Youth Foundation Grants 2027: Key Information

What Is the European Youth Foundation?

The European Youth Foundation, commonly known as the EYF, is a Council of Europe fund that provides financial support to youth organisations working with and for young people.

Established in 1972, the Foundation supports youth-led initiatives that promote peace, international understanding, cooperation, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Foundation works with youth organisations that are non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary and participatory. Its funding is designed to strengthen young people’s involvement in democratic societies and help youth organisations organise educational, advocacy, awareness-raising, cooperation and capacity-building activities.

The Council of Europe is separate from the European Union. It currently has 46 member states and focuses on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Youth organisations seeking EYF support must generally be established in one of those 46 member states. The European Youth Foundation explains its mandate and relationship with the Council of Europe on its official website.

Overview of the Two EYF Calls for Proposals

Feature One-Off Youth Cooperation Activities Long-Term Youth Cooperation Projects
Call reference 2027.C5.A 2027.C6.B
Maximum grant €25,000 €60,000
Indicative total budget €250,000 €600,000
Intended number of grants 10 10
Main format One principal international youth meeting A combination of international meetings and other activities
Project period 1 January–31 December 2027 Up to 18 months
Required start date Not before 1 January 2027 Between 1 January and 31 March 2027
Latest possible completion 31 December 2027 30 September 2028
International meeting requirement Normally at least four programme days At least one meeting of four programme days
Main applicant types International, sub-regional and qualifying national youth NGOs or networks International youth NGOs and international youth NGO networks
Reporting deadline Within two months of completion and no later than 29 February 2028 Within two months of completion and no later than 30 November 2028

Call One: International One-Off Youth Cooperation Activities in 2027

The first opportunity is the Call for Proposals for International One-Off Youth Cooperation Activities in 2027, identified as 2027.C5.A.

This call supports international meetings that bring young people from different countries together to learn, exchange ideas, build cooperation and address issues connected with the Council of Europe’s youth priorities.

Objectives of the One-Off Activities Call

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following objectives:

  1. Enhance young people’s participation in democratic societies, youth organisations and other forms of civic mobilisation and action.
  2. Give young people the opportunity to explore an important subject connected with EYF funding priorities and the challenges they experience in different contexts.
  3. Promote intercultural dialogue by enabling young people from different cultures to meet, cooperate, network and learn from one another.
  4. Build capacity for future action and inspire educational, advocacy, cooperation and awareness-raising initiatives.

Activities That May Be Supported

The main activity should be an international meeting of young people. Possible formats include:

This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. A grant may support one main international meeting together with its preparatory and follow-up or evaluation meetings.

The project must be developed and implemented by a multicultural project team. It should follow Council of Europe quality standards and use approaches such as:

Minimum Duration of the International Meeting

The main international meeting should normally last for at least four programme days.

Arrival and departure days are not counted as programme or working days. Applicants must show the number of actual working days in their narrative application.

Project Implementation Period

The full project period may begin no earlier than 1 January 2027 and must finish by 31 December 2027.

Applicants must include the complete duration of the initiative, covering:

Projects completed before the application is submitted will be automatically excluded.

Participant Requirements

The activity must involve participants:

Participants from countries outside the Council of Europe may be included where their involvement is properly justified. This does not remove the requirement to involve participants residing in at least seven Council of Europe member states.

Maximum Funding and Available Budget

Applicants may request up to €25,000.

The total indicative budget for the call is €250,000, and the European Youth Foundation intends to award approximately 10 grants.

The Foundation is not obliged to award the entire available budget or exactly 10 grants. It may award fewer grants or redistribute funds depending on the number and quality of eligible applications.

Full conditions are available in the official overview for Call 2027.C5.A.

