EU regions against Commission’s draft plan to centralise next budget

A representative of Europe’s regions raised concerns about an EU Commission draft plan to centralise €1.2 trillion of the next bloc’s budget in the hands of member states during a discussion with MEPs in the budget committee on Monday.

Negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)—the seven-year plan that sets limits on EU spending—are expected to begin in summer 2025. But the European Commission has already outlined ideas for reshaping the budget after 2027, hinting at stricter conditions than in previous frameworks.

A leaked draft seen by Euronews suggests the Commission is considering allotting a single funding pot to each member state, covering around 530 programs. The goal is to tie EU funding more closely to the implementation of reforms or achievement of policy goals, similar to the approach taken with post-pandemic recovery funds. 

Under such an approach, member states wishing for example to invest in social housing might be required to address the gender employment gap, while those investing in migrant reception facilities would need to enhance cross-border cooperation. 

This single-fund approach aims to cut red tape, simplify the legal framework and impose stricter conditions on funding. These steps also aim to better uphold EU values and protect the bloc’s financial interests. 

“An EU approach is not a conglomeration of 27 different plans,” Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, a member of the Committee of the Regions (France/European Alliance) – the EU advisory body representing regional and local authorities – told MEPs in Brussels during the Parliament’s discussion, adding that it would be a “serious mistake” to move away from multi-level governance and the principle of subsidiarity.

Tony Murphy, the president of the Luxembourg-based European Court of Auditors, told reporters last week that while the EU’s financial watchdog was “in favour of efficiency” and not having so many programs, “whether one pot [per country] is the way forward, I’m not convinced, [but] we haven’t seen the details”.  

In early September, the EU executive’s director-general for the budget said that the bloc now has an opportunity to create a more flexible, faster, more effective and more policy-driven budget for 2028-34.  

“The [next] EU budget should focus on where we have added value, where we bring positive externalities, where when we invest in one part of the EU, it serves the entire EU,” Riso told an event organised by Brussels-based think tank Bruegel last month.   

The bloc’s budget needs a “paradigm shift” to improve flexibility and synergy with EU regions, Maupertuis agreed, but she warned MEPs to involve regional and local authorities in the process to ensure it meets the needs of all communities.

With additional reporting by Gerardo Fortuna.