Don’t let young people down in the next EU long-term budget
As the European Council gathers on June 18-19 to debate the long-term budget, young people expect leadership that rises to the occasion.
Europe stands at a crossroads, but current plans lack the ambition needed to meet our generation's challenges. From tackling climate change to fixing unaffordable housing, investing in young people is our best bet for a shared future. Please, do not let us down.
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What’s happening this week?
The EU Heads of State and Government of the EU’s 27 different member states will be meeting, and the EU long-term budget is on the agenda. During this meeting, the Cypriot Presidency of the Council will present their negotiating document for the EU long-term budget 2028-2034.
The negotiating document published last week confirms the European Commission’s proposal for the way the budget is divided. It also puts forward a proposal for the amounts dedicated to each fund. According to this document, the Council is considering an overall reduction of 2% to the EU’s long-term budget in comparison with the Commission’s proposal. Some funds, such as the National and Regional Partnership Plans, Erasmus+ and AgoraEU, also see their funds shrinking.
However, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. So we might still be here for a while.
Member states must be bolder
Europe’s youth cannot accept this. We expect the Council’s position to be more ambitious, and in line with the European Parliament’s demands that raised the low bar set by the Commission’s proposal.
We believe that the 27 Finance Ministers must place the best interest of young people in Europe at the forefront of the negotiations. We put these concerns into words, and our President sent them a letter to address these critical issues.
Put the money where your mouth is
We count on Ministers and on the Heads of State and Government to act on these demands in the coming months.
The Erasmus+ programme must be increased to EUR 130 billion, in line with the recommendations in the Draghi Report. In addition, it is essential to safeguard the 14.2% earmarking for youth from the European Parliament’s draft report as the bare minimum.
The European Social Fund must remain a standalone Fund, with its own objectives, thematic concentrations, and budget line, that at least matches the level of investment found in the current cycle.
The AgoraEU programme must be increased to EUR 12 billion. In addition, the principle of minimum earmarking must also be applied between the Programme strands.
A stronger and more resilient European Union can only be built through ambitious member state contributions and a credible and sustainable system of new Own Resources.
What happens next?
More than attributing figures to different headings, the EU long-term budget is a moment of reckoning for the Union. Deciding where the money comes from and where it goes is deciding where the political priorities are. There is no common prosperity without addressing the challenges faced by young people today: tackling precarious work, unaffordable housing, inaccessible and unaffordable public services, climate change, or democratic backsliding. Youth organisations’ and civil society’s crucial work in promoting this must be sufficiently funded. All of this must be backed by member states’ strong commitment for new sources of revenue for the EU.
We will be following these negotiations closely to make sure our leaders deliver the budget that young people need.
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