The European Union’s budget is a powerful lever for change, competitiveness, cohesion, climate action, and social inclusion. Yet many stakeholders—especially smaller organisations, first-time applicants, and actors from less developed regions—struggle to access EU funds due to complexity, administrative burdens, and lack of clear guidance. Stakeholders consistently report overlapping requirements, fragmented portals, and disproportionate documentation requirements. Simplification is not merely a technical fix, it is an enabler of fairness, impact, and legitimacy. It empowers more Europeans to benefit from shared investment, strengthens trust in EU institutions, and increases the efficiency and visibility of EU action.
Renew Europe should lead a pragmatic agenda for simplification: one that is citizen-focused, digital-first, results-driven, and fair. Therefore, we propose a set of horizontal simplification principles to be considered in the next MFF to support fair access, coherence across programmes, and reduce administrative burden.
