The European Parliament has adopted the European Union’s budget for 2026, following an agreement with member states that secured additional funding for research, infrastructure, border management, climate action, and foreign policy.
In negotiations concluded on November 15, Parliament obtained €372.7 million more than what was initially proposed by the European Commission. The extra funds are aimed at supporting programmes designed to improve living standards, strengthen competitiveness, and address security challenges across the EU.
Major EU programmes will see increased support. Horizon Europe receives an extra €20 million to advance research and innovation, while transport and energy networks gain €23.5 million more for cross-border infrastructure projects. The Civil Protection Mechanism and RescEU will get an additional €10 million to enhance disaster response coordination. Military mobility also sees a €10 million boost to reinforce defense preparedness. Border management is allocated another €10 million.
Environmental initiatives are also prioritized with the LIFE programme receiving a further €10 million. The EU4Health and Erasmus+ programmes each benefit from a €3 million increase. Funding for measures promoting European agricultural products under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund rises by €105 million, with an emphasis on supporting young farmers.
The budget includes increased support for external relations: the Southern Neighbourhood receives an additional €35 million; the Eastern Neighbourhood gets a €25 million rise; and humanitarian aid increases by €35 million in response to global instability and climate-related emergencies.
The EU faces a significant rise in borrowing costs related to its NextGenerationEU recovery package—an unexpected increase of €4.2 billion in 2026, double earlier projections. Parliament ensured these costs would not affect key programmes like Erasmus+ or EU4Health by using a “cascade mechanism” intended to manage repayment expenses while protecting flagship initiatives.
For 2026, the total budget amounts to €192.8 billion in commitments and €190.1 billion in payments, leaving a margin of nearly €716 million below spending ceilings for unforeseen events over the year.
The budget was passed by 419 votes to 185 with 53 abstentions; Council approval followed on Monday.
“We live in turbulent times, with rising expectations and increasing demands on the EU budget. As citizens’ priorities evolve, it is essential for the Parliament and EU institutions to listen and respond effectively. Progress is being made, but the budget alone will only get us so far. Continued efforts and further steps will be needed to enhance competitiveness,” said Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE), chair of the Committee on Budgets.
“In the difficult circumstances of Russia’s war of aggression, natural disasters and geopolitical pressures, we stayed focused on our priority for the 2026 budget during the negotiations with EU governments: a safer, stronger Europe. Parliament secured nearly €400 million in top-ups, reinstated cuts proposed by the Council and reinforced key programmes, for example ensuring better border protection, military mobility, and greater support for our neighbourhood and humanitarian aid. United in our position throughout the process, we delivered a solid budget for next year that focuses on a secure, stable, and stronger Europe for citizens,” said Andrzej Halicki (EPP, PL), general rapporteur for section III – Commission.
“The 2026 EU budget represents the Europe we want to build: one that invests in knowledge, youth, research, environmental protection, solidarity, and humanitarian aid. We secured a strong deal that supports crucial EU programmes and key institutions, strengthens our rule of law protections and values, and delivers for our citizens. Thanks to Parliament, the agreement on additional staff and top-ups moves the Union forward, stronger – and this is something we can all be proud of,” said Matjaž Nemec (S&D, SI), rapporteur for other sections.
According to background information from the European Commission cited by Parliament officials,more than 93% of the EU budget directly supports people or projects across member states. The annual EU budget covers all 27 countries serving approximately 450 million Europeans; its size averages between €160 billion–€200 billion per year from 2021 through 2027—a scale comparable to Poland’s national budget or about one-third that of Germany’s.
