“The 2028-2034 Multi-Annual Financial Framework: Three scenarios on the potential future of EU financing for global multilateralism“ The ETTG policy brief by Ronny Patz and Niels Keijzer, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) asks a simple but consequential question: when the EU negotiates its next long-term budget for 2028
December 2025 The European Commission’s proposal for a Global Europe Instrument (GEI) under the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework marks a pivotal shift in how the EU intends to fund its external action. Designed to align development cooperation more closely with Europe’s own competitiveness and security, the GEI aims to streamline
By Daniele Fattibene, ETTG Coordinator | July 25, 2025 Introduction: The MFF as a Geopolitical Barometer The European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is more than a budget: it not only marks the EU’s political priorities, but also its level of ambition to be a truly global player. With the
The multi-annual financial framework report was based on a previous physical workshop event which took place in Paris on January 2020 and which brought together key players in France to agree on the conditions allowing to secure an ambitious budget dedicated to external action (“Heading 6”), particularly for the challenges of sustainable development in southern countries. The workshop and the report was also an opportunity to reflect on the role of the European Union’s external action policy.
In December 2018, the ETTG published a paper comparing emerging Member State positions for the financing of the EU’s external action under its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), covering the period 2021-2027. Its first observation that negotiations are moving slowly unfortunately still holds today.
After the recent European elections in Italy, a populist leadership is set to be the driver of the Italian European agenda for the next months. These populist forces are destined to play a marginal role in the negotiations over the new Commission as well as the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2017. The growing role of Lega within the Government is expected to have a deep impact on the MFF, with agriculture, cohesion funds, migration and border management likely to become the real priorities for Italy at the expense of the development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.