The fragile foundations of our democracies

I could have written about the latest chapter in the European budget saga. You will find it below… or now, let me simply say this: things are moving forward, and the European Parliament has managed to secure some modest progress toward a more regional approach for the future 2028–2034 budget.

Yet the trend that concerns me most is moving in the opposite direction: a recentralisation of the whole European project that we must resist as soon as possible.

A widening gap is opening up between political discourse and resources. A gulf is widening. Local authorities are being assigned more obligations and more responsibilities, while receiving fewer resources. In Belgium, the UVCW (Union of Walloon Cities and Municipalities) warns of a severe decline in municipal budgets under discussion in the Federal Parliament. This 2026 budget, still under negotiation, could even topple the government. The parallel with France is hard to ignore.  And Belgium and France are far from alone: Germany, Hungary… everywhere we are seeing the same “scissors effect” — shrinking resources and growing needs. In Belgium, four factors, the “4 Ps”, weigh heavily on municipal finances: “Pompiers” (Fire services), Police, Pensions, Poverty. 

Everywhere, the same adjustment variable emerges ; national governments balance their budgets by weakening the capacities of local authorities.  As Thomas Dermine, Mayor of Charleroi and member of Energy Cities, rightly explains in his interview: federal and national budget cuts fall mainly on municipalities. And the reduction does not stop there. Funding is also being withdrawn from the tools that allow local authorities to plan, mediate, and steer public action:  executive agencies (This is highlighted by the ADEME in the recent letter from its President.), scientific institutions, or forums for debate. Not to mention quality information and vibrant, accessible cultural life.

All these blocks form the bedrock of our democracies (alongside education, justice, and the rule of law, which I will not address here). Democracy starts to erode when citizens’ basic needs are no longer met: unaffordable housing, impossible energy bills, food and water that make people ill; when access to healthcare, advice, and essential goods becomes out of reach.

Silencing scientists, abandoning projects that would help small businesses adapt, depriving citizens of the means to organise locally, or dismantling the capacity of local authorities to become more resilient and robust and reduce the cost of living — today and tomorrow — is nothing less than dismantling democracy itself: its ability to foster coexistence and debate…

The European Commission is fully aware of this democratic unravelling. Last week, it published its “Democratic Shield” strategy: a welcome step to strengthen media independence and fight disinformation and manipulation. The text calls for a “whole-of-society approach” that concludes that each of us must take part in defending democracy.

Yet no allusion is made to national fiscal policies — the very policies that are eroding States’ institutional capacity to guarantee public services, ensure basic living conditions, and sustain a shared sense of ownership.  For that, democracy must urgently be placed at the heart of the next European budget!