EU budget for 2026

The total EU budget amounts to €192.8 billion in commitments and €190.1 billion in payments, i.e. funds actually paid to beneficiaries in 2026. During the negotiations, the Parliament pushed through €372.7 million extra for the priorities that MEPs believe will have the biggest impact on the daily lives of citizens and the stability of the EU. The extra money goes to Horizon Europe (+20 million), transport and energy networks (+23.5 million), civil protection and RescEU (+10 million) or military mobility (+10 million). External border management (+10 million), the LIFE climate programme and the EU4Health and Erasmus+ programmes (+3 million each) will also be strengthened.

The EU is also increasing foreign policy funding: +35 million for the Southern Neighbourhood, +25 million for the Eastern Neighbourhood and +35 million for humanitarian aid. The Parliament underlines that the EU's global engagement is essential in times of crisis.

Farmers will receive additional support thanks to a €105 million increase in funding for the promotion of European agricultural products, which is intended to open up new markets and help young farmers in particular.

A significant challenge for the budget is the rising cost of repaying the NextGenerationEU programme, which will increase by €4.2 billion in 2026 compared to expectations. However, the Parliament has insisted that these additional costs must not reduce funding for flagship programmes such as Erasmus+ or EU4Health and will be covered through a "cascade mechanism".