European Parliament proposes a budgetary increase for AgoraEU

Update: This piece was edited on 28 April 2026 following the adoption of the official position of the European Parliament on the MFF, which confirmed the position outlined in the draft interim report. 

The position of the European Parliament on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) was adopted on 28 April 2026, confirming the position initially outlined in the institution’s draft report on the next long-term EU budget. 

The Parliament proposes an allocation of €10.72 billion for AgoraEU in the next MFF, indicating a budgetary increase of €2.14 billion (in current prices) when compared to the European Commission’s proposal. The allocation follows the recent publication of an open letter calling for a strong increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme as a forward-looking investment in the EU’s cultural, social and democratic infrastructure, which was coordinated by the Future of Europe coalition and supported by more than 500+ organisations. 

The European Parliament envisages a total increase of €197.30 billion to the 2028-2034 MFF, which equates to an approximate 10% total increase to the budget. This includes an additional allocation of €25 billion for Horizon Europe, as well as a €30 billion increase for the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). These programmes constitute the two largest nominal increases presented by the Parliament under Heading 2 of the MFF, which underlines the importance of greater support for the creative sectors in the ECF and a stronger presence for culture-related research and innovation in Horizon Europe. 

The proposed AgoraEU budget allocation represents a ~25% increase in funding, the highest percentage increase of any programme listed under Heading 2 (Competitiveness, Prosperity, and Security) proposed by the Parliament. More ambitious funding is essential for the Creative Europe – Culture strand of AgoraEU, with the current Culture strand of Creative Europe remaining consistently under-funded and over-subscribed. 

Table illustrating the proposed increases by the European Parliament for programmes under Heading 2 of the 2028 – 2034 MFF (Competitiveness, Prosperity, and Security), including nominal increase (‘Nom. change’) and proportional increase (% increase)

Other than the budgetary provisions outlined, the Parliament position also recognises culture as a key strategic area of the MFF under Heading 2, underlines cultural vitality as an ‘integral part of the Union’s strategic autonomy,’ and includes an explicit reference to the Culture Compass for Europe in its citations. 

While the Parliament position constitutes a step in the right direction—AgoraEU would receive 0.53% of the MFF budget, up from 0.43% from the Commission’s proposal—there remains significant room for budgetary improvement. The allocation is significantly lower than the €12 billion called for in the CULT Committee’s opinion, and is far from achieving the 2% for culture in the next MFF that we call for as part of the Ask, Pay, Trust and Cultural Deal for Europe campaigns.  

In addition to increasing the financial envelope of AgoraEU, we continue to call on the European Parliament to top up the programme’s budget through digital fine revenues collected under the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, and the AI Act through a programme-specific adjustment mechanism.  

Image credit: © European Union 2026 – Source : EP | Photographer: Emilie GOMEZ