Earlier this month, the European Parliament’s budget committee adopted its position on the EU long-term budget, securing key wins for liberals. That position was confirmed again this week as Parliament adopted its budgetary guidelines for 2027.
Liberals want a budget that empowers citizens, protects European values and ensures every euro of EU taxpayer money is spent where it is most needed. In an unstable global context, budget choices are increasingly political choices about Europe’s direction.
Renew Europe’s coordinator on budgetary affairs, Lucia Yar MEP (Progresívne Slovensko, SK) commented:
“It is no coincidence that we are adopting the Budgetary Guidelines for 2027 on the very same day as the interim report on the Multiannual Financial Framework. The priorities we are setting for the next annual budget mirror the direction we want to take for the next seven years from 2028 onwards. In a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, Europe must stand firmly by its citizens and regions, strengthen its defence capabilities and remain globally competitive.”
Renew Europe’s negotiator on the MFF, Fabienne Keller MEP (Renaissance, FR) said:
"We will be turning a page with this 2027 EU budget. This last 'tranche' of the previous MFF shows the changes we need to make for the future. The next MFF must be more flexible and more ambitious. Times demand it. This 2027 EU budget will also be – we hope – the last we’ll have which is financed overwhelmingly by Member states direct contributions. The next long-term budget must rely on more EU-wide stream of revenue. This will be one of Renew’s red line for the MFF negotiation to come.”
Earlier this spring, the Commission confirmed that EU funds can be used to support access to abortion through the European Social Fund Plus. Liberals spearheaded this through the “My Voice, My Choice” citizens’ initiative. The new guidelines encourage Member States to use available funding to tackle gender-based violence and support sexual and reproductive health services.
Yar added:
“We welcome that the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative is now echoed in the Budgetary Guidelines. It sends a clear signal that even in a world where we see increasing attempts to roll back the rights of women and minorities, the European Parliament is choosing to move in the opposite direction, and to walk the talk. We cannot praise civic mobilisation only when it is politically convenient and in front of cameras. But we must back it up with concrete and predictable financial support. Today, the Parliament reaffirmed that EU funds can support Member States willing to ensure access to abortion care for those who cannot obtain it in their home country.”
In today’s geopolitical reality, standing still is not an option. Europe must invest and deliver. That is how we build a Union that is strong, competitive and ready for the future.