TEH at the European Parliament: keeping independent culture central in Europe’s next long-term budget

What began more than 40 years ago as 7 repurposed factories and warehouses in the heart of Europe has grown into Trans Europe Halles – a vibrant network of 170+ cultural centres across more than 40 countries. These urban spaces - once abandoned industrial sites, hospitals, prisons, schools or military complexes - have been reclaimed by artists and citizens and transformed into laboratories of creativity and community life. From Helsinki to Athens, from Lisbon to Baku, from small towns to major capitals, they have become places where local people imagine new futures, test social innovations, and keep cultural life accessible outside the control of state or market.

Today this independent movement of grassroots and civic action is no longer on the margins. Through TEH, it speaks with a collective voice and has become a pan-European force: strengthening communities in times of crisis, sparking innovation in how we live and work together, and pushing Europe towards a fairer, greener future.

That voice was present in Brussels last week in September 2025, where Trans Europe Halles took part in the High-Level Roundtable on “Culture in the Next EU Budget”, hosted by the Directorate-General for Communication at the European Parliament. The meeting gathered Members of the European Parliament, national cultural representatives, and more than 40 pan-European networks to debate the role of culture in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034).

TEH stood alongside peers such as Culture Action Europe, the European Cultural Foundation, Europa Nostra, Reset!, ELIA, and the European Network of Cultural Centres to ensure that independent cultural actors are not only represented but also recognised as central to the discussion on how nearly €2 trillion of EU spending (MMF total envelope) will be shaped in the years ahead.

The roundtable was convened by the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Communication on Tuesday 23 September, in the Zweig building of the European Parliament in Brussels. The meeting was chaired by

• Philipp Schulmeister, Director of Campaigns (DG COMM), and brought together key institutional actors:
• Nela Riehl, chair of the CULT Committee,
• Carla Tavares, co-rapporteur of the Parliament’s MFF own-initiative report,
• Hannes Heide, CULT Committee rapporteur on the opinion of a revamped long-term budget,
• and a representative of the Danish Presidency of the Council.

What was discussed?

The focus of the discussion was the growing gap between the Parliament’s resolution - which calls for greater investment in culture through programmes like Creative Europe - and the Commission’s proposal for the 2028–2034 MFF, which leaves cultural funding relatively limited despite a total budget increase. Members of Parliament acknowledged that culture remains underfunded in the long-term framework, while cultural networks highlighted the challenges facing the sector: shrinking civic space, politically sensitive contexts, unequal economic conditions, and the urgent need for cross-border solidarity.

The participating organisations raised concerns about the Commission’s proposed “simplification” measures (single reporting framework and application system), warning this may complicate access for cultural operators rather than ease it.

In the Parliament exchanges, MEPs expressed political support for cultural funding:

• MEP Nela Riehl: “the European Parliament must ensure that no cuts are made.”
• MEP Hannes Heide pledged to fight for more budget.
• MEPs backed earmarked funding for culture, stressing its importance for smaller actors.
• MEP Carla Tavares underlined the need to advocate with a common voice and preserve the visibility of Creative Europe within AgoraEU.

CAE’s representative reiterated that current allocations are the bare minimum to sustain Europe’s cultural sector and called for a dedicated culture line in Horizon Europe and a structured cultural component in the European Competitiveness Fund.

What TEH brings that is unique?

Together with partners such as the Reset! Network, Trans Europe Halles advocated for artistic freedom and freedom of expression as core principles that must be safeguarded in the next MFF.

This is where TEH adds a unique voice. We represent grassroots and civil-led, community-based cultural centres that have pioneered resilience in practice: turning abandoned buildings into civic spaces, supporting communities in crisis, testing sustainable models of cultural production, and experimenting with new forms of governance. In the budget debate, TEH reminds policymakers that independent culture is not a side-issue but a central driver of Europe’s capacity to innovate, include, and transform.

Why it matters?

Independent cultural centres from inside Trans Europe Halles network are already responding to the very challenges the EU names as priorities for the next MFF:

• The green transition, through circularity and energy projects like Co-PED, Good Enough Transformation and Rebuilding to Last.
• Democracy and social cohesion, through initiatives like the Cultural Transformation Movement project, which strengthens civic trust, equity, and inclusion across Europe’s cultural ecosystems, and Cascade.
• International solidarity, through projects like ZMINA: Rebuilding to Last, which supports Ukrainian cultural actors working under conditions of war and displacement.

At the same time, threats to artistic freedom and freedom of expression are growing across Europe, from shrinking civic space to political pressure on independent voices. In response, TEH members, together with Reset!, are preparing to launch a new working group on artistic freedom, which will be officially presented at the TEH100 Camp Meeting in Riga (Latvia) hosted by Kanepes, a TEH member.

Ensuring that these and other similar initiatives are properly funded is not just about supporting artists; it is about investing in Europe’s democratic resilience and social fabric.

As negotiations on the next MFF continue into 2026 and 2027, TEH will continue to work alongside other European cultural networks to advocate for a budget that matches the ambitions of our time: one that recognises culture as a vital force in building a fairer, greener, and freer Europe.