On 18 May 2026, Ministers for Development Cooperation of EU Member States will meet at the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Development. With negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework underway, this meeting is a key opportunity to shape the future of EU external action, at a time when fragility and conflict are rising globally.
Ahead of the gathering of Ministers, EPLO Executive Director Sonya Reines-Djivanides has written to them underlining the strategic rationale in ensuring that the next EU external action funding instrument, Global Europe, is equipped to address the root causes of fragility and build peace.
Among the key asks set out in the letter: a fully funded Global Europe in line with the European Parliament’s proposal, a differentiated approach to fragility prioritising grants and civil society partnerships, peace as a core objective of both Global Europe and the Global Gateway Strategy, and the exclusion of competitiveness actions from non-programmable funding to safeguard crisis response and humanitarian action.
As negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework progress, the choices made now will determine the EU’s ability to act as a credible partner in fragile and conflict-affected contexts for years to come.
