On the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2027 – all sections

9.Stresses that all Union humanitarian assistance should be delivered in accordance with the principles of neutrality, transparency and accountability, accompanied by robust oversight mechanisms to ensure that Union funds cannot be diverted or misused; urges a substantial and sustained increase in EU humanitarian aid to respond effectively to escalating global crises, food insecurity, and displacement, particularly to compensate for structural gaps in global humanitarian financing resulting from cuts by other major international donors;

10.Calls for sufficient resources for the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy, with a particular focus on sustainable infrastructure, secure energy and digital connectivity, resilient supply chains, transport corridors, access to critical raw materials and strategic partnerships with like-minded countries, thereby strengthening the Union's economic security, reducing strategic dependencies and reinforcing its geopolitical influence, while promoting high standards of transparency and sustainability;

11.Stresses that the implementation of the Union's external financing should maximise European added value by promoting strategic investments, strengthening the Union's global competitiveness and advancing its geopolitical interests;

12.Recalls that development cooperation remains a key vehicle to address the root causes of fragility and instability; calls for additional funding for East and Central Africa to underpin regional engagement and bilateral partnerships focused on poverty eradication, conflict prevention, and long-term sustainable investments;

13.Underlines that a strong European space sector is fundamental for open strategic autonomy, global connectivity, and the protection of critical infrastructure; calls for an enhanced contribution from Heading 6 to the Union Secure Connectivity Programme to ensure worldwide access to secure governmental satellite communications, facilitating external actions, diplomacy, and agile crisis management;

14.Highlights that, given the ongoing volatility in conflict zones and broader geopolitical tensions, the EU must step up its targeted financial support for international nuclear safety, radiation protection, and safeguards to help prevent nuclear risks and secure vulnerable facilities globally;

15.Considers that democratic backsliding in Serbia has reached a level that merits action by the budgetary authority; puts, therefore, 50 % of the allocations foreseen for Serbia under the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans in reserve; underlines however, that funds supporting civil society and independent media should not be affected and even be increased; ; urges the Commission to apply rigorously the conditionality provisions under the Reform and Growth Facility and to ensure that any future disbursements are subject to tangible progress in the rule of law, democratic governance, media freedom, the fight against corruption and alignment with the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy;

16.Underlines that continued EU financial support for Albania must contribute to strengthening democratic governance, the rule of law, transparency regarding the EU financial support and public trust in institutions, including by supporting measures responding to citizens legitimate concerns, e.g. effectively dismantling structures of organised crime;

17.Reiterates the need for predictable and sustained financial support for Moldova to strengthen democratic institutions, resilience against hybrid threats and the implementation of accession-related reforms; and to strengthen its capacity to address security challenges in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine;

18.Calls for continued EU support for sustainable peace and regional stability in the South Caucasus, including confidence-building measures, connectivity and assistance to conflict-affected populations; calls to continue freezing financial support to the Georgian government as it continues to erode the foundations of democracy in Georgia, undermining EU values such as democracy, the rule of law, and media pluralism;

19.Calls on the Commission to make full use of the applicable conditionality mechanisms in the event of serious and persistent shortcomings in these areas mentioned above;

20.Stresses the need for predictable financial assistance under the Ukraine Facility and the Ukraine Support Loan to safeguard Ukraine’s macro-financial stability, recovery, and defence against Russia's war of aggression

21.Calls for the continued, predictable and adequate funding for the Eastern Neighbourhood, including support for the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in this region; urges for a reinforced fight against foreign information manipulation and interference and hybrid threats in countries such as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova, including disinformation campaigns targeting electoral processes; calls in this regard for appropriate support for DG ENEST; stresses that allocations under Heading 6 should reflect the Union's strategic priorities and a 360-degree approach to European security;

22.Calls to reinforce the Southern Neighbourhood under Heading 6 with stable, adequate and predictable funding, necessitated by various simultaneous conflicts and challenges in the Middle East and to support the work of UN agencies in the region; stresses that the reconstruction of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria oblige budgetary reinforcement; regrets the considerable initial reduction in commitment and payment appropriations; welcomes, on the other hand, the reinforcement of the CSDP missions, among which the EUBAM Rafah; calls in this regard for appropriate financial and human resources for DG MENA and EEAS; further urges the EU to create a dedicated financial envelope to ensure stable, appropriate and predictable financial support to the reconstruction of Gaza; underlines that any disbursement from the Union budget to third countries should be conditional upon respect for the rule of law, human rights, democratic principles, international law;

