Overview

• The European Commission formally adopted its 2028–2034 multiannual financial framework, billed as its most ambitious ever, following internal delays and debate.
• Cohesion and agricultural instruments will merge into a new National and Regional Partnership Fund designed to streamline resource allocation under national and regional plans.
• Defense spending would quintuple while a dedicated crisis mechanism with up to €400 billion in firepower aims to enable rapid EU responses to emergencies.
• Five new own resources—covering corporate taxation, higher tobacco duties, an e-waste levy, emissions trading revenues and a carbon border adjustment—are proposed to help repay Next Generation EU debt.
• Key MEPs, national delegations and farmer groups have decried cuts and ‘nationalisation’ risks, and the plan now enters a lengthy unanimous Council and European Parliament approval process.