The EU Council announced on Saturday that it has agreed with the European Parliament on a €192.8 billion EU budget for 2026.
“Today’s agreement demonstrates that Europe is able to act even in challenging times. The EU budget for 2026 will allow us to realize our common priorities: security, competitiveness and border management – while ensuring that we can respond quickly and effectively to unforeseen needs and crises,” said Nicolai Wammen, Minister of Finance of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Council’s chief negotiator on the 2026 budget.
The total EU budget commitment for 2026 is €192.8 billion and total disbursements €190.1 billion. “Commitments are legally enforceable promises to spend money on activities whose implementation is spread over several financial years. Payments cover expenditure arising from commitments made under the EU budget in the current and previous financial years,” the council explains in a published communiqué.
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 program, the document notes.
Disbursements for EU defense and security in 2026 are planned at €2.25 billion. For migration and border management – 3.88 billion euros. For neighborhood policy and foreign policy – 16.56 billion euros. For the common market, innovation and digitalization – 23.33 billion euros.
Now the EU Council and the European Parliament must formally approve the agreement reached. The EU Council is expected to approve it on November 24. A qualified majority vote is required to pass the budget, according to the communiqué.
