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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Serafin during the European Parliament plenary debate – an ambitious multiannual financial framework 2028-2034 for a strong and resilient Europe Strasbourg, 7 October 2026 Honourable members, dear Minister Byrne, More than a year ago, the Commission has put forward its proposal for the next MFF. We have proposed a budget that reflec...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Serafin during the European Parliament plenary debate – an ambitious multiannual financial framework 2028-2034 for a strong and resilient Europe Strasbourg, 7 October 2026 Honourable members, dear Minister Byrne, More than a year ago, the Commission has put forward its proposal for the next MFF. We have proposed a budget that reflects the challenges Europe faces today, in particular when it comes to competitiveness, defence and security. We have proposed a budget that preserves the space we need to respond to the unknowns of tomorrow. A budget that continues to support treaty based long-standing policies because they also contribute to competitiveness and security. Last but not least, we have proposed a budget that is financed – to a substantial extent - through new own resources. And here, I would like to thank the European Parliament for your constant support. You have also pushed for new options and, importantly, you have continued to make the case for a budget that have solid sources of funding, We have also proposed a modern budget. The “modernisation” was not achieved simply by adding new bills to old ones. We have focused on those challenges that a single Member State often cannot address alone. On things that have the biggest European added value – with the lowest possible bill. Some capitals continue to look at the EU budget like accountants look at balance sheets: how much do I put in, and how much do I get out? This approach was misguided in the past – but with our modern budget it is entirely flawed. Because ultimately, the Union budget cannot be captured by a simple “juste retour logic”. Our budget addresses common challenges. Challenges that cannot be addressed by single Member State alone. Even if each single Member State were to try to shoulder these challenges in isolation, the bill would most likely be much higher. By addressing those challenges together, we are exploiting economy of scale and synergies. Ladies and gentlemen, I truly believe that in these turbulent times the European Union has become an anchor of stability, also for our citizens. We need a timely agreement on the budget to preserve stability and predictability to our citizens in a world that is constantly changing and changing for the worse. The ball is in the camp of co-legislators to take this forward, and the aim should be to find the timely agreement. I want to recognise the Members of this House who have been working on the MFF from the very beginning. The many meetings, discussions and, sometimes polemics, that we have had are an essential part of shaping this budget and ensuring the democratic accountability of this process. All this brings me to the substance of the debate. I have not heard anyone questioning the priorities we have put forward for the next EU budget. So, the question is not whether those investments are needed; the question is rather how much of that should we do together at the European level because it is cheaper and more efficient, and how much of that will be done at the national level only. The Commission will continue to accompany you along the road as we have done from the very beginning of this process. We are also assisting the Irish Presidency in the preparation of the negobox. But what I want to add as well. We will play our institutional role, but we will continue to defend our proposal because we think it is a good one and one that brings a lot of value for money. SPEECH/26/2095 <@rel_link@> Press contacts: Balazs UJVARI (+32 2 295 45 78) Isabel OTERO BARDERAS (+32 2 296 69 25) General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email
Speech Brief