CSO statement: MFF mid-term revision agreement

Today, 26 EU leaders agreed on a revision to the EU’s long-term budget, with one EU country blocking the agreement. If confirmed in the new year, the deal would slash the new funding for external action proposed by the European Commission and supported by the European Parliament by prioritizing investment in migration management instead. This would be financed through a mix of fresh funding and shifting existing funds away from development and health programmes, among others.

In response, NGOs, including Oxfam, Save the Children and CARE International said:

"Today marks a turning point for Global Europe. The MFF mid-term revision deal on the table is shortsighted. While it seeks to increase support for Ukraine, and rightly so, other parts of the world will be left to foot the bill for migration management priorities. 

"The EU can and must do much better: shrinking back from the rest of the world now is incomprehensible and would lead to a loss of global leadership in an increasingly competitive world. The planet is burning and poverty is rising. Right when solidarity and partnerships with the Global South are needed more than ever, all Europe seems to be able to dig deep for is migration. Looking inward will do nothing except make the EU increasingly irrelevant for the vast majority of partners in the world. It will harm partners, it will harm Europeans.

"For EU Leaders, the additional funds proposed by the Commission for external action would be minor investments, but they can deliver great gains - this is great diplomacy, not just the right thing to do. The EU needs to look beyond its borders before the world ends up overlooking the EU."