Civil society organizations, Ministers of European Parliament, activists, and thought leaders are calling on European leaders to ensure that the next revision of the bloc’s 7-year budget prioritizes funding for climate financing, and funding for global health, education, and food security
December 12, 2023
Dear EU leaders,
COP28 demonstrated what multilateralism can achieve. On Day 1 COP28 agreed to the set up of the first ever Loss & Damage fund and, together with the European Commission, you stepped up to provide funding for it.
Now back from Dubai, you will meet in Brussels to agree the EU budget for the next four years – as part of the mid-term revision of the bloc’s 7-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework. This is incredibly important for the EU’s partners, in particular the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries.
Against a backdrop of an increasingly multipolar world facing ever more global threats, what you decide will determine how Europe shows up internationally. Initially, the European Commission, then backed by the European Parliament, suggested increasing EU funding for global action, and rightly so. Several critical budget lines are already empty, but needs are only rising. Leadership on many issues such as climate change, pandemic threats, global health, education and food security must also come from Europe. But how can Europe lead with an empty wallet? How can the EU be a credible player if you cannot walk the talk on meeting your international promises?
The proposals from the Council foresee €4.5 billion cuts to existing programmes and over 70% cuts to vital funds for global action and to the EU’s safety net to respond to unforeseen external emergency needs, compared to what is proposed by the Commission.
Don’t forget in Brussels that you are not just negotiating a budget. You are defining Europe’s role in the world for the years to come, in particular your partnership with Africa. From the COVID-19 pandemic, to climate justice, trust in Europe as a continent that can deliver global justice has been put into question as never before. Now is not the time to pull back: we will be watching.
Signed:
Michael Sheldrick, Co-founder, Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer, Global Citizen
Eloise Todd, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Pandemic Action Network
Jamie Drummond, Co-founder of ONE and Founder of Sharing Strategies
Gayle Smith, Chief Executive Officer, The ONE Campaign
Mark Vermeulen, Director, Aidsfonds – Soa Aids Nederland
Khalil Elouardighi, Director, Think Equal
Emmanuel Acha, Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Initiative for African Youth (EIFAY Africa)
Luca Bergamaschi, Co-founding Director, Italian Think Tank ECCO
Céline Mias, Director & EU Representative, CARE International
Deo Mutambuka, Executive Director, Envisage Africa
Amitabh Behar, Executive Director, Oxfam
Rym Ayadi, President & Founder, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA
Charline Burton, Executive Director, Search for Common Ground
Patrick Bertrand, Founder & Director, Global Health Advocates
Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Health
Armen Aghajanov, Board Member, Online Platform “VirusOFF”
Alice Macdonald, Campaign Director, Hungry for Action
Mariia Bondarenko, Executive Director, CO Light of Hope
Andrii Chernyshev, Head of Advocacy & External Communication Department, ALLIANCE.GLOBAL, Public Organization
Oleg Dymaretskyi, Director, CO CF PUD.UA
Kuvshynova Yevheniia, Executive Director, CONVICTUS UKRAINE, All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization
Katy Kydd Wright, Director, Global Fund Advocates network
Sonya Reines-Djivanides, Executive Director, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO)
Hrytsaienko Kateryna, President, Charitable Foundation Hope and Trust
Lebed Tetiana, Director, Ukrainian Network of Women Who Use Drugs
Jan Kreutzberg, Executive Director, DSW
Jeroen Uytterschaut, EU Representative & Executive Director, World Vision EU Representation
Willy Bergogné, Director and EU Representative, Save the Children Europe
Manon Dufour, Executive Director, Brussels office, E3G
Alexander Mauz, Chairman of the Board, Forum Civil Peace Service
Antoni Comín i Oliveres, Member of the European Parliament
Guido Schmidt-Traub, Managing Partner, Systemiq
Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Independent expert on sustainability, Former Director General, IUCN Chair, the Villars Institute Foundation; The Alliance of Biodiversity & CIAT
Vanessa López, Executive Director, Salud por Derecho
Harpinder Collacott, Executive Director Europe, Mercy Corps
Carlo Carraro, President Emeritus, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Sabrina Elba, Chair, Europe Board, Global Citizen
Arnaud Zacharie, Secretary General, CNCD-11.11.11
Nataliia Kitsenko, Head of Public Health Department, Odesa Way Home Foundation
Pascal Canfin, Member of the European Parliament
Sandro Gozi, Member of the European Parliament
Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament
Camille Etienne, Climate activist, Avant l’orage
Pierre Larrouturou, Member of the European Parliament
Javier Garcia de la Oliva, Head of Country Engagement and Transformation Europe and Americas, ActionAid International
Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network Europe
Olivier Bruyeron, President, Coordination SUD
Floris Faber, Director / EU Representative, ACT Alliance EU
Hélène Berger, Executive Director, Friends of the Global Fund Europe
Lukas Wank, Director, Global Responsibility
Mams Yaffa, President, Elus Locaux Contre le Paludisme (and deputy mayor of Paris 18e)
Niamh Nic Carthaigh, Head of EU Liaison Office & Senior Representative, Plan International EU Office
Aurore Lalucq, Member of the European Parliament
Raphaël Glucksmann, Member of the European Parliament
Jean-Yves Terlinden, International Cooperation and Humanitarian Director, Caritas Europa
Tanya Cox, Director, CONCORD Europe
Michael Jacobs, Professor of Political Economy, University of Sheffield
Frédéric Penard, Directeur Général ad interim, Action Contre la Faim
Charles Goerens, Member of the European Parliament
Sawsan Chebli, German politician & Global Citizen Europe Board Member