The debate across Europe and among the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states has intensified around the long-term EU budget for the period 2028-2034, which is expected to reach a total of €2 trillion. Based on the European Commission’s initial proposal, approximately €49.5 billion is allocated to Greece. However, national interests vary widely and often conflict, making the negotiations intense and complex.
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“We are, obviously, in discussions with many other European countries, and we are building our own alliances in order to incorporate national necessities into European priorities,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis revealed days ago at a meeting of the Government Council on Economic Policy. Regarding the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Greece’s position is that the EU’s ambitious goals must be matched by an equally ambitious budget. Athens also argues that the revenues of the new budget — including both existing and new own resources, as well as other funding sources — must serve the EU’s enhanced strategic and investment priorities.
Greece’s €49.5 billion EU budget share: the behind-the-scenes moves and Mitsotakis’s strategy
A top priority for Greece remains the protection of resources allocated to Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as ensuring that efforts to boost European competitiveness do not widen the disparities between EU member states and regions. “Despite the significant fiscal pressures building across Europe, I am optimistic that Greece can maintain strong resources for the primary sector. However, this requires serious preparation and active adaptation to the new funding architecture taking shape within the European Union,” Minister of Rural Development Margritis Schinas stated in comments to Parapolitika. More recently, Minister Schinas emphasized that the government will push for a strong Common Agricultural Policy with adequate resources, greater flexibility for member states, and adaptation to the needs of Mediterranean agriculture.
At the same time, drawing on the positive experience of the Recovery Fund, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has repeatedly advocated for common European financing — including joint European borrowing — to fund investments in shared European public goods, particularly in the areas of energy and defense. “We cannot move forward with a budget designed for yesterday’s needs. We need a bold approach, worthy of our ambitions, with tools suited to investing in European public goods: defense, energy security, and critical infrastructure,” the Prime Minister stated yesterday during a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Luís Montenegro, following their meeting at the Maximos Mansion.
“Our position is straightforward: Europe cannot do more with less. If we want it to meet new demands, we must secure the necessary means — while at the same time preserving, strongly and non-negotiably as I believe our position to be, the pillars of Cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy. And the discussion on new own resources must now move forward with courage and determination,” he added.
On July 1, 2027, Greece will take over from Lithuania and officially assume the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is set to be a critical presidency, covering economic, energy, defense, and geopolitical issues — and one that may even be called upon to handle the final stages of designing the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028-2034 period. This issue is also expected to feature prominently in the pre-election messaging of Mitsotakis and New Democracy as a whole, posing the question to voters of who they want negotiating and managing these crucial discussions about the future of Greece and Europe.
