afternoon - General Affairs Council

17 mars 2026

Council of the European Union Conseil européen

00:22 - 01:07
We now go on to our policy debate on the governance aspects of the proposal for the new MFF.  Our discussion takes place in the context of ongoing reflections on a reformed and modernized budgetary framework.  I take this opportunity to first give you a brief state of play on how the work has advanced.  In the last two and a half months, we have been working on the different instruments and are advancing very well with the presidency compromise proposals.  On the horizontal aspects of the MFF, following your input, we will work on a targeted revision of the negotiating box, as well as on figures. 
01:08 - 01:50
Our ambition as presidency remains to present you with a negotiating box with indicative figures as well as partial general approaches for the three main financing instruments in June 2026.  Now turning on to our discussion today.  As you know, the European Council is expected to hold an exchange of views on the MFF, its contribution to EU competitiveness, and the financing of our common ambitions.  It will also take note of the ongoing work on governance, which is undertaken by the presidency.  Governance-related issues were extensively discussed in policy debates on the different instruments. 
01:51 - 02:41
Today's discussion will provide the necessary input to continue that work.  There is a clear mandate to reinforce the role of the Council and the member states, and that is what we intend to do in preparing our compromise proposals.  When the commission presented its proposals on the new MFF, it underlined the need for an agile budget that can better align the spending capacity with evolving priorities.  Although the proposed inbuilt flexibility is key, it must be balanced with predictable commitments for long-term investments to avoid uncertainty for the final beneficiaries.  And if we want to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of implementation, it will also be important that governance arrangements take into account the lessons learned from EU spending in the current period. 
02:42 - 03:21
We would, therefore, ask you to reflect on the design of governance within the three main financing instruments, in particular the role of the council and the member states, bearing in mind institutional balance and the need to ensure simplification, efficient decision making, and effective implementation.  We have put forward two questions to steer this debate.  Our discussions should also be mindful of the fact that there will be negotiations with the Parliament on the governance aspects of the MFF.  Prior to turning to member states, let me first pass the floor to Commissioner Serafin.  Piotr, the floor is yours. 

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