Europäischer Rechnungshof - European Court of Auditors
(Press briefing) EU's next €2 trillion budget – is the grand new European Fund up to the task?
Press invitation
for 24 February
EU's next €2 trillion budget – is the grand new European Fund up to the task?
- Online press briefing: Tuesday 24 February at 10.00 a.m. CET
- Publication: Same day at 11.30 a.m. CET
- Interviews possible on request
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) would like to invite you to an online press briefing for its upcoming opinion on the proposed new European Fund for cohesion, agriculture and security through national plans. At €865 billion – nearly 44 % of total spending – the European Fund would be the single largest part of the proposed long-term EU budget of almost €2 trillion between 2028 and 2034. Alongside this opinion, the auditors will also publish their opinion on the EU’s budget expenditure tracking and performance framework.
The briefing will take place at 10.00 a.m. CET on Tuesday 24 February 2026 via Teams.
The purpose of the briefing is to provide a detailed overview of the opinion on the European Fund, and to put the auditors’ main messages into context. There will also be an opportunity to discuss them with ECA Members Annemie Turtelboom and Alejandro Blanco Fernández, as well as representatives of the audit teams.
RSVP: Please let us know by 1.00 p.m. on Monday 23 February whether you intend to take part in the online briefing; we will then send you detailed instructions on how to connect. To allow for an informed discussion, confirmed participants will receive an embargoed copy of the opinions and press release on request ahead of the briefing. All documents will be published on the ECA website at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 24 February.
Background
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 related policy-specific proposals. In mid-January 2026 the ECA started issuing a series of opinions. At this event 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.
The European Fund 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 to the proposed spending of €865 billion, 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).
The ECA Members responsible for the two opinions are Annemie Turtelboom and Alejandro Blanco Fernández (European Fund), and Jorg Kristijan Petrovič (performance framework).
Press contact
ECA press office: press@eca.europa.eu
- Damijan Fišer – M: (+352) 621 552 224
- Vincent Bourgeais: (+352) 691 551 502