News Item

Safeguarding values must be central to the future EU budget

Happy young girl with the flag of the European Union
Weyo, adobestock.com, 2025
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has submitted two contributions to the European Commission as part of the consultation for the next long-term EU budget. In the submissions, FRA calls for stronger safeguards to ensure all EU funding upholds fundamental rights and the EU’s founding values. It also urges action to address the shrinking space and funding for civil society organisations (CSOs) that work on fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The negotiations on the next long-term budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – are taking place amidst growing internal and external threats to democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. This concern was widely echoed by participants in the Annual EU Budget Conference 2025, including the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission.

In this context, the EU and its Member States must ensure that the EU’s founding values are at the core of the next budget, including in the allocation of funds and in monitoring how funds are used. While the EU must aim at efficient and effective use of funds, the Financial Regulation also requires the EC and Member States to ensure full compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights when implementing the EU budget.

To support this effort, FRA submitted a contribution to the public consultation on the performance of the EU budget. The submission draws on past FRA research. It suggests how to enhance a values-based conditionality across all EU funds, which would make effective the provision in the Financial Regulation that requires compliance with the EU Charter. This would entail, for example:

  • Ensuring that the Multiannual Financial Framework explicitly references Article 6(3) of the Financial Regulation, to tie the disbursement of all EU funds with respect for the values of the European Union.
  • Ensuring independent monitoring of the respect for the values of the European Union in the disbursement of EU funds.

FRA also submitted a contribution to the public consultation on EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, young people, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society. The submission deals with the need to sustain financial support for civil society organisations that work on fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law.

FRA’s submission to the public consultation draws on the Agency’s latest available evidence, which indicates a sharp decline in financing for NGOs, in particular national funding. About half of the almost 400 human rights NGOs that participated in FRA’s most recent consultation state that they experienced unexpected reductions, cuts or a complete freeze of funding in the past 12 months. Recent developments also show that discussions on the transparency of funding can be misused to discredit or even silence CSOs.

FRA’s submission highlights the important role of the European Commission as an independent funder for CSOs, human rights defenders and activists that face concrete threats and attacks. Ensuring sustainable financial support for civil society would entail:

  • Funding the full range of activities that are needed to promote and safeguard democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
  • Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of civil society funding by streamlining the application and reporting procedures.
  • Ensuring that “associations have the freedom to seek, receive and use financial, material and human resources, […], for the pursuit of their activities” as stipulated by the Joint Guidelines on Freedom of Association by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission.

The discussions on the next long-term budget come at a critical moment in time. They will define the EU’s strategic direction and its place in the world going forward. FRA's contribution to the discussion aims to support the development of an EU budget that not only funds programmes efficiently but also protects the values that underpin the Union itself.