European Commission Proposes €8.6 Billion for Culture, Media and Democracy in 2028–34 EU Budget

The European Commission has unveiled its initial proposal for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, presenting a €1.984 trillion long-term budget. Within this framework, the Commission proposes allocating €8.6 billion to a new flagship programme — AgoraEU — aimed at supporting culture, media and civil society.

AgoraEU consolidates and expands the current Creative Europe and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programmes, divided into three strands: Creative Europe – Culture (€1.8bn), Media+ (€3.2bn), and Democracy, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (€3.6bn).

Compared with current combined funding (€2.44bn Creative Europe + €1.5bn CERV), the proposed budget would roughly double current levels of support.

Culture Action Europe (CAE) has welcomed the proposal while emphasising this is a minimum threshold, urging the European Parliament and Council to seek further increases during negotiations expected to run through 2026–2027.

Source: Culture Action Europe