Update on the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework

EU heads of state and government have held an exchange of views on the next long-term EU budget (officially called the ‘Multiannual Financial Framework’ (MFF)) 2028-2034). The discussions, which took place during the European Council (EUCO) meeting on 19-20 June, were focused on a proposal from the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Cypriot Presidency proposal (known as a ‘negotiation box’ in EU speak) foresees a 2% (€32.8 billion) reduction in the overall MFF compared to the proposal that the European Commission (EC) published in July 2025. Regarding migration and asylum-related actions specifically, the Cypriot Presidency has proposed to maintain the EC’s proposal to allocate € 30.6bn for ‘Migration and border management’ (the successor to funding for asylum, migration and inclusion, border and visa management, and internal security measures under the current MFF) while reducing the amount of funding available for ‘HOME affairs actions’ in the ‘EU Facility’ from € 22.4bn to € 18.8bn.

In advance of the EUCO meeting, a number of civil society groups published open letters in which they set out their various recommendations for the next MFF. On 16 June, the EUFunds4Social Coalition called for an increase in the share of social spending, on 17 June, the European Network Against the Arms Trade, Stop ReArm Europe and the Transnational Institute coordinated a call for the EU to prioritise human security over military spending, and, on 18 June, Civil Society Europe called for an ambitious budget and genuine new own resources.

The European Parliament (EP) has started its scrutiny of the EC proposals for the programmes that will replace the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI). The draft report on the proposal for a regulation establishing EU support for asylum, migration and integration, which has been prepared by Ana Catarina Mendes MEP (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Portugal), includes amendments relating to inter alia:

• Spending targets for the objectives related to the Common European Asylum System and integration in member states’ national budgets and the EU Facility
• A list of eligible actions
• An adjustment to the co-financing rates so that the normal EU contribution is 80% and co-financing rates for activities related to “legal migration” and inclusion are increased
• A cap on spending for activities outside the EU of 5% of the total amount allocated to each member state or via the EU Facility
• Conditioning of support to third countries on co-operation frameworks that can demonstrate full compliance with EU fundamental rights and international obligations, through enforceable safeguards, effective monitoring and clear accountability mechanisms.

The draft report on the EC proposal for a regulation establishing EU support for the Schengen area, European integrated border management and the common policy on visas, which has been prepared by Karlo Ressler MEP (Group of the European People’s Party, Croatia), includes amendments relating to inter alia:

• Co-operation with third countries on return
• Exemption from the principles related to ‘Do no significant harm’ to environmental objectives; social policies and gender equality
• A list of activities to be supported
• Replacement of the term “irregular migration” with “illegal migration”.

The two reports will be discussed in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in the coming weeks, and responsibility for steering the negotiations on the overall MFF will be passed to the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU when it takes office on 1 July.

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