The European Court of Auditors (ECA) published its opinion on Wednesday (28 January) on spending and revenue rules of the next long-term EU budget, the bloc's so-called multi-annual financial framework (MFF).
For the first time, this next EU budget includes revenue based on uncollected e-waste and tobacco duties, and contributions from firms with an annual turnover of over €100m.
But national capitals will still see an increase in their contributions by 48 percent compared to the previous MFF (from €140.7bn to €208.5bn), according to the auditors.
The Luxembourg-based ECA gives its opinion based on a request by the European Parliament, which currently negotiates the proposal together with the EU Council, representing member states.
The next MFF spans 2028 to 2034 and totals €2 trillion. While that is an increase of 59 percent compared to the current MFF, it accounts for only 1.26 percent of the EU’s gross national income (GNI).
The draft for the next budget was presented by the commission in July 2025, amid its ongoing simplification agenda. For the next MFF, this translates into fewer headings, from seven to four, and a sharp cut of programmes from 52 to 16.
Headings are the seven main spending categories of the EU budget, setting maximum, multi-year, legally binding expenditure ceilings.
In addition, the portion of the budget managed by the commission and member states together would drop 20 percent, from 66 to 46 percent.
EU auditor Jan Gregor from the Czech Republic told EUobserver: “Every MFF brings its own rules, so that is not exceptional. The idea is always to modernise, to bring it up to the challenges of the time. In the current MFF, there has been a lot of call for flexibility, given a lot of unexpected events.
“It is possible to oversimplify, of course. This is not what we want, because if you oversimplify, it may obscure transparency, the planning would be more or less defined without clear definitions, and it would be harder to track what money is spent on.”
The proposed MFF includes reimbursement on the basis of achievements of certain milestones and goals. Gregor noted: “This is something that we have criticised in numerous reports on RRF [Recovery and Resilience Facility, during the covid pandemic]. So again, we will need to see how this will work in practice.”
The proposed reimbursement model needs ways to monitor progress in every member state. Gregor said: “In our view, this is not sufficiently in place. So, we keep the fingers crossed for the commission, but success is not guaranteed.”
So-called 'own resources' the EU has so far include the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
The upcoming budget proposes three new revenue-generating mechanisms: uncollected electronic waste fees (e-waste), tobacco excise taxes (TEDOR), and a corporate contribution to Europe (CORE) —an annual flat payment required from companies with yearly revenues exceeding €100m.
The proposal includes new measurements to generate additional revenues accounting for €58bn each year of the seven-year budget.
The commission therefore estimates reduced financial burden for the member states, but the audit found that the member states still have to come up with 77 percent of the additional annual revenues.
According to the auditors, the bigger EU budget will lead to increased national contributions by 48 percent, from €140.7bn to €208.5bn.
An agreement between the parliament and the council on the MFF is planned for the end of 2026 so it can enter into force on time.
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Hannah Kriwak is a junior reporter from Austria at EUobserver, covering European politics.
Hannah Kriwak is a junior reporter from Austria at EUobserver, covering European politics.