Organisations Eligible for the One-Off Activities Call

The applicant must be registered in the European Youth Foundation grant system under one of the following categories:

  1. An international non-governmental youth organisation.
  2. An international network of non-governmental youth organisations.
  3. A sub-regional network of non-governmental youth organisations.
  4. A national non-governmental youth organisation working with at least three national youth NGO partners from three other Council of Europe member states.
  5. A national non-governmental youth organisation working with an international non-governmental youth organisation or international network as a partner.

In a partnership involving several organisations, only one eligible organisation submits the application on behalf of the partnership.

A national youth organisation applying through the first partnership route therefore needs at least three eligible partners in three other countries, creating a partnership of at least four national youth organisations.

Call Two: International Long-Term Youth Cooperation Projects in 2027

The second opportunity is the Call for Proposals for International Long-Term Youth Cooperation Projects in 2027, identified as 2027.C6.B.

This funding stream is intended for organisations that want to implement a strategic, multi-activity project rather than organise only one international meeting.

Objectives of the Long-Term Projects Call

Projects should address several of the following objectives:

  1. Contribute to the strategic development of the applicant organisation, its members and its networks.
  2. Build institutional capacity and knowledge hubs within youth organisations.
  3. Develop and use new tools, manuals, research, educational materials or policy outputs.
  4. Establish lasting strategic partnerships and cross-border cooperation between young people and youth organisations.
  5. Strengthen young people’s knowledge and skills in areas connected with the EYF funding priorities.
  6. Reach young people at local, national and international levels through multiplier activities.
  7. Support educational, advocacy, awareness-raising and cooperation initiatives with a wider and more sustainable impact.

Activities That May Be Included

A long-term project should combine international meetings with other complementary activities. These may include:

At least one project activity must be an international youth meeting lasting at least four programme days.

The project must be implemented by a multicultural team and use Council of Europe youth-sector approaches such as non-formal education, youth participation, intercultural learning and human rights education.

What Is a Multiplier Activity?

A multiplier activity takes knowledge, skills or content developed through the main project and shares it with a wider group of young people.

It may take the form of:

Multiplier activities should have clearly defined objectives and involve several young people directly. They must also be properly documented and reported.

Duration and Implementation Period

Long-term projects may last for a maximum of 18 months.

The project must begin between:

The latest permitted project completion date is 30 September 2028.

The application should cover the complete period from the official start date until all activities are completed and all eligible costs have been incurred.

Participant Requirements

Across the majority of project activities, participants should:

Participants from non-member countries may be involved where this is relevant and properly justified.

Maximum Funding and Available Budget

Applicants may request up to €60,000.

The indicative budget available under the call is €600,000, and the European Youth Foundation intends to award approximately 10 grants.

The Foundation may decide not to award all available funding or may redistribute the budget depending on the quality and number of proposals received.

Full requirements are available in the official overview for Call 2027.C6.B.

Organisations Eligible for the Long-Term Projects Call

Eligibility for the long-term project call is narrower than for the one-off activities call.

Only the following may apply:

  1. An international non-governmental youth organisation; or
  2. An international network of non-governmental youth organisations.

National youth organisations and sub-regional networks cannot apply independently for the long-term project call unless they form part of an eligible international organisation or network led by an organisation that meets the call’s requirements.

European Youth Foundation Funding Priorities

Every proposal must contribute meaningfully to one or more Council of Europe youth-sector priorities. Adding a broad reference to democracy or human rights is not enough. Applicants must explain how their activities, methods and expected results address a relevant priority.

The four priorities are detailed on the official EYF Youth Sector Priorities page.

1. Revitalising Pluralistic Democracy

Relevant projects may address:

2. Young People’s Access to Rights

Relevant areas include:

3. Living Together in Peaceful and Inclusive Societies

Projects may focus on:

4. Youth Work

Projects may address:

General Requirements for Applicant Organisations

All applicants must first be registered and validated by the European Youth Foundation.

To qualify for EYF registration, an organisation should generally:

An international youth organisation must normally have at least seven member or affiliated youth organisations operating in seven different Council of Europe member states.

