On 14-15 December, the European Council will gather to discuss a wide range of topics, including the revision of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Against the backdrop of an increasingly multipolar world facing multiple global threats, what the Council decides on the MFF will determine the EU’s ambitions at global level.
Throughout 2023, civil society organisations have been mobilised to ensure the EU continues to play a leading role on the international scene and therefore dedicates enough funding for global action, especially as the external action budget has been under severe stress since 2021.
Last May, Global Health Advocates, together with 23 other NGOs from various sectors of development cooperation, climate and environmental protection and humanitarian aid called for the increase of the external action budget. In July, we also stressed that the European Commission’s proposal of allocating €10.5 billion more to Heading 6 – Neighbourhood and the World, backed by the European Parliament, only partially responded to our concerns.
The Council is now proposing cuts of over 90% to vital funds for global action and to the EU’s safety net to respond to unforeseen external emergency needs, compared to what the Commission originally proposed.
Alongside several other NGOs, members of the European Parliament, and activists, Global Health Advocates thus calls on the European Council to back the Commission’s initial proposal and ensure that the EU has sufficient funding at its disposal to respond to the needs of its global partners, which are key to delivering Europe’s strategic interests.
This is vitally important, as the European Council is defining Europe’s role in the world for the years to come, in particular regarding its partnership with Africa. From the COVID-19 pandemic, to climate justice, trust in Europe as a continent that can deliver global justice is being challenged as never before. Now is not the time to pull back.
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