COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL Roadmap to an agreement on the Union’s long-term budget for 2021 - 2027 The European Commission’s contribution to the European Council meeting on 20-21 June 2019
Date: 2019-06-13
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU budget, EU expenditure, financial year, financing of the EU budget, multiannual financial framework

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 13.6.2019  COM(2019) 295 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION  TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL    Roadmap to an agreement on the Union’s long-term budget for 2021 - 2027                           The European Commission’s contribution to the European Council meeting   on 20-21 June 2019   
 
 
ROADMAP TO AN AGREEMENT ON THE UNION’S LONG-
TERM BUDGET FOR 2021-2027 

1.  Moving into the final phase of negotiations among Member States 

Europe’s Leaders agreed in Sibiu, Romania, on 9 May 2019 that ‘we will give ourselves the means to 
match our ambitions. We will provide the Union with the means necessary to attain its objectives and 
carry  through  its  policies’ 1.  This  is  what  is  at  stake  as  the  Union  enters  the  final  phase  of  the 
negotiations on the future long-term budget, the multiannual financial framework. 

The Commission presented its proposals for a new and modern long-term budget, tightly geared to the 
Union’s  priorities,  in  May  and  June  2018.  There  followed  an  intensive  period  of  technical  work  in 
both the European Parliament and the Council. The Commission’s emphasis on boosting funding for 
new priorities, modernising existing programmes, simplifying and streamlining the budget, and giving 
the Union a more flexible budget received strong support both in the European Parliament and in the 
Council,  while  discussions  continue  notably  about  the  appropriate  proportions  to  be  dedicated  to 
individual Union policies within the EU budget. 

The  European  Council  in  December  2018  called  on  the  incoming  Romanian  Presidency  of  the 
Council  to  ‘develop  an  orientation  for  the  next  stage  of  negotiations,  with  a  view  to  achieving  an 
agreement  in  the  European  Council  in  autumn  2019’.  Since  then  the  work  led  by  the  Romanian 
Presidency  has  helped  to  pinpoint  the  key  issues  that  will  need  to  be  decided  by  Leaders  by  the 
autumn. 

An  agreement  is  within  reach  –  but  there  remains  much  work  to  do.  An  ambitious  and  balanced 
agreement  on  the  future  framework  will  only  be  possible  with  strong  political  leadership  from  the 
European Council. The final mile will require compromise and a willingness to move forward in the 
European interest. This will be necessary to avoid costly delays in the launch of the new programmes 
– and in the benefits they will bring. 

The  European  Council  on  20-21  June  will  be  a  crucial  milestone  in  this  process.  This  will  be  an 
opportunity to provide guidance on the key political issues that will shape the future long-term budget 
and allow the Union to deliver efficiently on the priorities set out in the Sibiu Declaration. It will then 
fall to the Finnish Presidency to lead the final phase of work. 

At a time of great uncertainty, the European Union must remain an anchor of stability. An ambitious 
agreement  among  Member  States  on  the  future  long-term  budget  in  the  autumn  will  show  that  the 
Union is focused and determined to deliver on its positive agenda for all Europeans. It will provide 
the basis for a timely agreement with the European Parliament. And it will allow sufficient time for 
work  to  be  finalised  on  the  37  thematic  programmes  and  practical  arrangements  made  for  their 
successful launch on 1 January 2021.  

The Commission calls on the European Council to set out a roadmap to achieving an agreement 
on the EU long-term budget in the autumn and to invite the Council to take the work forward 
as a matter of priority. 

2.  Building on the progress achieved 

Considerable progress has already been made. The balanced package put forward by the Commission 
last year was widely recognised as a sound basis for the negotiations. There is broad recognition that 
the  Union  of  the  future  will  need  a  modern,  flexible  and  streamlined  budget,  offering  a  level  of 
ambition commensurate with the challenges Europe faces. 

