Trillions in Brussels. The European Parliament wants a 10 percent larger budget

On Wednesday, the budget committee in the European Parliament proposed a position on the new EU budget, which will be 10% larger. compared to what the European Commission came up with earlier. MEPs voted in favor of maintaining the division of money into sectoral policies as before.

The entire chamber will still have to vote on the position proposed by the budget committee. The European Parliament will then be ready to start talks with member states.

Traditionally, MEPs voted for a larger budget. According to them, it should be set at 1.27%. EU gross national income (GNI), while debt servicing from the recovery fund established in response to the pandemic (0.11% of GNI) should not be included in the budget ceilings. This would mean an increase of 10%. compared to the EC proposal of July 2025.

– Thanks to a gentle increase of 10%. We will provide adequate funds for new priorities such as defense and competitiveness, while fully maintaining key policies such as agriculture and cohesion, emphasized the European Parliament's rapporteur on the budget, Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan.

The position adopted by the budget committee proposed additional funds for agriculture (EUR 140 billion more, which would give a total of EUR 430 billion) and cohesion policy (EUR 80 billion more, which would give a total of EUR 300 billion). The European social fund was restored, amounting to EUR 124 billion, and the pool was increased, among others. for the Horizon Europe research program by EUR 25 billion and Erasmus student exchange by EUR 7 billion.

According to the EC's proposal from July 2025, the EU budget for 2028–2034 is to amount to EUR 2 trillion. The sum of EUR 2 trillion means almost doubling the current budget for 2021-2027, which amounts to EUR 1.2 trillion. However, due to inflation, its share in the EU's gross national income (GNI) would only increase from 1.1 to 1.26 percent.

MEPs pointed out on Wednesday that instead of presenting an ambitious proposal, the European Commission “hidden” behind the amount of EUR 2 trillion in current prices, which in fact represents only EUR 1.76 trillion in constant prices from 2025 and 1.26 percent. EU GDP, and 0.11 percent is the repayment of the reconstruction fund.

Another novelty proposed by the EC were national plans, which are to bring together previously scattered policies within the budget – cohesion, agriculture, social, migration and border security.

The position adopted by the budget committee called the EC's proposal a renationalization of the EU budget. In the opinion of MEPs, the EC's “one plan per member state” approach may undermine EU policies, reduce transparency and create competition between beneficiaries.

The European Parliament Commission supported a clear division of funds into policies within national plans, including the common agricultural policy, support for the outermost regions, cohesion policy, the European social fund and migration. MEPs also stressed that regional and local authorities should be fully involved in the planning and implementation of programs.

From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

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