Budget 2026: EU can’t deliver more with less

“The 2026 budget is about much more than numbers and priorities – it’s about proving that our Institution can stand united, despite political differences. Europeans expect protection and to be heard, and that’s exactly what we’re here to deliver. Our credibility as an Institution is on the line, especially in such turbulent times”, says Andrzej Halicki MEP, negotiator on the next year’s EU budget, following the plenary votes.

“The vast majority of the EPP Group's priorities were adopted, such as increasing allocations for Horizon Europe by €60 million, funding for young farmers by €23 million, or extra resources for the EU’s southern and eastern neighbourhoods to help countries which continue to be significantly affected by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine”. 

“We now have a strong mandate to say it loud and clear: cutting the EU’s 2026 budget by around €1.3 billion, as some Member States propose, is simply unacceptable. You cannot expect the European Union to do more while giving it less, and the budget is not a bargaining chip in political negotiations. It is not a tool for short-term trade-offs. We will not allow cuts to flagship programmes like the Civil Protection Mechanism, EU4Health, or Erasmus. On the contrary, we’ll keep pushing for more - for defence, competitiveness, agriculture, jobs. This budget is built to deliver real benefits for all Europeans, and the EPP Group will ensure to do” Halicki concluded.