ECA opinions on next long-term EU budget: European Fund and tracking EU spending

On Tuesday 24 February 2026, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish its next two opinions under the long-term EU budget of almost €2 trillion between 2028 and 2034. The auditors will provide their views on the proposed new European Fund for cohesion, agriculture and security through national plans. Alongside this opinion, they will publish their opinion on the EU’s budget expenditure tracking and performance framework.

About the opinions

The auditors will provide their views on two Commission legislative proposals: one for the new European Fund​​, establishing a single set of rules in support of cohesion, agriculture and rural development, fisheries and maritime affairs, prosperity and security; and the other for the framework for tracking EU spending and measuring its performance. At €865 billion – nearly 44 % of total spending – the European Fund would be the single largest part of the proposed long-term EU budget. It would be based on national and regional partnership plans, and would merge funding for different long-standing policies (cohesion, agriculture) and emerging priorities (defence) under a single national plan in each member state. In addition, the Commission is proposing a facility to allow for loans of up to €150 billion in total to member states. It has also outlined a new financing model, under which, rather than simply reimbursing costs as at present, most payments to member states would depend on the achievement of the milestones and targets they set in their national plans. This model of reward for realising promised investments and reforms is largely inspired by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

About the topic

In 2025, the Commission put forward a total of €2 trillion for the EU’s 2028-2034 budget, or multiannual financial framework (MFF). The Council, which will ultimately decide on the budget, and the European Parliament, which needs to give its consent, have asked for the auditors’ views before they examine the proposals. In mid-January 2026 the ECA started issuing a series of opinions on these proposals.

​The ECA press office will hold an online briefing on Tuesday 24 February 2026. The opinion and press communication will be published on the ECA’s website (eca.europa.eu) at 11:30 CET on the same day. The ECA Members responsible for the two opinions are Annemie Turtelboom and Alejandro Blanco Fernández (European Fund), and Jorg Kristijan Petrovič (performance framework).

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.