The EU’s favourite budget buzzword for making long-term commitments, like gender justice and environmental protections, optional. Officially described as the ability to respond quickly to changing priorities; unofficially, a convenient way to redirect funding away from agreed objectives whenever the political winds shift. 

Features include: 

• Predictable funding redirected towards “emerging priorities” 
• Concrete spending targets replaced by vague mentions to “mainstreaming” 
• Democratic oversight delayed until after the decisions are made 
• Budget commitments treated as helpful suggestions rather than promises 

Example:
“Don’t worry, the budget still supports development priorities… it just has a bit more flexibility.” 

Translation:
“It’s not ring-fenced, there are no spending targets… we can redirect spending towards whatever’s politically convenient.”