Europe Von der Leyen responds to criticism of trillion-euro budget plan
In response to blockade threats from the European Parliament, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has supplemented her proposal for the next long-term EU budget. Von der Leyen has informed Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the current presidency of the governments of the EU member states in a letter about options for change, a spokeswoman said. She was confirming a report by the German Press Agency. Among other things, this concerns more say for the regions, possible guarantees for the agricultural sector and greater involvement of Parliament in the allocation of money from the EU budget.
10.11.2025, 14:30
SDA
If the governments of the member states agree, it could be agreed, for example, that a certain proportion of EU budget funds would be reserved for the targeted development of rural regions in addition to the earmarked funds for the common agricultural policy (CAP). The Commission is also proposing transparency rules for the involvement of regional and local stakeholders when drawing up national plans for the use of EU funds.
The proposed changes are intended to support the decision-making process for the financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034, according to the letter, which is available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The long-term budget is intended to enable expenditure of around two trillion euros - that is around 700 billion euros more than is currently budgeted for the current seven-year budget period.
Von der Leyen faces debate in parliament
In an initial reaction, Parliament President Metsola described the proposals on Monday as a "good step forward". She had already discussed the next steps with von der Leyen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday. Frederiksen is currently representing the governments of the EU member states in the negotiations, as her country currently holds the EU Council Presidency. Von der Leyen went on to say that there was now a clear way forward and that she was looking forward to taking part in a plenary debate on the topic in Parliament on Wednesday.
Parliamentarians fear for influence
In the months prior to this, there had been fierce criticism of the budget plan and threats of blockades, particularly from within parliament. In a recent letter to von der Leyen, top representatives criticized the fact that the needs of the regions outside the capital cities were not being met.
One of the reasons for this is that instead of several pots for EU agricultural policy and for the promotion of structurally weak regions, there will only be one large fund in future.
The parliamentarians warn that merging the funding areas would make each one less important. A separate budget for each area would give the recipients of EU money more security and reliability. They also demand that structural funding policy should not be planned and implemented by national governments alone.
MEPs can block the budget
MEPs are also demanding to be involved in the approval and amendment of national plans. They also want to play a greater role in drawing up the EU budget for individual years.
The letter was signed by the group leaders of the conservative EPP, the social-democratic S&D, the liberal Renew and the Greens as well as the respective budget negotiators of the political groups.
The long-term EU budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), is adopted using a special legislative procedure. The EU countries must adopt it unanimously and the European Parliament must approve it. If the necessary majority is not reached in Parliament, the proposal is deemed to have been rejected.
