António Costa: EU must agree next long-term budget by year's end

European Council President António Costa has published an opinion piece explaining why, since his election, he has made it a practice to visit every EU member state each year for bilateral talks with national leaders. He says these meetings are primarily meant to listen to member states' concerns and priorities, while also giving him a chance to present his vision for the Union's future.

Costa notes that many benefits of European integration — open borders, a shared currency, common environmental and health standards, mutual support during natural disasters, and the end of mobile roaming charges — have become so routine that they often go unnoticed, despite being the result of decades of joint effort.

Defence and competitiveness

Given the current geopolitical reality, including Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the EU has set a goal of significantly strengthening Europe's defence readiness by 2030 by developing joint military capabilities and reducing strategic dependencies. Costa also stresses the need for a more competitive economy — cutting red tape, mobilising private investment, and strengthening supply chains under the "Single Market, Single Europe" plan, whose targets must be met by the end of 2027.

Budget deadline

This year's meetings with EU leaders will focus on defence and competitiveness alongside enlargement and continued support for Ukraine. However, Costa says the most important decision to be made this year is agreeing on the EU's multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034, which must be settled by the end of 2026 to allow time to put the necessary legal and administrative arrangements in place and avoid disruptions to funding for farmers, businesses, students and researchers. The budget must reflect both traditional and new priorities, including defence and security, while keeping member states' contributions within reasonable limits, supplemented by new common resources.