The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted its opinion on the European Commission’s proposals for the 2028–2034 AgoraEU and Justice Programmes with near-unanimous support. The EESC strongly endorses the Commission’s ambitions and urges the European Parliament and Council to maintain the proposed budget, emphasizing that democracy, rights, and the rule of law must remain central in the following EU long-term financial framework (MFF). Key demands from the opinion include explicit recognition of advocacy as a core component of civil society work and the provision of stable operating grants across all AgoraEU strands and within the Justice programme. The Committee also highlighted the need to adapt Creative Europe Desks to the broader scope of AgoraEU, ensure safeguards for lump-sum and multiannual grants, and improve synergies between the European Competitiveness Fund and the Media+ strand. Read more here.
Source: EESC
