EU must agree on long-term budget by year-end to avoid funding disruption: Council president

The EU must agree on its next long-term budget by the end of this year to prevent funding disruptions in 2028, European Council President Antonio Costa said Wednesday.

Speaking in Vilnius after meeting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Costa described negotiations on the bloc’s 2028-2034 budget as a “decisive challenge” for this autumn.

“To ensure that there is no interruption in the European Union funding for farmers, our businesses, our students, and other recipients in 2028, we need to reach an agreement by the end of this year,” he said.

Costa said the budget should place competitiveness, industrial transformation, defense, security and strategic resilience at its core while continuing to support cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.

Balancing traditional priorities with emerging challenges will require a significantly different budget structure, he said, adding that new EU revenue streams will be essential to reaching an overall agreement.

Costa visited Lithuania on the second day of a four-week tour of EU capitals aimed at consulting national leaders ahead of European Council meetings and assessing their willingness to compromise on the budget.

The two leaders also discussed Ukraine, EU enlargement, threats on Europe’s eastern flank and Lithuania’s preparations to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2027.

Costa praised Lithuania’s military support for Kyiv and said the EU would continue increasing pressure on Moscow until Russia entered negotiations “in good faith.”

He also called the accession processes of Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans “the best investment” Europe could make in the continent’s future peace, security and stability.