1  

The Sibiu Declaration, 9 May 2019, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-
releases/2019/05/09/the-sibiu-declaration/   

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Successive  Presidencies  of  the  Council  have  set  a  rapid  pace.  The  Bulgarian  Presidency  swiftly 
initiated work and the Austrian Presidency completed the first technical reading of the Commission’s 
proposals.  This  allowed  the  key  political  issues  for  the  design  of  the  next  multiannual  financial 
framework  to  be  identified  in  a  draft  ‘negotiating  box’.  The  Romanian  Presidency  has  since  led  a 
series  of  thematic  discussions  helping  to  resolve  technical  issues  and  narrow  down  the  open  issues 
that will require the direct involvement of Leaders. 

The European Parliament has also shown its strong commitment to a timely and ambitious agreement 
on  the  future  long-term  budget.  The  interim  report  on  the  multiannual  financial  framework  on  7 
November 2018 stressed the necessity of securing a more ambitious and credible EU budget for the 
benefit of citizens over the next seven-year period. 

The Parliament and Council have also engaged constructively and  efficiently in the negotiations on 
the  sectoral  programmes.  The  institutions  have  finalised  at  least  partial  negotiating  mandates  for  a 
majority  of  the  sectoral  legislative  proposals  underpinning  the  future  long-term  budget.  Common 
understandings have already been found between the co-legislators on the main features of many key 
programmes,  covering  strategically  important  issues  such  as  research,  defence,  investment  and  the 
digital transformation. Their finalisation, as well as that of the remaining programmes, now depends 
critically on a swift agreement on the multiannual financial framework. 

CURRENT SITUATION OF SECTORAL FINANCIAL LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS* 

PROGRAMMES: 

InvestEU 

Horizon Europe  Digital Europe  European Defence 

Fund 

Fiscalis 

Connecting Europe 
Facility 

Space 
Programme 

Overseas 
Association 
Decision 

Neither European 
Parliament nor 
Council ready 

7 

EU BUDGET 
FOR THE 

FUTURE 

European Parliament 
position adopted 

10 

LIFE 

Justice, Rights 
and Values Fund 

12 

Partial agreement reached 

16 

Co-legislators ready to 
negotiate; Trilogues could start 
swiftly in the new legislature 

*The 37 programmes rely on 45 legal proposals. The 12 partial agreements correspond to common understandings on these proposals for 
10 programmes between the European Parliament and the Council, or in the Council only for Council acts. 

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While  several  important  issues  remain  to  be  resolved,  in  particular  on  financial  aspects,  the 
discussions to date in the European Parliament and the Council have shown broad support for many of 
the essential modernisation features proposed by the Commission for the next multiannual financial 
framework: 

 

 

 

 

the strong  focus  on  European  added  value and the need to provide adequate support for new 
and  pressing  priorities  such  as  research  and  innovation,  the  digital  economy,  young  people, 
migration  and  border  management,  security,  defence  and  external  action;  and  a  strengthened 
emphasis on sustainability including a more ambitious goal for climate mainstreaming;  

the streamlined and more transparent structure of the future budget; 

the  radical  reduction  in  the  number  of  programmes  and  the  creation  of  new  integrated 
programmes in areas like investing in people, the single market, strategic investments, rights and 
values and external actions, and the increased focus on synergies between instruments;  

the simplification of funding rules to reduce red tape for beneficiaries and managing authorities, 
and a greater focus on performance and results; and 

 

a more flexible budget to be able react rapidly in a fast-changing world. 

Substantial  progress  has  also  been  achieved  on  the  features  of  a  budgetary  instrument  for 
convergence and competitiveness for the euro area. This will promote cohesion within the Union 
by strengthening the resilience of the Economic and Monetary Union. In line with the mandate from 
the Euro Summit on 14 December 2018, work is progressing rapidly on the basis of the Commission’s 
proposal  for  a  Reform  Support  Programme.  Positions  are  converging  and  agreement  on  the  main 
features of the instrument is getting closer. 

