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Committee Chair: Draft of the multiannual EU budget recognizes culture as a value and as a strategic tool

by AI | 19.Nov 2025 | Europe in brief AI

In Brussels, there is currently a lot of talk about money, not only about the EU budget for 2026 but also about the next multiannual financial framework of the European Union. The Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament has demanded significantly more funding than the EU Commission is willing to allocate to the area. Nevertheless, the committee chair does not seem dissatisfied with the financial plan, as she states in the interview.

Nela Riehl (Volt) is the chair of the Committee on Culture and Education in the European Parliament. Photo: Christian Röwekamp/enr

Brussels (enr) – The chairwoman of the Culture and Education Committee in the European Parliament, Nela Riehl, has reacted cautiously positively to the EU Commission’s proposals for the future financing of culture and education projects by the EU. While the committee is not completely happy with the planned amount of funding allocated for this area in the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF), the MFF draft also shows that “culture is recognized as a value and as a strategic tool,” said the politician from Hamburg in an interview with the European Newsrooms (enr). 

The committee had demanded that in the future, two percent of the funds allocated in the MFF be planned for cultural and educational purposes. Although this two percent target is far from being met, the draft does foresee an increase in cultural and educational spending. “It could have been worse,” said Riehl, who pointed out that a lot of money is currently being spent on defense in the EU. This is also quite right, said Riehl. “But if it’s not for culture, for free expression (…) and for building a resilient society: What are we actually defending?” 

According to the EU Commission, the MFF draft for the years 2028 to 2034 includes, among other things, 41 billion euros for the Erasmus+ exchange and education program, as well as 9 billion euros for a new program called AgoraEU, which aims to support culture, media, and community values. 

Risks for Cultural Creators 

However, Riehl sees a risk with AgoraEU that arises from the merging of several individual programs. The EU Commission states that this makes funding more flexible, but the price for that is a lower stability of funding, which is important for the cultural sector. It is concerning, for example, that the word film no longer appears in the description. There is a fear that it will be much easier for large companies to gain access to the funding programs in the future, while it will become significantly harder for independent filmmakers, for example. 

The financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034 is expected to allow total EU expenditures of around two trillion euros, which would be about 700 billion euros more than the current seven-year budget period. The EU countries must unanimously approve the MFF, and the European Parliament must agree. If the necessary majority is not reached in Parliament, the proposal is considered rejected.  

Nela Riehl is a Member of the European Parliament for the Volt party and belongs to the group The Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. (November 19)