An international network must similarly bring together at least seven eligible youth organisations from seven member states and demonstrate sustained cooperation, shared governance and active participation by its members.

A sub-regional network generally consists of four to six youth organisations based in different Council of Europe member states within a particular European sub-region.

Financial and Operational Capacity

In addition to being an eligible youth organisation, the applicant must:

The Council of Europe retains discretion to determine whether an organisation has sufficient financial, operational and professional capacity for the complexity of the proposed project.

Registration With the European Youth Foundation

Organisations that are not registered must create an account and submit a registration request through Support4Youth.

Registration may take up to two weeks. It is not enough to submit a registration request before the deadline: the registration must be reviewed and validated by the EYF Secretariat before 1 October 2026.

Organisations should therefore begin registration well in advance.

Registration documentation generally includes:

The EYF registration process is a due-diligence exercise confirming that the applicant is a genuine youth-led, non-governmental and non-profit organisation.

Participant Age and International Representation

The European Youth Foundation generally defines young people as individuals between 15 and 30 years old.

For both calls, at least 75% of participants must not be older than 30. The application forms require applicants to estimate participants within the following age groups:

Project-team members should not be counted as participants.

International activities must involve residents of at least seven Council of Europe member states. Applicants must provide credible and balanced country representation rather than adding countries only to meet the numerical requirement.

Cross-Cutting Standards

EYF-supported projects should be planned by, for and with young people. Applications should also explain how the project will address:

Projects should demonstrate these considerations through practical methods, participant recruitment, accessibility arrangements, project-team composition, content and evaluation.

Activities the EYF Will Not Fund

The following activities are ineligible:

Projects completed before the application is submitted are also ineligible.

This means the funding should not be presented as support for tourism, individual education, routine organisational governance or a commercial event. It must support a genuine youth-cooperation project with a clear educational, democratic, human-rights or youth-work purpose. The official EYF grant page provides further guidance on eligible and excluded activities.

Co-Financing Requirements

The EYF does not fund projects on the assumption that the Foundation will be the only contributor.

Every grantee must contribute through its own resources or obtain support from third parties. Co-financing may include:

The official call does not establish a universal minimum co-financing percentage. However, the budget must clearly distinguish costs requested from the EYF from costs covered by the applicant, partners or other sources.

Grant Payment and Reporting

For both calls, approved funding is paid in two stages:

  1. First instalment: 80% is paid after the grant agreement has been signed by the grantee organisation and the European Youth Foundation.
  2. Final balance: The remaining amount is paid after the Council of Europe receives and accepts the final narrative and financial reports.

The grantee must submit both reports within two months of the project’s completion.

For one-off activities, reporting must be completed no later than 29 February 2028.

For long-term projects, reporting must be completed no later than 30 November 2028.

Failure to provide acceptable reports may delay the final payment or result in a request to reimburse unsupported or ineligible expenditure.

Application Documents

A complete application must contain:

  1. A completed narrative application form.
  2. A completed budget form showing:
    • Costs requested from the European Youth Foundation
    • Costs covered by the applicant
    • Partner contributions
    • Other funding or in-kind contributions

Applications must be submitted in English or French. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Information Required for One-Off Activity Applications

The one-off activity narrative application asks for:

Project Identification

Proposal Overview

Applicants have a limit of 3,600 characters to explain:

Objectives and Results

Applicants have 3,000 characters to present:

Implementation Approach

The form provides:

Applicants must explain how the project will incorporate youth participation, inclusion, gender equality and human-rights principles.

Partners and Participants

The form asks for:

The participant-profile and recruitment section has a limit of 3,600 characters.

Applicants can consult the one-off activity narrative application form and one-off activity budget template.

Information Required for Long-Term Project Applications

The long-term project narrative form asks for:

Basic Project Information

Proposal Overview

Applicants have 3,600 characters to explain:

Objectives and Results

Applicants have 3,000 characters to present:

Activities and Methods

Applicants have:

Each project activity should have a consistent name and should represent a substantial action that contributes directly to the objectives.

