The EU Council announced on Saturday that it had agreed a €192.8bn EU budget for 2026 with the European Parliament.
“Today’s agreement demonstrates that Europe is able to act even in challenging times. The EU budget for 2026 will allow us to realise our shared priorities: security, competitiveness and border management – while ensuring that we can respond quickly and effectively to unpredictable needs and crises,” said the Danish Minister of Finance, Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Council’s chief parliamentarian for the 2026 budget, Nikolaj Wammen.
The total EU budget commitment for 2026 is €192.8bn, with total disbursements of €190.1bn. “Commitments are legally enforceable promises to spend money on activities whose realisation is spread over several financial years. The payments cover expenditure arising from commitments made under the EU budget in the current and previous financial years,” the rada explains in a communiqué published.
This is the sixth annual budget of the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027. The 2026 budget is complemented by measures to support post COVID-19 recovery under the special NextGenerationEU programme, the document notes.
Disbursements for EU defence and security in 2026 are planned at €2.25 billion. For migration and border management – 3.88 billion euros. For neighbourhood policy and foreign policy activities – 16.56 billion euros. For the common market, innovation and digitalisation – €23.33 billion.
The EU Council and the European Parliament must now formally approve the agreement reached. The EU Council is expected to approve it on 24 November. A qualified majority vote is required for the budget to be adopted, the communiqué said.