It is also widely accepted that the new mechanism to ensure that generalised deficiencies as regards 
the rule of law do not put the budget at risk will be an essential feature of an agreement on the future 
multiannual financial framework. While a number of issues remain to be addressed, discussions under 
the  Austrian  and  the  Romanian  Presidencies  have  furthermore  confirmed  strong  support  for  the 
Commission’s proposal. Significant progress has been made at technical level, which should allow for 
an agreement in the Council under the Finnish Presidency. The Parliament adopted its position on 16 
January 2019.  

Work has also progressed on the Commission’s proposals to modernise the revenue side of the EU 
budget.  The  Union  needs  a  simpler  and  fairer  system  for  financing  the  EU  budget,  linked  more 
closely to the Union’s policies and offering alternative sources of revenue to help fund new priorities 
and  offset  the  impact  of  the  departure  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  European  Parliament  has  made 
clear that own resources reform and the diversification of revenue sources is a condition for granting 
its consent on the future framework. There is growing openness in the Council to the principle of new 
own resources.  

3.  Converging on a fair and balanced agreement 

The June European Council will kick-start the final phase of negotiations between Member States on 
the  next  multiannual  financial  framework.  The  progress  to  date  has  been  encouraging,  but  a  new 
political  impulse is  now  needed to  bring  the  negotiations to  a  successful  conclusion in  the  autumn. 
Many technical issues have been resolved. It is now time to refocus on the key political issues that 
will  shape  the  Union’s  future  financial  framework  –  and  in  particular  on  the  financial  aspects.  For 
that, strong political leadership from the European Council will be vital. 

The  Commission  has  consistently  stressed  that  fairness  and  balance  will  be  key  to  a  successful 
outcome. The overall size of the budget will need to be sufficiently ambitious to deliver efficiently on 
the Union’s common priorities, while taking due account of the financial impact of the departure of 
the  United  Kingdom.  A  new  balance  is  required  between  increased  funding  for  new  spending 
priorities  and  continued  strong  support  for  a  modernised  common  agricultural  policy  and  cohesion 
policy. The link between funding from the EU budget and the EU’s policy priorities and values must 
be  strengthened.  The  allocation  of  funding  between  Member  States  must  be  based  on  fair  and 

3 

 
objective criteria. A new and fairer system for financing the budget must also be part of a balanced 
package. 

These  are  complex  issues  but  it  is  now  time  to  tackle  them  head-on.  The  June  European  Council 
should launch a new phase of political negotiations with an increasing focus on financial and other 
strategic issues. The Commission welcomes the intention of the Finnish Presidency to launch bilateral 
discussions at political level immediately after the summer to prepare the decisive agreement at the 
European Council in the autumn. These discussions will need to take full account of the expectations 
of the European Parliament for the future framework. 

The urgency of this work cannot be overstated, both politically and practically. 1 January 2021 – the 
moment  from  which  the  next  multiannual  financial  framework  needs  to  be  legally  ready  to  be 
implemented in all Member States – is only 18 months away and there remains much to be done to 
ensure  that  the  future  financial  programmes  can  start  delivering  from  day  one.  Once  the  European 
Council  finds  an  agreement,  an  intensive  process  of  negotiation  with  the  European  Parliament  will 
begin. The regular exchanges between representatives of the European Parliament and the Presidency 
of the Council have built up a positive dynamic. The level of ambition in the European Council will 
be a crucial factor in the Parliament’s decision to given its consent. 

As soon as the new Parliament takes office and rapporteurs are appointed, negotiations should resume 
on  the  37  financial  programmes.  A  significant  acceleration  will  be  needed  for  those  programmes 
where  interinstitutional  negotiations  are  yet  to  start,  which  includes  key  programmes  such  as  the 
common agricultural policy. This work can only be completed once the overall framework is agreed. 
And only once the programmes have been formally adopted can the Commission adopt the necessary 
delegated and implementing acts, which are then subject to the relevant scrutiny procedures. 

MANY STEPS BETWEEN A EUROPEAN COUNCIL AGREEMENT 
AND IMPLEMENTATION ON THE GROUND 

Agreement in the European Council. 

European Parliament resolution on the European Council conclusions. 