23.Stresses that strengthening the Palestinian Authority and supporting the territorial continuity of the West Bank are fundamental prerequisites for a sustainable long-term peace process that leads to the two-state solution; recalls that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) is the principal humanitarian assistance structure in Gaza and the West Bank as well as an essential service provider in the region and therefore possesses the unique infrastructure, technical and operational capabilities, and personnel required to deliver vital services across the region; calls therefore to the European Commission to honour its financial contribution to UNRWA in due form and time, stresses the importance of ensuring full transparency, accountability and continued reforms in the delivery of Union-funded assistance while maintaining comprehensive anti-corruption measures;

24.Calls for an increase of funding of the thematic programmes of NDICI, particularly the human rights and democracy actions and civil society organisations programmes, in order to promote democracy, defend the universality of human rights and the rule of law as well as multilateralism against attacks by authoritarian regimes, also given the discontinuation of USAID funds supporting such actions and a regrettable reduction in bilateral assistance from other countries; calls for a substantial, predictable scale-up of EU financial commitments to promote stability and resilience in response to geopolitical and structural crises in Africa; urges addressing the critical funding shortfall for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel to support a long-term regional partnership aimed at tackling the root causes of instability, with a strong focus on reducing inequalities, promoting human development, and fostering socio-economic resilience;

25.Underlines the vital importance of civil society organisations in strengthening democratic principles, the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights, and recognises their key contribution to promoting democratic governance, accountability and institutional resilience; emphasises that civil society organisations are the prime target of a growing number of authoritarian regimes worldwide, and calls for predictable, flexible, and sustained support—including legal aid and core operational funding—to counter the phenomenon of shrinking civic space and to protect human rights defenders and independent journalists confronting these hostile environments; calls, in this context, for a targeted budgetary reinforcement to sustain local peacebuilding and bicommunal reconciliation efforts, notably by ensuring adequate financing for the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus and supporting the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage;

26.Stresses that, in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and the Lukashenka regime’s complicity therein, sustained support for independent Russian and Belarusian civil society, human rights defenders, independent journalists and media, NGOs, anti-war and pro-democracy activists, both within their countries and in exile, constitutes an integral part of the Union’s broader strategy of deterrence and resilience vis-à-vis Russia; underlines their essential role in countering authoritarian propaganda, disinformation, transnational repression and foreign interference, and in preserving the foundations for democratic change; calls, therefore, for adequate, predictable, dedicated and flexible Union funding, including multiannual core and emergency funding, to ensure their security, operational continuity and long-term sustainability;

27.Considers that, given the dramatic increase in forced exile of human rights defenders, journalists, NGOs and pro-democracy activists from countries such as Nicaragua, Belarus, Afghanistan, Russia, Myanmar, Sudan and Venezuela, among others, predictable, dedicated, and flexible funding for all forced into exile due to repression and criminalisation in their own countries, should be prioritised and strengthened;

28.Emphasises the importance of ensuring adequate, flexible and predictable funding for actions promoting gender equality, preventing and combating gender-based violence, advancing women's rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons;

29.Reiterates its call to urgently increase humanitarian support for Sudan, including for survivors of sexual violence, those facing hunger, IDPs and refugees;

30.Notes with concern that the ongoing structural underfunding of the EEAS severely damages the EU external action capacities, as well as the perception of the EU in third countries; reiterates that the 2 % cap on administrative expenditure should not be applied to the EEAS given its specificities as the only EU body with delegations worldwide; commends the recent progress made on the reinforcement of security but stresses that a number of delegations do not comply yet with security standards; stresses that in a context of high inflation and evolving geopolitical threats, the budget for security personnel, secure communications and infrastructure must be at a level to ensure the minimum security standards of EU delegations and the necessary renewal of armoured vehicles; highlights further that critical initiatives such as the EU Cyber Defence Coordination Centre (CDCC) must function adequately; stresses that further investments are required to increase building security, cyber-security, particularly in delegations; calls for the EEAS to be adequately staffed with regards to strengthening the European Union Military Staff and to reinforce the EU’s Security and Defence Partnerships with key bilateral partners, given the current international and security environment; recalls the importance of reinforcing the information and communication technology capabilities of the EEAS, particularly in the field of information security; urges therefore the budgetary authority to ensure the secure and effective functioning of the EU's diplomatic network worldwide; calls therefore to increase its budget to the level requested by the EEAS in its estimates;

31.Stresses the need to increase EU visibility and geopolitical position in the world, in order to enhance the EU international presence and counter anti-EU narratives and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference operations, especially in the EU neighbourhood; calls in this regard to strengthen EU digital diplomacy, particularly in the field of AI, the fight against disinformation and foreign interference , the promotion of peace and security, as well as to lead the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainable development; calls in this regard to reinforce the financial and human resources of DG ENEST, DG MENA, DG FPI and the EEAS.