31 Aug 2026
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden issue joint statement on next MFF
Following a meeting of the heads of government of Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden, which took place at the invitation of Germand Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, the participating countries issued a joint statement regarding their position on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028-2034). The statement of 27 August 2026 contains the following key messages, amongst others:
- The signatories clearly support the ambition to conclude the negotiations on the next MFF in 2026.
- The MFF will need to be modernised and reformed, "both in its architecture and in the way it allocates resources".
- The signatories call for moderate growth of the next MFF to address strategic priorities, stating, however, that the EC proposal will have to be reduced by several hundred billion euro "in a balanced manner", with all budget headings contributing to these cuts.
- They also advocate strategic priority setting, following the EU's Strategic Agenda, in the areas of security and defence, competitiveness, migration, and sovereignty.
- The signatories expect the EU institutions "to organise their workload within the extisting staff levels".
- The next MFF will need to be "underpinned by an efficient, socially responsible and business-friendly legislative and regulatory framework".
- Respecting common EU values and the rule of law must be a fundamental condition for access to EU funding.
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