Preparatory or evaluation meetings should not be presented as separate activities when they are part of a larger activity.

Information for Each Activity

For every proposed activity, applicants must provide:

Applicants can consult the long-term project narrative application form and long-term project budget template.

Exclusion Criteria for Applicant Organisations

An organisation may be excluded where it:

Applicants must submit a declaration on honour confirming their compliance. Additional supporting documents may be requested later.

Submitting multiple applications for the same proposal is prohibited and may lead to all related applications being excluded.

How Applications Will Be Assessed

Proposals will be evaluated using the following weighted criteria:

  1. Relevance and added value: 40%
  2. Quality, clarity and completeness: 32%
  3. Cost-effectiveness and completeness of the budget: 16%
  4. Expertise and experience of the organisation, partners and project team: 12%

The strongest technical proposal cannot compensate for basic ineligibility. Applicants should first confirm organisational, partnership, participant and registration eligibility before investing significant time in drafting.

The EYF Secretariat assesses proposals and may request clarifications through the online platform. It then prepares recommendations for the Programming Committee on Youth, which makes the final grant decisions.

Indicative Selection and Implementation Timeline

Important Deadline Clarification

The announcement, calls webpage and submission sections of the two overview documents state a deadline of 1 October 2026 at 23:59 CET.

However, the indicative timetable on the final page of both overview documents labels the same deadline as 23:59 CEST.

CET and CEST differ by one hour. Organisations should not rely on the later interpretation. The safest approach is to submit no later than 23:59 CEST on 1 October 2026, and preferably at least one full working day earlier.

Late applications will not be considered except in narrowly defined force-majeure circumstances.

Questions and Digital Open Desks

Questions must be submitted in English or French no later than one week before the deadline.

Questions should be sent to eyf@coe.int, using the relevant subject line:

The European Youth Foundation is also organising Digital Open Desk sessions on Microsoft Teams from 14:00 to 16:00 CET on:

No prior registration is required. Applicants should consult the official announcement for the current Microsoft Teams access link.

How to Apply

Eligible organisations should follow these steps:

  1. Confirm that the organisation is established in a Council of Europe member state.
  2. Confirm whether the organisation qualifies for the one-off call, long-term call or both.
  3. Create an account on Support4Youth if the organisation does not already have one.
  4. Submit the organisation-registration request and all supporting documents.
  5. Allow up to two weeks for EYF validation.
  6. Read the official call overview, EYF grant guide, narrative form and budget template.
  7. Select the relevant Council of Europe youth-sector priority.
  8. Build an eligible international partnership and multicultural project team.
  9. Design activities involving participants from at least seven Council of Europe member states.
  10. Prepare the narrative and financial application in English or French.
  11. Explain co-financing and partner contributions clearly.
  12. Submit the complete application through Support4Youth before the deadline.

Official Application Resources

Conclusion

The European Youth Foundation Grants 2027 offer substantial support for youth organisations capable of designing credible international projects rooted in democracy, human rights, inclusion, peace and youth participation.

The one-off activity call is suitable for organisations planning a focused international youth meeting, with grants available up to €25,000. The long-term project call is designed for eligible international organisations and networks seeking to implement a strategic programme of connected activities over a period of up to 18 months, with funding available up to €60,000.

These are demanding institutional grants rather than simple event-sponsorship opportunities. Successful applicants must demonstrate strong alignment with Council of Europe priorities, meaningful youth leadership, international participation, inclusive methods, credible partnerships, sound financial management and clear long-term results.

Organisations that are not yet registered should begin immediately because EYF registration can take up to two weeks and must be validated before the application deadline. Complete proposals must be submitted through Support4Youth by 1 October 2026, with applicants strongly advised to use 23:59 CEST as the safe cutoff and avoid last-minute submission.

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