The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Development (DEVE) committees have set out their position on Global Europe, the EU’s main external funding instrument under the 2028–2034 budget, rejecting the cuts proposed by the Council and seeking an additional EUR 25 billion on top of the Commission’s EUR 200 billion proposal. For the enlargement region, the committees propose keeping EUR 43.1 billion for the Enlargement and Neighbourhood East pillar, with dedicated budget lines for individual candidate and potential candidate countries. Of particular relevance to civil society, MEPs call for stronger conditionality on democracy, human rights and the rule of law, allowing funding to be suspended in cases of serious backsliding, while protecting support for CSOs, human rights and humanitarian aid from suspensions linked to cooperation on migration. The position also strengthens Parliament’s oversight of how funds are used and sets a target for at least 85% of funded actions to contribute to gender equality. The text now goes to a plenary vote on 12 November, ahead of negotiations with the Council. Read more here.
Source: The New Union Post