500+ organisations call for an increased budget for AgoraEU
A coalition of 500+ organisations representing Europe’s cultural and creative sectors, independent media and journalism, civil society and democracy actors have sent an open letter to leaders of the EU institutions this week calling for a substantial increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme in the next long-term EU budget (2028-2034). Specifically, the organisations strongly support the position of the European Parliament to increase the budget allocation of the AgoraEU programme and call on the EU institutions to ensure that AgoraEU remains a priority during negotiations on the next long-term EU budget. As part of the ‘Future of Europe’ coalition, Culture Action Europe supported the drafting and coordination of the open letter.
Despite its strategic importance, the AgoraEU programme currently represents only ~0.43% of the next long-term EU budget, which includes funding for culture, independent media and journalism, audiovisual media, and civil society organisations across its pillars. The funding envisaged is insufficient to match the scale of the challenges facing these sectors. In the case of the cultural and creative sectors, the AgoraEU proposal currently envisages an allocation of approximately €260 million per year, which is equivalent to the annual expenditure of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
As Europe faces mounting structural pressures, an increased budget for the programme is essential. Geopolitical instability, increasing inequalities and widespread precarity, coordinated attacks against civil society and fundamental rights, and declining trust in democratic institutions all reinforce the need for robust, reliable funding in the AgoraEU programme.
Funding opportunities for culture are increasingly oversubscribed and under-funded, artistic freedom is under attack, and widespread poor working conditions as well as lacking fair remuneration all contribute to the challenges facing the cultural and creative sectors. Reliable, structured funding for culture is therefore vital to nurturing the cultural ecosystem. Both the Ask, Pay, Trust and Cultural Deal for Europe campaigns call for at least 2% of funding to be allocated towards culture in the next long-term EU budget to support this goal. In order to fund and defend artistic freedom, confront the challenges facing the cultural and creative sectors, and place culture at the heart of EU decision-making, a strong, well-resourced AgoraEU programme is vital at the European level.
The 500+ organisations also call for digital fines to top up the general budget of the AgoraEU programme as an additional funding source. At a time when Europe’s cultural ecosystems, information space and civic participation are under sustained pressure, reinforced funding for the AgoraEU programme is more important than ever to support EU social and democratic infrastructure.
If your organisation also believes in the need for a substantial increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme, complete the form below to become a signatory of the letter.
Learn more about the Future of Europe Coalition (Center for Sustainable Media, Civil Society Europe, Culture Action Europe, European Civic Forum, European Federation of Journalists, Irish Council for Civil Liberties).
Image credit: Civitates: The European Democracy Fund (2026)