EPR joins 51 European organisations calling for a greater commitment to social inclusion in the next EU budget

EPR joins 51 European organisations calling for a greater commitment to social inclusion in the next EU budget

The European Platform for Rehabilitation (EPR), in coalition with 51 other European networks, has co-signed a Joint Statement “100 billion Euros for social spending? The devil’s in the details”, calling on the European Commission (EC) to, amongst else, reintroduce dedicated social funding within the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034.

On 16 July 2025, the EC presented the first part of its proposal for a 2028-2034 EU Budget, also known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), amounting to almost EUR 2 trillion.  With its proposal, the EC aims to ensure more flexibility across the budget, streamlining EU financial programmes to make it easier for citizens and companies to access funding opportunities, boost competitiveness and ensure local needs are met.

The EC proposes a new system for EU Member States and Regions to manage EU funds: the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), which account for nearly EUR 865 billion of the budget. Such Plans merge funds that were previously stand-alone, such as Cohesion and Agricultural funds. According to the European Commission, at least 14% of the NRPPs will have to finance reforms and investments that enhance skills, fight poverty, promote social inclusion and foster rural areas.

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF +)* remains in the Commission’s post-2028 budget proposal. It will be allocated via the new NRPPs which will feature measures supporting education, employment and social objectives such as reforms and investments to reskill and upskill people, improve the quality of education and training systems, and fight poverty and homelessness. Although the European Commission’s proposal has already unveiled that, within the NRPPs, around EUR 450 billion will be available for economic, social and territorial cohesion between 2028 and 2034, which would include the European Social Fund, no concrete figures on the amounts allocated to the ESF+ have been published. This is concerning as the current budget, as it is, does not provide binding quantities of how much Member States should be allocating to social spending.

As negotiations on the MFF 2028–2034 continue, the coalition calls on policymakers to ensure that Europe’s next budget not only funds growth and stability, but also upholds the Union’s social values and commitments to inclusion.

Read the full statement here.

*The ESF+ is one of the EU’s main tools to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, promoting jobs and social inclusion, fighting poverty and promoting education, training, and the acquisition of lifelong skills.