European cultural networks are often described as project partners, yet they do far more than deliver projects. They connect organisations across borders, sustain professional communities, carry knowledge between local and European levels, and give cultural civil society a collective voice. As the European Union prepares AgoraEU for 2028–2034, this position paper asks a simple question: will the next programme recognise and finance the conditions that allow this infrastructure to function?
The position paper, written by Yohann Floch, Director of Operations at On the Move, begins by looking at who networks are, what they believe in and what they actually deliver.
It then examines what holds them back: funding that pays for projects rather than organisations, scarcity and competition, mixed expectations about what networks should be, a changing political climate, and partnerships that are equal in name but uneven in practice. Along the way, it engages with recent reflections from the sector and tests them against the evidence of the current funding rules. It agrees where the critique is well founded and offers a different view where it is not.
The paper closes with concrete proposals for AgoraEU: a visible place for networks in the legal text, operating support alongside project funding, fair pay and decent working conditions, predictable and flexible funding arrangements, an open and fair field for networks of all sizes, a real voice in policy dialogue, and ways of measuring success that value quality and durability over activity counts.
Whether you work in a network, fund one, shape policy or simply care about how European cultural cooperation is sustained, we hope you will find food for thought and, perhaps, a few ideas to take into your own conversations.
