Civil society organizations, Members 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.

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,

1. Michael Sheldrick, Co-founder, Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer, Global Citizen
2. Eloise Todd, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Pandemic Action Network 
3. Jamie Drummond, Co-founder of ONE and Founder of Sharing Strategies
4. Gayle Smith, Chief Executive Officer, The ONE Campaign
5. Mark Vermeulen, Director, Aidsfonds - Soa Aids Nederland
6. Khalil Elouardighi, Director, Think Equal 
7. Emmanuel Acha, Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Initiative for African Youth (EIFAY Africa)
8. Luca Bergamaschi, Co-founding Director, Italian Think Tank ECCO
9. Céline Mias, Director & EU Representative, CARE International 
10. Deo Mutambuka, Executive Director, Envisage Africa
11. Amitabh Behar, Executive Director, Oxfam
12. Rym Ayadi, President & Founder, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association - EMEA
13. Charline Burton, Executive Director, Search for Common Ground
14. Patrick Bertrand, Founder & Director, Global Health Advocates
15. Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Health
16. Armen Aghajanov, Board Member, Online Platform “VirusOFF”
17. Alice Macdonald, Campaign Director, Hungry for Action
18. Mariia Bondarenko, Executive Director, CO Light of Hope
19. Andrii Chernyshev, Head of Advocacy & External Communication Department, ALLIANCE.GLOBAL, Public Organization
20. Oleg Dymaretskyi, Director, CO CF PUD.UA
21. Kuvshynova Yevheniia, Executive Director, CONVICTUS UKRAINE, All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization
22. Katy Kydd Wright, Director, Global Fund Advocates network
23. Sonya Reines-Djivanides, Executive Director, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO)
24. Hrytsaienko Kateryna, President, Charitable Foundation Hope and Trust
25. Lebed Tetiana, Director, Ukrainian Network of Women Who Use Drugs
26. Jan Kreutzberg, Executive Director, DSW
27. Jeroen Uytterschaut, EU Representative & Executive Director, World Vision EU Representation
28. Willy Bergogné, Director and EU Representative, Save the Children Europe
29. Manon Dufour, Executive Director, Brussels office, E3G
30. Alexander Mauz, Chairman of the Board, Forum Civil Peace Service
31. Antoni Comín i Oliveres, Member of the European Parliament 
32. Guido Schmidt-Traub, Managing Partner, Systemiq
33. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Independent expert on sustainability, Former Director General, IUCN Chair, the Villars Institute Foundation; The Alliance of Biodiversity & CIAT
34. Vanessa López, Executive Director, Salud por Derecho
35. Harpinder Collacott, Executive Director Europe, Mercy Corps
36. Carlo Carraro, President Emeritus, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
37. Sabrina Elba, Chair, Europe Board, Global Citizen 
38. Arnaud Zacharie, Secretary General, CNCD-11.11.11
39. Nataliia Kitsenko, Head of Public Health Department, Odesa Way Home Foundation
40. Pascal Canfin, Member of the European Parliament 
41. Sandro Gozi, Member of the European Parliament 
42. Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament 
43. Camille Etienne,  Climate activist, Avant l’orage
44. Pierre Larrouturou, Member of the European Parliament 
45. Javier Garcia de la Oliva, Head of Country Engagement and Transformation Europe and Americas, ActionAid International
46. Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network Europe
47. Olivier Bruyeron, President, Coordination SUD
48. Floris Faber, Director / EU Representative, ACT Alliance EU
49. Hélène Berger, Executive Director, Friends of the Global Fund Europe
50. Lukas Wank, Director, Global Responsibility 
51. Mams Yaffa, President, Elus Locaux Contre le Paludisme (and deputy mayor of Paris 18e)
52. Niamh Nic Carthaigh, Head of EU Liaison Office & Senior Representative, Plan International EU Office
53. Aurore Lalucq, Member of the European Parliament
54. Raphaël Glucksmann, Member of the European Parliament
55. Jean-Yves Terlinden, International Cooperation and Humanitarian Director, Caritas Europa
56. Tanya Cox, Director, CONCORD Europe
57. Michael Jacobs, Professor of Political Economy, University of Sheffield
58. Frédéric Penard, Directeur Général ad interim, Action Contre la Faim
59. Charles Goerens, Member of the European Parliament
60. Sawsan Chebli, German politician & Global Citizen Europe Board Member
61. Craig Cohon, Global Citizen Europe Board member
62. Philippe Vogeler, Global Head of Business Development, Vodafone Member of Global Citizen Policy Committee
63. Fatemeh Jailani, Chief Operating Officer, Singa Global
64. Lawrence Gerard, Representative to the EU, Handicap International - Humanity & Inclusion
65. Irene Bello, President, La Coordinadora de ONGD-España
66. Kate Garvey, Co-Founder, Project Everyone