The negotiations for the European Union’s new multi-year budget (MFF) raise serious concerns about funding for gender equality and human rights organizations. Currently, the proposed budget for promoting human rights, including gender equality, is a tiny fraction (0.18%) of the overall budget, a figure many activists find inadequate. Women’s and LGBTQ+ rights groups are facing funding pressures as EU money often evaporates before reaching grassroots civil society, especially in member states with authoritarian or patriarchal governments. The negotiations are being viewed as a crucial test of whether the EU will move from symbolic rhetoric to providing actual resources for its equality commitments.
Nov 21, 2025 https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar1eecc29a