Shaping the future of the EU together: the Commission sets out the road to the next EU long-term budget

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, the European Commission published a Communication on ‘The Road to the next Multiannual Financial Framework’. It outlines the key policy and budgetary challenges that will shape the design of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). This lays the groundwork for reflections on how to adapt the EU’s long-term budget to evolving needs and priorities. With this Communication, the Commission also launches in parallel a Europe-wide campaign with a range of stakeholders, including Member States governments, regional entities, and citizens.

An EU budget at the heart of EU priorities

The European budget supports citizens, farmers, researchers, businesses and regions across Europe and beyond. It has proven essential for improving the lives of Europeans. Together with NextGenerationEU, it helped overcome a pandemic and energy crisis, while saving millions of jobs during lockdowns and investing in our clean and digital future. The EU budget also provided unprecedented support to Ukraine and the security of Europe, in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.

The next long-term budget, which will start in 2028, needs to square the circle: the expectations from the EU to act are steadily increasing. For the EU budget to be fit for our ambitions, ensure the repayment of the borrowing for NextGenerationEU and, at the same time, provide stable national financial contributions from Member States, we need to introduce new own resources. The status quo is not an option. Choices need to be made. The EU must maximise the impact of every euro it spends, focusing on EU priorities and objectives where EU action is most needed.

New challenges and expectations for EU action require reconsidering the way the EU budget works to make it fit for the future. The objective of a free, democratic, strong, secure, prosperous and competitive Europe calls for a reformed and reinforced EU budget – simpler, more flexible, more targeted and impactful.

The new approach for a modern EU budget should include a plan for each country with key reforms and investments, designed and implemented in partnership with national, regional, and local authorities. A European Competitiveness Fund should establish an investment capacity to support strategic sectors and critical technologies. Also, a revamped external action financing should be more impactful, targeted and aligned with strategic interests, contributing to a new foreign policy. The budget should also build in additional safeguards protecting the rule of law. Furthermore, the EU budget should be able to rely on modernised revenues to ensure sufficient and sustainable financing for our common priorities.

President von der Leyen said: “The next long-term budget will empower our Union’s shared vision for the future. It translates our common priorities into tangible action, which makes a difference for millions of citizens, businesses, regions, and researchers. Therefore, we invite all Europeans to have a say via public consultations, the citizens’ panel, or the engagement platform. This is an invitation to shape a modern, ambitious, and reinforced budget. Our challenges are common objectives as well: together, we are more powerful.”

Designing the budget together

The EU budget benefits all Europeans, and they should have the opportunity to express their views on the future of the EU budget. That is why the Commission launches today a public consultation inviting stakeholders and citizens to have their say on the future EU budget and the policies it should support. The consultations will be open for the next 12 weeks. They can be accessed via the following links:

• Implementing EU Funds with Member States and regions
• EU funding for competitiveness
• EU funding for external action
• EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, youth, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society
• EU funding for civil protection, preparedness and response to crises
• EU funding for the single market, and cooperation between national authorities
• Performance of the EU budget

A citizens’ panel will gather 150 Europeans to debate and make concrete recommendations for the next EU budget. It will be accompanied by an online platform offering everyone the opportunity to participate in the debate. In addition, Commissioner Serafin is undertaking a Tour d’Europethroughout 2025 to engage in one-to-one consultations with Member State authorities, regional stakeholders and beneficiaries of the EU budget.

The Commission welcomes the involvement in the reflections on the future EU budget by all EU institutions and bodies as well as the partners who implement the EU budget.

The Commission will present its formal proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework in July 2025, with a view to securing a timely agreement before its implementation in January 2028.

Background

The EU budget is crucial to delivering on EU priorities. By pooling resources, standing together and supporting all EU countries, their citizens and beyond, the EU budget strengthens Europe’s economy and geopolitical standing.

The EU has an annual budgetary cycle and a long-term budget, which is known as the Multiannual Financial Framework. This multiannual planning provides for predictability of the EU expenditure, in particular for multiannual projects and policies.

Under Article 312 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Multiannual Financial Framework covers a period of at least five years. Its overall aim is to ensure that the European Union’s expenditure develops in an orderly manner and within the limits of its own resources. Based on a proposal by the Commission, the Multiannual Financial Framework is adopted by unanimity by the 27 EU Member States in the Council, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.

The Multiannual Financial Framework determines the maximum amounts that the Union budget can allocate to its major sectors of activities. These maximum amounts are set per category of expenditure, corresponding to the Union’s major policies.

The current financial framework runs from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027, with an overall amount of expenditure of €1 211 billion. It is accompanied by NextGenerationEU, an up to €807 billion temporary recovery instrument boosting Europe’s economy and making our societies stronger and more resilient, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.