On 16 April 2026, the Funding Working Group of the European Network for Citizen Initiatives in Global Solidarity (EN CIGS) came together to reflect on current and future funding opportunities for civil society organisations working on global solidarity, global citizenship education, and civic engagement.
The session brought together representatives of European NGO platforms, networks and academic partners, against a backdrop of shrinking civic space, declining national budgets, and growing uncertainty about future EU funding frameworks.
A changing and more competitive funding landscape
Participants shared a common experience across countries: national government funding for civil society and global education is stagnating or declining, while competition for European funding is intensifying. Larger organisations that previously relied on development cooperation budgets are increasingly moving into programmes such as CERV or Erasmus+, putting additional pressure on smaller and medium‑sized actors traditionally working with citizen initiatives.
While the DEAR programme remains highly relevant for the sector, its future within the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034) remains uncertain. DEAR is not clearly earmarked in current proposals, and any future calls are expected to be significantly more competitive.
Emerging EU opportunities—and their limits
The group explored alternative European funding instruments. The CERV programme, particularly the upcoming “Union Values” sub‑granting call, was identified as a short‑term opportunity. Participants stressed, however, that projects will need to be framed around democracy, active citizenship, civic participation and EU values, rather than global education alone.
Horizon Europe was discussed as a potential growth area due to its increasing budgets. At the same time, access remains challenging, as successful participation usually requires strong university leadership, with civil society organisations contributing mainly through dissemination, societal impact and practice‑based expertise.
Shifts in EU priorities and the role of advocacy
Discussions also focused on wider political developments. Participants expressed concern about the reduced earmarking for civil society funding in the next EU budget and the growing emphasis on defence, security and private‑sector financing, including through initiatives such as the Global Gateway. Increased national management of EU funds may also heighten political risks in contexts where civil society is under pressure.
In this context, the importance of collective and coordinated advocacy was strongly underlined. Engaging through national platforms, CONCORD and EU‑level coalitions remains essential to safeguard civic space, global citizenship education and civil society support within EU instruments.
Collaboration, research and strategic repositioning
Several concrete opportunities for collaboration emerged from the meeting, including interest in exploring joint applications for upcoming EU calls and alignment on advocacy messaging around the future of DEAR‑type instruments.
Participants also welcomed a research initiative examining the relationship between investment in global citizenship education and public support for development cooperation. Access to such evidence was seen as increasingly important for advocacy and strategic positioning.
Looking ahead
The working group reaffirmed its role as a flexible “coalition of the willing”: a space to share intelligence, test ideas and build ad‑hoc collaborations in a rapidly changing funding environment. As funding pressure becomes more structural, cooperation, strategic reframing and shared learning will be key for sustaining citizen initiatives in global solidarity across Europe.