European Union: Multiannual Financial Framework 2028 to 2034

This is intended to finance three main categories of expenditure: A European fund that provides for a national and regional partnership plan for each Member State, which includes planning expenditure for agricultural and cohesion funds. This fund will also service the debt for loans under Next Generation EU (NGEU). A second fund will be used to promote Europe's competitiveness. A third fund will pool the European Union's (EU) external financial commitments in all parts of the world. 

To finance the budget, the Commission is proposing five new types of revenue in addition to the existing four own resources: revenue from emissions trading, from the CO2 border adjustment mechanism, and from a share of national tobacco tax revenue. In addition, a levy based on the amount of uncollected electronic waste is to be introduced, as well as a levy on companies with a turnover exceeding 100 million euros. 

An examination of the new own resources shows that they are only suitable for financing the EU to a very limited extent. It would make more sense to base the EU budget's revenue on two sources. These are, on the one hand, the so-called traditional own resources, i.e., the EU's customs revenue, and, on the other hand, own resources based on the gross national income (GNI) of the member states.

The Commission's proposals also provide for the establishment of an extraordinary crisis mechanism and another debt instrument called Catalyst Europe. However, further extensive borrowing by the EU would damage its credibility because it would break the promise that borrowing to finance programs under NGEU is a one-off exception.