The briefing “Steep politics will shape the next EU budget and its climate implications” published by E3G highlights that the European Commission’s newly proposed EU budget is about to step into a tense two-year negotiation process. Straddled with great expectations, the proposal is not much bigger than its predecessor and does little to close Europe’s investment gap. Yet, it also puts on the table a major architectural overhaul that delivers agility in exchange for giving EU capitals greater weight in EU spending. Within this restructuring, climate action retains a 35% foothold but faces a new set of challenges and opportunities as the budget and its stated objectives are set to undergo a lengthy debate.
Following years of crisis, the EU finds itself in a context where the newly proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – the financial backbone supporting EU objectives – is heaped with unprecedented expectations. From competitiveness to security, to climate breakdown and social pressures – a persistent investment gap sits at the core of almost every strategic challenge the bloc now faces. Add to this the recent economic pressures of the US administration’s tariffs and a reshuffling of the international order, and the EU budget – seen as complex and rigid – must suddenly step up as a pliable tool for answering urgent needs requiring collective EU action.
Access the briefing here