Political agreement between the Presidents of the European Parliament, 
the Council and the Commission. 

Formal endorsement by the Council. 

European Parliament resolution on the political agreement. 

Formal transmission of the draft Regulation to the Parliament and request 
for its consent. 

Formal consent of the European Parliament on the Regulation. 

Council adoption of the multiannual financial framework Regulation. 

Adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of all sectoral proposals. 

Adoption of the new own resources decision. 

Adoption of last partnership agreements and programmes under shared 
management. 
Entry into force of the revised own resources decision. 

EXAMPLE OF THE 
CURRENT FRAMEWORK 
7-8 FEBRUARY 
2013 
13 MARCH 
2013 

27 JUNE 
2013 
28 JUNE 
2013 
3 JULY 
2013 

22 JULY 
2013 
19 NOVEMBER  
2013 
2 DECEMBER 
2013 

DECEMBER 2013 -
APRIL 2014 

26 MAY 
2014 

NOVEMBER 2015 

1 OCTOBER 
2016 

DELAYED 
IMPLEMENTATION 

4 

 
 
The  formal  adoption  process  is  only  part  of  the  story.  The  practical  preparations  for  the  new 
programmes  also  take  time,  whether  it  be  preparing  operational  programmes,  launching  calls  for 
proposals, or putting in place management, monitoring and control systems.  

This work can begin in parallel with the finalisation of the legal framework but can only be completed 
once  the  legal  framework  is  in  place.  As  a  reference  point,  it  took  a  further  two  years  for  all 
programmes under shared management to be formally adopted. Actual project implementation could 
only  start  several  months  later  still,  as  Member  States  had  to  publish  calls  for  projects  and  finally 
select projects.  

Delays in implementing the new long-term budget would have very real consequences on the ground. 
Vital  investments  would  be  postponed,  Erasmus  placements  deferred  and  research  jobs  lost.  In 
addition, the new own resources ceiling can only apply once the new own resources decision has been 
approved by all Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements2.  

Time is therefore of the essence if Leaders are to fulfil their commitment to ‘provide the Union with 
the means necessary to attain its objectives and carry through its policies.’ Completing work on the 
future  framework  and  the  spending  programmes  in  time  to  allow  their  full  implementation  by  1 
January 2021 will be challenging, but it is achievable – provided that the European Council leads the 
way.  

4.  Conclusion  

2019  is  a  year  of  renewal  for  the  Union.  The  Declaration  agreed  by  Europe’s  Leaders  in  Sibiu, 
building on the Bratislava Roadmap and the Rome Declaration, sets out a clear and positive agenda 
for the Union at 27. The European Parliament elections saw a surge in democratic engagement with 
the Union, with the highest turnout in European elections for 20 years, and a campaign more focused 
on European issues than ever before. 

This  backdrop  provides  a new  sense  of  momentum  and  urgency  for the final  phase  of  work  on  the 
future  financial  framework.  Uncertainty  over,  for  example,  the  terms  and  timing  of  the  United 
Kingdom’s departure from the Union does not mean that important decisions should be deferred. On 
the contrary, it makes it all the more important that the Union moves forward on its positive agenda 
with confidence and optimism.  

Negotiations on the long-term budget are fundamentally about political priorities and how to deliver 
them.  The  stakes  are  high,  the  issues  complex  and  there  are  delicate  balances  to  be  struck,  but 
ultimately the success of these negotiations will depend on political will.  

The  Commission  therefore  calls  on  the  June  European  Council  to  set  out  a  roadmap  for 
reaching an agreement on the future long-term budget in the autumn.  

The Commission will do its utmost to support the European Parliament and the Council in equipping 
the  Union  with  the  modern  long-term  budget  it  needs  to  respond  to  the  challenges  and  seize  the 
opportunities that lie ahead. 

2   Contrary to the previous period, the new multiannual financial framework will need to be accompanied by 
an  increase  in  the  ceilings  established  in  the  own  resources  decision  to  ensure  that  the  Union  is  able  – 
under any circumstances – to fulfil its financial obligations.  

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