Culture in the Next EU Budget: A Call for Ambition

As the European Commission develops the Culture Compass, a new strategic framework for EU cultural policy, the next EU budget must rise to the moment. Culture is not an extra. It is democratic infrastructure, and the resources allocated to it will shape how Europeans connect, belong, and thrive in the years ahead.

On 23 September, the European Cultural Foundation joined around 80 cultural peers from across Europe for an exchange with Members of the European Parliament’s Budget and Culture Committees in Brussels. The meeting, Culture in the Next EU Budget, brought together MEP Carla Tavares (Budget Committee) and the co-rapporteurs of Parliament’s report on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF): Nela Riehl, Chair of the CULT Committee, and Hannes Heide, Member of the CULT Committee. The cultural sector spoke with one voice: Europe needs a budget that reflects culture’s essential role in protecting democracy, strengthening resilience, and building solidarity across borders.

The European Commission’s proposal for the 2028–2034 MFF includes a new €8.6 billion AgoraEU programme, combining culture, media, rights, and values. This is a step forward, but it remains far from the 2% for culture demanded by the Cultural Deal for Europe. While Creative Europe is no longer presented as a stand-alone programme, it remains part of AgoraEU with a proposed budget increase. In addition, Global Europe now includes cultural objectives across all regions. To turn these into impactful programmes, funds must be earmarked and aligned with the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

Together with our partners, ECF will continue pressing for an ambitious and coherent budget that places culture where it belongs: at the centre of Europe’s shared future.

Photo: European Parliament Cultural Outreach Unit