What is the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and what changes can we expected for 2028-2034?

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the European Union’s long-term budget. For a period of at least 5 and usually 7 years, it sets the maximum budget, allocates the funds over the EU’s priorities, and states how much the individual member states have to contribute. To a large extent, the MFF determines how much the member states will contribute to and receive from the EU in the years ahead. 

The 2021-2027 EU budget is being spent chiefly on cohesion policy to strengthen the economies of poorer regions and on agricultural policy. Both are good for more than €350 billion over the 7-year period. Research and innovation and neighbourhood policy (to increase the prosperity, security and stability of countries neighbouring the EU) are important items, both good for about €100 billion over 7 years. The remainder of the budget is being allocated to migration, defence, healthcare and the Union’s own expenses.

Owing to the great financial significance, negotiation of the MFF is often arduous and protracted. The first proposals are made by the European Commission about 2½ years before the following MFF period begins. The MFF is formally adopted by the Council of Ministers, which must agree unanimously with the proposal. The European Parliament votes by simple majority for or against the proposal but cannot amend it.

Besides the general MFF Regulation, legislative documents are adopted for individual programmes: these documents are specific legislative texts for new and established programmes and funds. The Commission proposes the legislative texts for the programmes. Depending on the programme, a proposal is discussed in the relevant Council formations. The Council for Education Youth, Culture and Sport, for instance, discusses all programmes in its policy field. The decision-making procedure for the programmes follows the ordinary legislative procedure. This means that both the Council and the Parliament decide jointly on the adoption of legislative texts.

When a new MFF is agreed, a decision is usually taken on the EU’s system of own resources. The Own Resources Decision lays down the EU’s funding regulations. Before the Own Resources Decision is taken, the Council must unanimously approve it, the European Parliament must issue a positive advice and each EU member state must approve the decision (i.e. ratify it) in accordance with its own legislative procedure. In the Netherlands, the House of Representatives must approve the Own Resources Decision.

When agreement is reached on the Regulation, the Own Resources Decision and the legislative texts for the programmes, a decision is taken on how much the EU may spend from its annual budget.

More information

• MFF in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, article 312 (PDF)
• How the EU budget is adopted - European Union
• MFF factsheets - European Union

The European Council, consisting of the heads of state and government of the EU member states, agreed to the new Multiannual Financial Framework on 17 December 2020. The MFF is a package of €1,074.3 billion. A day later, on 18 December 2024, the European Council reached agreement with the European Parliament on the economic recovery plan NextGenerationEU, to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The recovery plan amounts to €1,824.3 billion (2018 prices).

When the overall EU budget and its allocation to the EU’s priorities are known at EU level, the funds under shared management, such as the agricultural funds and structural funds, are allocated by means of the national envelope. The national envelope is the maximum amount each member state can claim from the funds. The national envelopes are appended to the respective funds regulations.

The Netherlands is entitled to approximately €8 billion in total for 2021-2027. At more than €5.5 billion, the agricultural funds (EAGF and EAFRD) account for the lion’s share.

Besides the funds under shared management, funds under direct management are allocated directly to projects or institutions funded by the Commission without the intervention of the government. Most of these budgets are spent on research and innovation projects in the Horizon Europe programme. The Horizon 2020 dashboard indicates that Dutch organisations and institutions had received grant funding of €3.39 billion by mid-May 2025 out of the funds available for 2021-2027. This funding is not subject to a national envelope because the money is allocated on the basis of the Commission’s assessment of the grant applicants’ project proposals.

The European Commission’s proposal for the next MFF is expected in July 2025. It will mark the formal start of negotiations with the member states, which will last until the end of 2027.

In anticipation, the Commission released a communication on11 February 2025, ‘The road to the next multiannual financial framework’. It outlines the main policy and budgetary challenges that the Commission thinks will be decisive for the next MFF. It refers to geopolitical tensions, challenges to competitiveness, climate-related disasters, nature protection and food security. According to the Commission, the budget should be reformed and strengthened, more performance-based and more flexible. In the Commission’s opinion, the principle elements of the next EU budget should be:

• A plan for each country with key reforms and investments;
• The creation of a European Competitiveness Fund to establish investment capacity that will support strategic sectors and critical technologies;
• A revamped external action financing;
• String safeguards on the protection of the rule of law
• Strengthened and modernised revenues, notably via new own resources, to ensure sufficient and sustainable financing.

The Dutch government set out its proposals for the next MFF in a letter of 28 March 2025. The main elements are:

• The government seeks to limit the increase in Dutch contributions to the EU.
• Budgeted EU funds should be spent where they add the greatest value for the EU as a whole. The main priorities for the MFF should be to strengthen European competitiveness with a strong single market founded on the application of research and innovation, a robust migration and asylum policy, security and defence.
• The government cannot embrace new own resources in advance.
• In principle, the government welcomes increased budgetary flexibility.
• The government is open to an exploration of the wider application of performance-based budgeting, with member states committing themselves to making certain reforms and investments and meeting pre-agreed conditions/results before EU funds are paid out. 
• The government stresses the importance of the regular and transparent use of EU resources. Better accounts and monitoring of expenditures is essential but also indicts that attention needs to be paid to feasibility. Too often, the administrative burden is an obstacle to the efficient and effective use of EU resources.
• Contributions from the EU budget can leverage more public and private financing, as has already happened under InvestEU and via the European Investment Bank (EIB). The government sees benefits from innovative financial instruments and is open to their use within the EU budget. However, it does not support the assumption of common debts for new European instruments.

With a view to the negotiation of the next MFF, the Court of Audit will publish a report on performance-based funding in September 2025.

More information

• COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS The road to the next multiannual financial framework
• Kamerbrief Nederlandse inzet onderhandelingen MFK 2028 - Letter (in Dutch) from the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Netherlands’ proposals for the MFF 2028 negotiations.