Negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework are entering a more political phase. At the heart of the debate is the proposed link between the disbursement of EU funding and the implementation of national reforms, an approach that has divided Member States and reopened discussions on the future governance of the EU budget.
The negotiations on the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) are entering an increasingly political phase, with debate now extending beyond the allocation of resources across the Union’s main priorities to the governance arrangements that will underpin the next long-term budget. Among the most contentious issues is the proposed strengthening of the link between the disbursement of EU funds and the implementation of national reforms.
In the proposal presented by the European Commission on 16 July 2025, the new budgetary architecture would make National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) the main planning instrument for investments and reforms under the new heading covering cohesion, agriculture, rural and maritime development, and security. The model brings together, within a single framework, a number of policies and instruments, including the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy, with the aim of making the budget simpler, more flexible and more results-oriented. In part, it draws on the experience of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with a view to strengthening performance-based delivery and the measurement of impact.
However, this approach has also prompted questions and resistance from several Member States. In particular, some governments have expressed reservations about any further strengthening of conditionality linked to the implementation of the Country-Specific Recommendations issued under the European Semester, arguing that an overly rigid mechanism could affect areas that remain largely within national competence, such as labour market policy, pension systems, taxation and the organisation of the justice system. Other Member States, by contrast, argue that greater use of conditionality could help improve the effectiveness, coherence and accountability of EU spending.
This debate reflects one of the central challenges of the forthcoming MFF negotiations: how to reconcile simplification, flexibility and a stronger results-based approach with respect for national competences and the multi-level governance that characterises many EU policies. The issue is particularly relevant for regional and local authorities, which play a central role in delivering a substantial share of EU-funded investment, especially under Cohesion Policy.
More broadly, the debate on the Union’s next long-term budget will shape the financial instruments available to support competitiveness, innovation, security, the green and digital transitions, territorial cohesion and agriculture. For the European business community, and particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises active along the relevant value chains, the outcome of these negotiations will be decisive not only in terms of the resources available, but also in relation to the governance model and the framework through which future EU programmes and investment opportunities will be accessed.