On Wednesday 9 July, the Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) approved the EU Council’s position on the EU’s 2026 draft budget, which provides for €186.24 billion in commitment appropriations and €186.49 billion in payment appropriations, excluding appropriations for special instruments outside the multiannual Financial Framework.
The total budget presented by the European Commission in its 2026 draft budget on Wednesday 4 June amounts to €193.26 billion in commitment appropriations (see EUROPE 13653/27).
“In a changing world, we need a strong Europe. To do so requires a common budget that supports our shared priorities while also allowing room to handle unexpected challenges”, said Nicolai Wammen, Denmark’s Finance Minister and the EU Council’s chief negotiator for the 2026 budget.
The budget for 2026 will have to preserve the EU’s capacity to address current crises and challenges (Ukraine and the Middle East), strengthen European defence preparedness and respond to migratory pressures, in line with the priorities of the MFF review.
This budget breaks down as follows:
- heading (1) ‘Single Market, Innovation and Digital’: €21.56 billion in commitment appropriations and €23.13 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (2) ‘Cohesion, Resilience and Values’: €70.95 billion in commitment appropriations and €74.12 billion in payment appropriations (including heading 2b ‘Resilience and Values’: €14.35 billion in commitment appropriations and €14.43 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (3) ‘Natural Resources and Environment’: €56.95 billion in commitment appropriations and €53.12 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (4) ‘Migration and Border Management’: €4.98 billion in commitment appropriations and €3.86 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (5) ‘Security and Defence’: €2.8 billion in commitment appropriations and €2.25 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (6) ‘Neighbourhood and the World’: €15.5 billion in commitment appropriations and €16.5 billion in payment appropriations;
- heading (7) ‘European Public Administration’: €13.46 billion in commitment appropriations and €13.46 billion in payment appropriations (including ‘Administrative expenditure of the institutions’: €10.12 billion in both commitment and payment appropriations).
The EU Council plans to formally adopt its position by written procedure in September.
To see the position of the EU Council: https://aeur.eu/f/htc (Original version in French by Florent Servia)