Commission welcomes European citizens’ recommendations for a stronger EU budget

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

On 16-18 May, the third and final session of the European Citizens’ Panel on the new EU long-term budget took place in Brussels. For the first time, a group of 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 EU Member States have brought forward bringing their ideas for a sustainable and flexible long-term EU budget. This diverse panel has been discussing which priorities and actions bring the most added value to Europeans through the EU Budget. The panellists agreed on a final set of 22 recommendations to the European Commission, as well as 11 guiding recommendations that function as key principles to guide the European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration-. Piotr Serafin was given these recommendations during the last day of the panel.

The final recommendations encourage the new European budget to focus on:

• Ensuring environmental protection and economic success at the same time.
• Protecting nature and natural resources through environmental education and other measures.
• Reducing regional disparities through the expansion of essential infrastructures and services.
• Combating rural exodus through education, jobs, and housing.
• Meaningful and sustainable inclusion of migrants and refugees for a stronger Europe.
• Budget support for equal access to healthcare, medicine production, and cross-border care in the EU.
• Supporting mental health for all age groups through integrated EU budget actions.
• A strong and secure EU against digital threats.
• A more independent EU in the field of defence.
• Ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to enter the labour market under fair and decent working conditions.
• Supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.
• Strengthening the food system by making large food companies more sustainable and support small producers.
• Empowering people in using digital technologies, including AI.
• Sovereignty of the EU in digital technologies.
• Promoting inclusive, high-quality education for all through targeted EU support.
• Fostering a common European identity through education and awareness.
• The simplification, harmonization and digitalisation of administrative procedures across Member States.
• Building stronger connections between citizens and EU for a better tomorrow.
• Developing renewable energy to secure our energy sovereignty.
• Strategic strength: Europe’s industrial response to global disruption.
• Strengthening EU diplomatic alignment via shared values.

The input gathered from both the Panel and the accompanying Citizens’ Engagement Platform will feed into the proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, as an annex to the legislative proposal. As such, they will be considered by the College of Commissioners, and ultimately by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union during the negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

The recommendations will be publicly available on the Citizens’ Engagement Platform.

Background

In support of President Ursula von der Leyen‘s priority protecting our democracy, upholding our values, the European Citizens’ Panels and online citizens’ engagement tools have been embedded as a regular feature of democratic life in the EU. These panels give citizens a voice in the EU policy-making. As President von der Leyen said during her speech in the Annual Budget Conference today, every territory has a unique set of circumstances and knows best how to address them. So, we need to listen to our regions.

Regarding the functioning of the panels, citizens work together in small groups of 10-15 people, but also in plenaries with the rest of participants. A facilitation team provides support, alongside a committee of experts who provide additional input when needed. Based on the discussions, citizens make recommendations for the European Commission to consider when defining policies and initiatives.

The Citizens’ Engagement Platform is a key part of a new ecosystem of citizen engagement, delivering upon a commitment of the follow-up communication to the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The Citizens’ Panels, and the online debates, are part of a larger effort of the European Commission to engage in a dialogue with citizens on the future of the EU budget ahead of proposing a new Multiannual Financial Framework which is more focused on the EU’s priorities, simpler in the way it works, and more impactful through increased leverage of national, private and institutional financing. The Panel’s and platform’s work also follow on directly from the 2024-2029 political priority “Delivering together and preparing our union for the future”, which called for a new budget fit for our ambitions.