Brussels: The 2028-2034 EU budget can only fill the gap left when NextGenerationEU expires if governments approve it as the Commission presented it, Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said in a written answer reported by Eunews on 23 October 2026. The reply came after a question from Greek MEP Georgios Aftias of New Democracy, who asked for a permanent mechanism modelled on the post-pandemic recovery instrument.
Serafin put the Commission proposal at 1.98 trillion euros at current prices, or 1,763 billion euros at constant prices. That equals about 1.26 percent of EU gross national income. He called the proposal ambitious and presented it as the only realistic alternative.
His argument rests on a distinction. The Recovery and Resilience Facility was a temporary, crisis-driven tool, he said, and not a permanent programme of the EU budget. The commissioner told governments that the 2028-2034 EU budget builds on the momentum of the recovery plan without renewing it.
The question exposes a rift in the EPP, according to Eunews. Many members of the group have long held that NextGenerationEU, including the Recovery Fund, was a one-off exception, while others now want a lasting tool to back investment and reforms.
For recipients of recovery money, the answer matters because the facility ends. Governments that relied on grants and loans for investment must now ask whether the 2028-2034 EU budget can carry similar ambitions through the regular budget.
The politics around the money remain tense. On 15 October, EU leaders were reported to be divided, with some suggesting a deal might not come until 2027. A day later, leaders reportedly agreed to aim for an agreement by December, with own resources identified as the key issue.
Talks among delegations picked up this week, and the Commission is looking for the most feasible political and legal way to reproduce the recovery programme’s effects through the regular budget. Objections to the overall size of the framework have not gone away, and Eunews gives no figures for the frugal capitals’ demands.
The size of the 2028-2034 EU budget matters for the next seven years. If the proposal stays intact, capitals keep a large budget with recovery-style features. If they cut it, the gap Serafin describes grows, and so does pressure on investment plans that depend on Union money.
December is the date to watch. Leaders must settle own resources before the 2028-2034 EU budget can move from proposal to law, and Serafin’s message is that the Commission will defend its design.
