EU budget 2028-2034, Commission proposal could slip to September 2025 (if all goes well)

Brussels – EU budget, full speed ahead. But delayed. The outgoing and incoming President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is reportedly ready to change the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028-2034), probably to overturn it, starting from the timetable. Especially in the EU Parliament, there are fears that the first proposals for the next cycle could arrive beyond the June 2025 deadline: the EU executive would seem interested, the story goes, in putting them on the table after the summer recess, which means September 2025 if all goes well.

A delay that threatens to complicate a negotiation that is never easy and, this time, even less obvious. In the background are new priorities, foremost among them enlargement. With an accelerated accession process in the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine and an increasing number of candidates, there is a need to think about a whole new, future-proof budget with a larger Union. No small challenges, bringing with them a rethinking of the Common Agricultural Policy and a reflection on upcoming cohesion policy, to name a few of the thorny issues. Indeed, starting negotiations as soon as possible would help, yet the Commission is willing to take its time and postpone the proposals.

Moving the presentation of the draft seven-year budget mainly poses operational question marks. There is disquiet among a section of MEPs that a longer delay could follow an initial postponement of the negotiation process. This is a difficult situation to predict because, without a clear timetable, you cannot handle the changed situation if you start postponing. 

The work of the two EU institutions, after all, is interconnected. If the EU Commission confirms the postponement of the proposals for the next MFF, it would automatically trigger the postponement of the Parliament’s report on a project that remains to be seen. The Parliament maintains the political goal of making a contribution that is aligned with the debate’s terms, including the timeframe.

 The Parliament would also have its own internal work calendar for preparatory and propaedeutic meetings. However, the von der Leyen bis Commission is being awaited.