BANNER: European flags at La Défense in Paris. (Source: ALEXANDRE LALLEMAND via Unsplash)

The European Union is preparing its largest-ever funding program for democratic resilience. Within the EU’s 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the AgoraEU program represents the centerpiece of this foundational work for the 27-country bloc. It carries a proposed budget of €8.6 billion, or more than double the existing MFF cycle, in current prices.

The European Parliament will publish its own MFF interim reports in April. Negotiations between the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the European Union are expected to run into 2027.

The scale of the investment is unprecedented, and the EU’s ambition is real. But so are the flaws of the current MFF proposals.

They fail to close the long-term funding gap for the digital-focused organizations that are now integral to how the bloc upholds its democratic norms, enforces its digital rulebook, and competes globally in technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The EU’s future budget is at risk of failing to meet both EU member country and EU-wide objectives related to democratic resilience. That includes promoting and protecting the bloc’s fundamental rights, defending national and EU-wide democratic traditions and norms, and boosting societal resilience and citizens’ engagement in democratic processes.

This paper draws on national stakeholder workshops across multiple EU member countries, that were organized by the Atlantic Council’s Democracy + Tech Initiative (DTI) and The Global Disinformation Index. These meetings brought together national ministries, philanthropic funders, civil society and academia under the Chatham House Rule to outline each country’s objectives under the next MFF funding cycle.

The analysis is also based on a first-of-its-kind review of the full 2021–2027 EU MFF dataset to assess current funding for the following categories: Internet governance; Digital rights; Disinformation; Fact-checking; Independent media support; Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI); Democratic resilience; Trust and safety infrastructure; and the EU’s digital rulebook compliance.

Together, they represent quantifiable evidence of the current EU funding environment, and what is required during the next MFF cycle to address the critical question of how best to support the bloc’s democratic resilience efforts.

Two findings emerge:

More EU funding channeled through the same short-term instruments will produce more one-off projects. It will not create durable digital institutions and expertise that EU member countries say they urgently need. The EU has invested heavily in regulatory capacity under the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act and Artificial Intelligence Act, respectively. That regulatory infrastructure is only credible if matched by civil society organizations with the long-term funding to monitor and enforce it.

Without that, European citizens’ voices on digital democracy may be silenced.

The political will exists. Government officials at every EU member country workshop expressed genuine appetite for stronger civil society roles in resilience, security and competitiveness. What is missing is translation: from political intent to budgetary reality.