With less than a week to go until the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 16 December, the Member States’ permanent representatives to the EU will be debating the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 on Wednesday 9 December. The policy debate will be based on information provided by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU on a draft negotiating box (‘negotiating box’) for the European Council meeting in December 2025.
The aim of the non-binding document is to identify the major issues for negotiation, without reaching any compromises at this stage.
The future MFF will be organised around four main headings: cohesion and agriculture, competitiveness, external action and administration.
The aim is to implement a more readable, more flexible package that is more in line with the European Union’s political priorities at a time when geopolitical and budgetary uncertainties are growing ever greater.
According to the text, the budget must respond to needs relating to European security, border control, migration management, industrial competitiveness and ecological transition, without neglecting the maintenance of Cohesion policies and the common agricultural policy.
In addition, the simplification effort is noted in the document, which mentions the reduction in the number of programmes, but also various measures that would enable more predictable and orderly management of payments – the RAL (reste à liquider) is expected to reach €339 billion at the end of the period – and annual technical adjustments to take account, as far as possible, of inflation.
In addition, according to the document, the Danish Presidency of the EU Council is proposing a strengthening of the margins for manoeuvre through a revised Single Margin Instrument and a flexibility instrument to respond to unforeseen expenditure.
In addition, flexibility reserves and a new EU Facility would be put in place to improve the EU’s ability to respond to crises.
The Danish Presidency is also proposing ways of improving the assessment of budget results and the monitoring of climate spending, and of providing a firmer framework for funding through guarantees linked to the Rule of law. Several options for new own resources are also outlined, although no figures are given at this stage.
Read the document: https://aeur.eu/f/jx0 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)