O projektu
"PEPPI" - Provision of an European Platform for the Prevention of Over-Indebtedness by the Increase of Accessibility and the Improvement of Effectiveness of Debt Advice for Citizens in Croatia“ (PEPPI-HR/ project no. 101055549)
The project is part of the Single Market Programme of the European Commission, targeting consumers. In the Croatian translation, the project is named: "Creating a European platform for the prevention of over-indebtedness by increasing the availability and efficiency of debt counseling for citizens."
Increase the availability of counseling services.
One of the main goals of the project is to increase the availability of debt counseling services to consumers in the EU from 13 countries: Hungary, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Malta, and Romania. Through this project, we will be able to provide higher-quality debt advice, which, in turn, can help improve the quality of life for consumers.
Strengthening and expanding the network of experts
By establishing and maintaining a European network of stakeholders, comprising government officials, non-governmental organizations, debt counseling experts, financial sector representatives, creditors, and consumer advocates. The network will provide access to mentoring and guidance for establishing a best practices model for debt counseling.
Research on financial literacy
The research will be focused on supporting debt counseling services in the area of consumer financial protection by determining the multidimensional impact of factors on the financial condition of consumers in the selected 13 countries and assessing their influence on the quality of life and income inequality.
Više o projektu
Upoznajte naš tim stručnjaka
Igor Škrgatić
Financial advisor
President of the "Padobran" association and national coordinator of activities in the project for the Republic of Croatia.
Dieter Korczak
Financial advisor
Dr. Dieter is one of the leading scientific authorities on the issue of over-indebtedness in the EU.
The goals of the project
In order to achieve the goal, the association performs the following activities
Increase the availability of debt counseling services to consumers in the EU from 13 countries: Hungary, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Malta, and Romania. Improve the operational efficiency of structures providing debt counseling services to consumers in the EU by creating or strengthening specialized networks of experts, technicians, and advisors. In this way, the 13 national debt counseling organizations will gain access to training materials that will enhance the quality of their work, and they can reach out to European experts with the necessary experience and knowledge.
Consumer users of the services of the 13 national debt counseling organizations - through this project, will be able to provide higher-quality debt advice, which, in turn, can help improve the quality of life for consumers.
European debt counseling organizations - the community will enable professionals from across the EU to communicate and connect, sharing knowledge in a transnational manner.
Additional project goals
Research
Strengthening and expanding the network of experts
- By establishing and maintaining a European network of stakeholders, comprising government officials, non-governmental organizations, debt counseling experts, representatives from the financial sector, creditors, and consumer advocates.
- The network will provide access to mentorship and guidance for establishing a best practices model for debt counseling.
- The network will collaboratively design informational and awareness-raising campaigns for each country in which it participates, following their needs and the maturity of their debt counseling services.
The network of experts will:
- Develop educational materials for the academy,
- Write (un)official papers and articles for the website
- Conduct training on the assessment of debt counseling services.
- Participate in evaluation meetings
Research on consumer financial protection and financial literacy:
- Directed towards supporting debt counseling services in the field of consumer financial protection. This involves identifying the multidimensional impact of factors on the financial condition of consumers in the selected 13 countries and assessing their influence on the quality of life and income inequality.
- The research serves as a foundation for updating on-the-ground debt counseling services, ensuring that their services are evidence-based as much as possible.
- It acts as a tool for the development of debt counseling services
- This project will actively monitor the progress of the research and convey the importance of informed and updated approaches to the 13 participating member states.
- The findings of the research will be used to create tools for consumer protection in challenging financial situations.
Additional objectives
What the project is actively working on
Development of the platform
The development of the platform includes:
- All participating countries will have access to the same materials, experiences from countries with developed services, and mentoring from other experts (online meetings, peer-to-peer sessions, Academy, and webinars).
- The knowledge platform will train debt counseling organizations in various EU countries in providing advice based on best practices to their citizens.
- Providing information, videos, and seminars on the crucial role of debt counseling.
- Gathering quantitative statistics from online activity analysis, traffic reporting, tool usage, materials read, and downloads.
- Contact points for each country will be available through the online platform.
Knowledge platform
Platforma znanja:
- Knowledge platform:
- It will provide the scientific community and practitioner community with all the tools, information sources, and guidelines they need for effective debt counseling services.
- It will be a technical network for the network of participating member states where contact points are established for knowledge and experience exchange, mentoring, communication, legislative and policy updates in the field, planning, facilitating and concluding meetings and events, etc.
- It will create access to knowledge and training on debt counseling for countries where debt counseling is not present or where current services are lacking.
- Members can engage in continuous professional development (CPD).
- Access to education, training, and practical courses developed by some of the aforementioned Central European stakeholders, e.g., ASB/Austria, BAG-SB/Germany, Cresus/France, GP Forschungsgruppe/Germany, MABS/Ireland, and NIBUD/Netherlands.
- Course content will be geared towards debt counselors and other interested stakeholders looking to establish debt counseling services in their countries.
- For each country, training will focus on how to find debt solutions within the national legislative and insolvency framework.
- bit će tehnička mreža za mrežu država članica sudionica u kojoj se uspostavljaju kontaktne točke – za razmjenu znanja i iskustava, sparing, komunikaciju, ažuriranje zakonodavstva i političkog rada u području, planiranje, olakšavanje i dovršetak sastanaka i događaja itd.,
- stvorit će pristup znanju i obuci o savjetovanju o dugu za zemlje u kojima savjetovanje o dugu nije prisutno ili u kojima trenutne usluge nedostaju,
- članovi mogu biti uključeni u kontinuirani profesionalni razvoj (CPD),
- pristup obrazovanju, osposobljavanju i praktičnim tečajevima koje su razvili neki od gore spomenutih srednjoeuropskih dionika, npr. ASB/ Austrija, BAG-SB/ Njemačka, Cresus/ Francuska, GP Forschungsgruppe/ Njemačka, MABS/ Irska i NIBUD/ Nizozemska,
- sadržaj tečaja bit će usmjeren na savjetnike za dug i druge zainteresirane aktere koji žele uspostaviti usluge savjetovanja o dugu u svojim zemljama,
- za svaku zemlju obuka će se usredotočiti na to kako doći do rješenja duga unutar nacionalnog zakonodavnog okvira i okvira nesolventnosti.
Consumer website
The consumer website will:
- Be focused on increasing the financial capability and resilience of consumers.
- Provide information on how and where to contact debt counseling services in their country.
- Consumers will have access to self-help tools, including guidance on where to find assistance or file complaints, as well as information about their rights on the website.
It can also be used as a tool for debt counselors.