EU Parliament backs 2.2T euro budget for 2028-2034

The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position this week on the European Union's next multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034, demanding a budget of 2.2 trillion euros, an increase of about 10 percent over the European Commission's proposal of nearly 2 trillion euros issued in July 2025.

Lawmakers voted 370 in favor, 201 against and 84 abstentions on the position, which calls for raising the budget to 1.27 percent of EU gross national income, excluding repayments for the NextGenerationEU recovery fund. The Commission had proposed 1.26 percent of GNI, including those repayments estimated at around 149 billion euros. Parliament insists the debt servicing should not reduce funding for core programs and seeks an additional 0.11 percent of GNI for that purpose separately.

The proposal emphasizes higher spending on competitiveness, defense, innovation, cohesion policy and agriculture amid geopolitical tensions and economic pressures. It allocates extra resources evenly across priorities such as national plans, the European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe research program, while protecting traditional areas like the Common Agricultural Policy, European Social...