Glenn Micallef's culture and youth portfolio poised for big EU budget boost

Malta’s EU Commissioner Glenn Micallef’s culture and youth portfolio is being regarded as one of the big winners in the commission’s proposed seven-year EU budget.

In the commission’s proposals, unveiled on Thursday, Erasmus+, the programme that includes youth mobility programmes and student exchanges, will increase to €40.1 billion from the current €26.3 billion.

The EU’s support to the culture sector would also go up to €1.8 billion over the seven-year period from the current €800 million.

Commissioner Micallef said the Commission’s proposals for the sectors he’s responsible for are “groundbreaking”.

“Funding culture, creation, Europe’s young, and physical activity is not consumption. It’s an investment in the most precious assets we have in Europe," Micallef said.

"I am glad that my colleagues have agreed with me on this. Now, the work continues to reiterate this in the European Parliament and amongst member states, who will ultimately take the final decision.”

At 35, Micallef is the youngest commissioner in Ursula von der Leyen’s team.

On Wednesday, the EU Commission unveiled a €2.3 trillion budget blueprint between 2028 and 2034.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said it "will be the most ambitious ever proposed".

Another area that the EU Commission wants to increase funding in is defence.

The European Commission has put €451 billion on the table under a broad "competitiveness" tag that encompasses defence and space, which together are allocated €131 billion, a five-fold increase.

The budget plan also earmarks up to €100 billion for the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine - as well as substantial new "flexibility" funds kept available in the event of crises.

However, Brussels came under heavy criticism by EU lawmakers who accused it of not leaving sufficient funds for priorities including climate adaptation and the agriculture subsidies that currently make up the biggest share of the EU's budget.

Known officially as the Multiannual Financial Framework, it will be negotiated over the next year and a half between the Commission, national governments and the European Parliament.

That means that funds under the Maltese Commissioner’s portfolio can still go up or down before there is a final agreement.