Culture workers protest proposed 30% cut to EU’s AgoraEU programme
Culture, media and journalist workers gathered at Schuman roundabout in Brussels’ European quarter on Thursday 29 October to protest proposed funding cuts to the EU’s culture and democracy programmes. Chanting “Thirty percent, we won’t consent,” they urged national leaders to halt plans that would reduce culture cash. Representatives from European rights forums, culture groups and journalism federations joined the demonstration to demand enough money to keep their organisations afloat. Rhys Nugent of Culture Action Europe, who organised the protest, warned that “there’s a very grim future if we continue with these cuts,” adding that “these sectors are already on their knees.” The protest followed EU leaders’ discussion on allocating less money than previously proposed to AgoraEU, an umbrella for culture, media, democracy and rights initiatives under the EU’s 2028-2034 budget.
Council plan represents 30 percent cut
The European Commission had proposed €8.6 billion for AgoraEU, and the European Parliament’s budget committee asked to raise that to €10.7 billion. However, the Irish presidency of the Council presented a plan on 10 October to allocate only €5.3 billion—a 30 percent cut to the Commission’s proposal. The Council plan responded to pressures for frugality from some member states.
German Green MEP Nela Reihl, who chairs the parliament’s culture and education committee, said that “they picked culture because they think it’s an easy target, but it will affect journalists, artists and NGOs who are the backbone of our democratic society.” She warned that if the cuts go through, people will ask why rights are not protected, why a film festival disappeared, or where a local publisher has gone. Reihl added that “these cuts will save only a tiny percent of the EU budget but cause massive damage to these sectors.” AgoraEU is a new umbrella for Creative Europe and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. Nugent noted that Creative Europe funds everything from small theatrical productions to large cooperation around Europe, citing the Oscar-winning film Flow, Europa Cinemas and Culture Moves Europe as examples of bodies affected by a lack of EU funding.
