16 July 2025 — News
Accountancy Europe welcomes the European Commission’s (EC) first package for a Post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). This new long-term EU budget will be pivotal in shaping Europe’s future in an increasingly volatile and competitive global environment.
From geopolitical instability and trade disruptions to productivity challenges and the accelerating climate crisis, the EU faces a complex web of interlinked pressures. Europe must ensure that the next MFF delivers the strategic investments needed to build a more resilient, sustainable, secure and prosperous future for its citizens. Accountancy Europe – and the broader European accountancy and audit profession – will support the EC and co-legislators in turning this ambition into reality.
Our members work in both the public and private sectors. They play a vital role in ensuring financial resources are well used, supporting risk management and promoting accountability. Drawing on this expertise, we propose below five core principles that the EU institutions and national governments should follow to ensure the new MFF is effective, accountable, and aligned with Europe’s long-term goals.
Mario Draghi highlighted the need to bridge an annual investment gap of EUR 800 billion to meet Europe’s pressing challenges — from green and digital transitions to defence and long-term competitiveness. Achieving this will require both private and public investment at scale and across borders. On the private side, the EC’s work on the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) is a welcome step toward channelling citizens’ vast savings into productive, forward-looking investments.
On the public side, national governments face mounting fiscal constraints and have limited appetite to boost contributions to the EU budget. Budget reprioritisation is essential but will involve difficult and sometimes painful trade-offs. Resource re-allocation might also not be enough to bridge the investment gap. We strongly recommend a funding model that is both resilient and future-proof if EC and the co-legislators decide to explore additional own resources. This means a diversified pool of own resources, built on a broad, stable and sustainable revenue base.
EU policymakers must prioritise investments where pooled action at EU level is a pre-requisite for success. Every euro spent from the EU budget should drive long-term value for citizens and businesses alike. Prioritisation must favour programmes and policies that strengthen strategic autonomy, promote competitive and sustainable growth, and generate positive spillovers across Member States. Wise investment decisions should mean focusing on outcomes, ensuring that funds catalyse private investment, support innovation, and are aligned with the EU’s long-term policy goals.
EU investments must be judged by their impact — not just on paper, but on the ground. It is essential that funding effectively reaches those driving Europe’s future economy, including innovative start-ups, SMEs, and local actors across all regions. Too often, complex procedures and fragmented access deter potential beneficiaries. As the European Parliament rightly stressed in its May 2025 resolution, there is an urgent need for a “genuine, user-friendly single entry point for EU funding and a simplified application procedure”. Accountancy Europe fully supports this goal. Cutting red tape, enhancing accessibility and strategically evaluating investment decisions are key to ensuring that EU funds translate into tangible results where they are needed most.
Transparency is essential to build trust in how EU funds are allocated and spent. This requires user-friendly, real-time public reporting on EU spending and national use of EU funds, better communication of outcomes measured against pre-set objectives, and a commitment to open data principles. Citizens, businesses, and stakeholders must be able to track funding flows, assess results, and hold decision-makers accountable. A transparent EU budget reinforces democratic legitimacy and ensures that resources are used in line with citizens’ expectations.
Protecting the EU budget’s integrity requires strong, reliable and timely safeguards and robust enforcement against misuse, fraud, and inefficiency. The next MFF must involve mechanisms for effective monitoring, auditing, and enforcement across all funding instruments and implementation levels. This means ensuring that financial rules are applied consistently by both EU institutions and national authorities, with clear responsibilities, including on enforcement, and transparent reporting. Strengthening control and enforcement systems not only ensures taxpayer money is well spent — it also builds public trust and reinforces the EU’s financial credibility.
Effective delivery of EU programmes depends on the administrative capacity to plan, manage, and monitor funding. Both EU institutions and national authorities must be equipped with sufficient human and technical resources to fulfil their responsibilities. This should not be achieved simply by increasing funding, but by using existing resources more effectively and efficiently. Investing in capacity-building, inter-operable digital tools, automation and relevant investment appraisal processes will be essential. This will ensure that EU funds are spent efficiently, reach their intended beneficiaries, and generate tangible results across all regions.
