Introduction: Historical minute for civilian society
The proposal of the European Union budget for the period 2028–2034, presented by the European Commission on 17 July 2025, undoubtedly represents a crucial minute for NGOs across Europe. The amount of EUR 2 trillion in current prices is not only an awesome number — it is simply a concrete commitment to strengthening democracy, civilian society and European values. For Polish NGOs, this means both unprecedented opportunities and the request for active participation in the process of shaping the final form of this budget.
Attention should be paid to the crucial importance of this proposal in the context of current challenges. Europe faces expanding threats to democracy, media freedom and civilian space. At the same time, NGOs in Poland and another associate States face financial constraints and bureaucratic barriers. The fresh budget is ambitious to respond to these challenges through extremist simplification and a crucial increase in resources.
Revolutionary changes in NGO programmes
AgoraEU - doubling the budget for civilian society
The most crucial novelty for Polish NGOs is the creation of the AgoraEU programme with a budget of €8.6 billion for 7 years. This integrated programme combines existing Creative Europe and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV), which in practice means doubling the available resources compared to the current financial period (from EUR 3.9 billion to EUR 8.6 billion).
This programme consists of 3 pillars peculiarly crucial for Polish NGOs:
- Creative Europe – Culture: EUR 1.796 billion (123% increase) to support cultural and creative sectors
- MEDIA+: EUR 3.194 billion (an increase of 126%) for the audiovisual sector
- CERV+: €3.593 billion for equality, democratic participation and fundamental rights
In the context of Polish realities, where civilian society organisations frequently face limited availability of national funding, the AgoraEU programme offers unprecedented opportunities to support actions for media freedom, environmental protection and strengthening democratic values.
Erasmus+ — 50% budget growth and integration with European Solidarity Corps
The second fundamental change concerns the Erasmus+ programme, whose budget will increase by 50% from EUR 26.2 billion to EUR 40.8 billion. Planned integration with the European Solidarity Corps is crucial, creating a "one-stop shop" for all EU-funded youth projects.
For Polish NGOs working with young people, this means that they can access a much wider spectrum of activities: from conventional learning mobility to volunteering as part of humanitarian aid. This integration is of peculiar importance in the context of simplification of application procedures and simplification of administrative burdens.
Procedural Revolution: 52 to 16 programmes
One of the most tangible benefits for Polish NGOs is the drastic simplification in the number of financial programmes from 52 to just 16. This change, coupled with the introduction of national and regional partnership plans, represents in practice a crucial simplification of access to European resources.
The fresh strategy provides for:
- Single national and regional plans integrating different sources of funding
- Shorter time limits from closing the competition to signing the grant agreement
- Digital platforms specified as possible for proposals
- Reduced documentation requirements for lower value projects
In the context of erstwhile experiences of Polish NGOs with complex EU procedures, these changes may mean a real revolution in the availability of funding. However, it should be stressed that these simplifications will only be effective if they are decently implemented at national level.
Rule of Law: Double-edged sword
A key component of the fresh budget is to strengthen the regulation of law conditionality mechanics introduced by Regulation 2020/2092. This mechanism, the legality of which was confirmed in 2022 by the Court of Justice of the EU, is both a protection and a possible threat to Polish NGOs.
On the 1 hand, the conditionality of the regulation of law can defend EU funds from abuse and guarantee that they go to real beneficiaries. On the another hand, in the case of Poland, where this mechanics has already been applied, it may restrict access to certain programmes.
The European Commission clearly points out that "justification is simply a prerequisite for funding". For Polish organisations this means that peculiar attention is needed to:
- Transparency in selection processes
- Compliance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Independence of the judiciary in appeal proceedings
- Combating corruption in the management of public funds
Concrete actions for Polish NGOs
Monitoring of the negotiation process
In the face of the beginning of budget negotiations, Polish NGOs should take decisive action. Negotiations with the European Parliament and associate States may proceed until the end of 2027. Polish NGOs must actively monitor changes in proposals, especially concerning:
- Final form of the AgoraEU programme
- Detailed criteria for access to funds
- Application procedures under simplified programmes
- Implementation of the conditionality of the regulation of law
Building coalitions and lobbying
Cooperation with organisations from another associate States and influencing Polish negotiators are crucial. Polish NGOs should:
- Join European NGOs networks
- Organise common positions with partners from the region
- Lobbies with Polish MEPs and government representatives
- Participate in public consultations organised by EU institutions
Preparation of organisational competences
The fresh procedures will require the adaptation of interior organisational processes:
- Training from fresh application procedures
- Building competence in the management of global projects
- Preparation for digitalisation of application processes
- Learning cooperation under national partnership plans
Conclusions and call for action
The EU budget 2028–2034 offers Polish NGOs an chance that may not be repeated for decades. The doubling of resources for civilian society, extremist procedural simplification and emphasis on strengthening democracy make unique opportunities for improvement of the NGO sector in Poland.
At the same time, we cannot afford to be passive. past shows that the best intentions of the European institutions can be undermined by inadequate implementation or deficiency of engagement of civilian society organisations in the negotiation process. The condition of the regulation of law, although right in its assumptions, may in practice restrict the access of Polish NGOs to any of the resources.
I so call on Polish NGOs to take decisive action. It is not adequate to wait for the final form of the programs — to be actively active in their creation. Each period of the negotiations is simply a chance to enter the final form of the budget that we will be utilizing for the next 7 years.
Faced with the challenges facing European democracy, Polish NGOs have not only the right but besides the work to fight the best possible conditions for their activities. Our activity present depends on whether the budget 2028-2034 will become a tool for strengthening civilian society, or just another bureaucratic programme, which will benefit only the strongest organisations.
The time for action is now. next day may be besides late.
The article was based on authoritative European Commission papers and on an analysis of the EU budget proposal 2028-2034 published on 17 July 2025.
