Costa: EU must reach budget agreement by year-end

The European Union must reach an agreement on its next budget by the end of the year or risk a disruption to funding in 2028, European Council President Antonio Costa warned in Cernobbio.

Costa called for a balanced and ambitious package of new resources as part of a broader agreement suited to what he described as a pivotal historical moment. He said the budget should not be treated as a matter of numbers alone, but as a definitive political choice about the Europe the bloc wants to build.

“

Europe must reach an agreement on the budget by the end of the year because it cannot risk arriving in 2028 with an interruption in funds.

“The next European budget must put competitiveness, industrial transformation, defense, security and strategic resilience at the center,” Costa said. He added that it must respond to the challenges of the current period.

“

The next European budget must put competitiveness, industrial transformation, defense, security and strategic resilience at the center.

Costa said the new budget should have an architecture completely different from previous budgets. At the same time, he argued that it must continue supporting cohesion and agricultural policies, which he described as pillars of regional development and shared prosperity across the continent.

He also called for an open mindset and a collective sense of responsibility as negotiations move forward.

“

It must be a budget that is not only about numbers, but a definitive political choice about the Europe we want to build in the future with an open mindset and a collective sense of responsibility.