President Nicusor Dan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni organized on June 18 the first coordination meeting of the “Friends of Cohesion” group at leaders’ level, ahead of discussions on the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF), the Romanian head of state announced on Facebook.

”We will continue to advocate for an ambitious EU budget, with sufficient resources for the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy, as well as for strengthening overall competitiveness throughout the European Union,” President Dan stressed.

The European Commission has proposed a multiannual budget of approximately 2,000 billion euros for the period 2028-2034, which includes a broad reform of the Union’s main financing instruments. The proposal foresees a reduction of around 10% in the funds earmarked for the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy, a measure contested by a group of 17 member states, including Romania.

A week ago, the Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council presented a new compromise version. The document largely maintains the cuts for agriculture and cohesion, but introduces limited increases for some beneficiary states and reduces the overall size of the budget proposed by the European Commission by around 2%.

The new proposal also foresees a reduction in the funds earmarked for economic competitiveness, defence and the Union’s external action. Negotiations between member states and the European Parliament are set to intensify in the coming period, with the aim of adopting the multiannual financial framework by the end of 2026.

The future of the MFF (2028-2034) is one of the main topics of the summer European Council meeting, which is taking place June 18 – 19 in Brussels.