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ECA publishes opinions on next long-term EU budget: MFF regulation and own resources
On Wednesday, 28 January 2026, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish its next two opinions in a series of 12 on the European Commission’s proposals for the next long-term EU budget. The opinions will cover the proposed new rules on the length, structure and ceilings of the next seven-year budget and the new system of own resources for financing the budget.
In 2025, the Commission put forward a total budget of almost €2 trillion for a seven-year period. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament, which will ultimately decide on the budget, have asked for the auditors’ views before they examine the proposals. From mid-January 2026, the ECA will issue a series of opinions on the plans for the EU’s 2028-2034 budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF). In total, the auditors will comment on the financial soundness of 12 proposals made by the EU’s executive this summer. The auditors will single out a number of important points for EU law-makers to consider in their upcoming negotiations.
On 16 July 2025, as part of its proposals for the 2028-2034 MFF, the Commission proposed a regulation for the new MFF and a new system for the EU’s own resources. The EU’s executive has proposed a seven-year budget totalling €2 trillion (at current prices), an increase of 60 % compared to the current MFF. To finance the increased budget, it proposes five new different own resources, bringing the total to nine. For the first time, own resources include revenue based on non-collected e-waste and tobacco duties, and contributions from firms with an annual turnover of over €100 million, as well as the previously proposed resources based on the carbon border adjustment mechanism and the emissions trading system.
The opinions and press communication will be published on the ECA’s website (eca.europa.eu) at 17:00 CET on Wednesday 28 January 2026. The ECA Members responsible for these opinions are Jan Gregor (for the MFF Regulation) and Katarína Kaszasová (for EU own resources).
As the EU’s independent external auditor, the ECA helps improve financial management by issuing opinions on the Commission’s proposals for new or revised legislation. Where these legislative proposals entail a significant financial impact, EU law requires that our institution be consulted. Therefore, in line with this institutional mandate, we provide our opinions on the MFF proposals, highlighting risks and lessons learned based on our extensive experience with the EU budget.