“The EPP is not too concerned about adopting texts”, a parliamentary source told Agence Europe. This sentence, uttered ahead of the vote on the guidelines for the 2026 budget - a non-binding political text - on Wednesday 2 April, says a lot about the state of the political balance and the pro-European majority in the European Parliament.
Passed without a hitch by the Committee on Budgets on 20 March, the guidelines for the 2026 budget may not be supported by a majority in the plenary session, reflecting once again the European Parliament’s shift to the right.
In October, the European Parliament’s resolution on the 2025 budget was not adopted following the EPP group’s support for amendments submitted by the far right (see EUROPE 13510/1). This time, the EPP tabled five amendments after the adoption in committee, so that its MEPs could “vote for a reasonable text without endorsing extreme positions”, a source close to the file told Agence Europe.
Of the 93 amendments tabled for the plenary vote, 29 come from the Patriots for Europe (PfE), 14 from Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) and nine from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). “The EPP is less disciplined on these votes”, warned the same source.
However, two EPP amendments risk creating discord if the other pro-European groups oppose them and the conservative right and far right support them. One aims to ensure “appropriate funding for border protection capabilities, including physical infrastructure”, while the other stresses “the need for Member States to put in place specific arrangements with third countries for the purpose of ensuring effective returns”.
Co-tabled by 45 EPP MEPs, an amendment calling on the EU to “redirect funds destined for UNRWA in Gaza to other trusted humanitarian aid providers as a precautionary measure” will be one of the other key votes on the text, according to several sources. Conversely, the The Left group, which tabled 40 amendments, called on the EU to “increase and sustain funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees”.
See the amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/g5x (Original version in French by Florent Servia)