Friends of Cohesion countries unite in call for an “ambitious, fair, and balanced” EU budget

Brussels – The European Union’s budget for the seven years 2028–2034 must be ambitious, fair, and balanced. This is the call set out in writing by the 17 leaders of the European Union’s Friends of Cohesion countries in the joint declaration adopted following their coordination meeting, organised by Italy and Romania, ahead of the negotiations on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034. 

“We have decided to remain united in the negotiations on the next EU budget around four priorities,” said the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, on X . The four points highlighted are “sufficient resources to address all common priorities; safeguarding cohesion and agriculture in terms of both resources and financing rules; fair contributions from Member States; no to discounts on national contributions.” And even though a meeting between the so-called frugal countries – Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Belgium – is taking place at the same time in the European Parliament building, the Prime Minister stresses that the 17 will continue “to work together to ensure these priorities are reflected in the final agreement.”

Negotiations on the next MFF “are entering a decisive phase”, as noted in the joint statement by the Friends of Cohesion, which stresses that the “jointly” reiterated call is for the EU budget to be “ambitious, fair and balanced, capable of addressing new challenges while safeguarding the Union’s fundamental policies enshrined in the Treaties.” From this starting point, four priorities emerge. The first is “to preserve the EU budget’s capacity to deliver results” because “following two consecutive cuts, the size of the proposed budget has shrunk to 1.02 per cent of the EU’s GNI (Gross National Income), excluding reimbursements linked to the NGEU (NextGenerationEU) plan” for recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. “We believe that the final agreement must ensure that the EU budget can address existing and emerging priorities, whilst safeguarding key policies,” the leaders note.

The second priority is “safeguarding funding allocations, including those for cohesion and agriculture, both in terms of appropriations and implementation.” According to the leaders, “adequate resources must be accompanied by rules that safeguard the specific objectives of these policies, enabling Member States and regions to make effective use of the available funds.” The third priority is “a fairer, non-regressive and balanced revenue system.” In this context, the leaders say they are “ready for a constructive discussion on the revenue side, including new own resources.” However, “the parameters governing own resources – whether existing or new – must ensure a fair and balanced distribution of the financial burden among Member States, while eliminating any regressive elements from the revenue system as a whole.” Finally, “no correction mechanism (rebate)”, i.e. the refunds granted to certain Member States, because “preferential corrections based on GNI have no place in a modern and fair EU budget.” 

The statement makes clear that the 17 leaders are united and resolute on these four points. “We are committed to maintaining a united front on these four principles throughout the negotiations and to working together to ensure that our shared priorities are reflected in the final agreement,” the statement concludes.