REFLECTIONS BY CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERS: EU budget

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Europe’s next long-term budget must meet the moment – not retreat from it

The next multiannual financial framework (2028-2034) is a once-in-a-decade decision about the Union we want to build. Europe is navigating ecological breakdown, rising geopolitical instability, energy and food system pressures, social precarity, and profound industrial transformation. At such a moment, a long-term budget shaped by short-term thinking would be a strategic error.

The European Commission’s proposals contain positive elements, but also troubling signals. Europe already under-invests in nature protection, climate action and pollution prevention, facing a EUR 520 billion annual investment gap to 2030. Meanwhile, failure to implement existing environmental laws costs society an estimated EUR 180 billion every year. These are not abstract figures: investing now avoids far higher costs later, strengthens competitiveness and protects people’s health and wellbeing.

Against this backdrop, crippling the LIFE Programme – the only dedicated fund for climate, nature and the environment at EU level – is the wrong choice at the wrong time. LIFE is one of the EU’s most effective and efficient instruments, delivering results on the ground, helping Member States meet environmental obligations, and enabling innovation and cross-border cooperation. It should be expanded, not diluted, into a broader industrial fund where its mission risks being lost.

Equally, independent civil society is a pillar of European democracy and policy implementation. Removing its explicit funding lines undermines the very actors who support enforcement, bring knowledge from communities, counter disinformation and build trust in institutions. Europe needs more civic resilience, not less.

This moment also calls for stronger safeguards. The EU must fully enforce the ‘Do No Significant Harm’ (DNSH) principle with no loopholes, excluding fossil fuel projects and ensuring all spending supports the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy by 2050. A credible EU budget must also guarantee a socially just pathway by preserving and strengthening the Just Transition Fund and meaningfully involving civil society, local communities and trade unions across its planning and delivery.

This is a defining budget and a defining moment. Member States and the European Parliament should protect LIFE as a standalone, strengthened programme, secure dedicated civil-society funding, uphold DNSH, and ensure that at least half of the EU’s long-term budget accelerates climate action, nature restoration and pollution reduction. Investing in our environment, our institutions and our people is not optional – it is the foundation of Europe’s long-term prosperity, security and social cohesion.

Patrick TEN BRINK
Secretary General, European Environmental Bureau

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