On 12 October 2026, on the eve of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, the Secretary of State for the European Union of Spain, Fernando Sampedro, hosted a meeting of the Friends of Cohesion to exchange views on the ongoing negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034 and coordinate positions ahead of the next stage of this process.
The meeting was also attended by France, whose representative participated in the exchange of views among the Friends of Cohesion countries (Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia).
Against the backdrop of the Negotiating Box presented by the Irish Presidency, participants thanked the Irish Presidency for its constructive work on the next MFF, while regretting the proposed additional reductions, which would bring the overall level of ambition of the next MFF to just 1.02% of the Union's Gross National Income. Participants stressed that these reductions risk undermining the Union's capacity to deliver on its priorities and its credibility.
The Friends of Cohesion recalled and fully reaffirmed the Joint Declaration of 26 May and the letter addressed by their leaders to the Irish Presidency on 2 October. As stated therein, the Friends of Cohesion underlined that the overall volume set in the Cypriot Presidency's Negotiating Box remains the relevant basis for effectively addressing Europe's financial needs.
Participants stressed that this is not a time for Europe to lower its ambitions. The next MFF must enable the Union to respond to growing challenges, including security and defence, competitiveness, connectivity, energy security and resilience. They also noted that this must not come at the expense of treaty-based policies.
Regarding the financing of the next MFF, the Friends of Cohesion expressed their readiness to engage constructively in discussions on the Union's revenue side that would direct pressure on national budgets.
In this context, they stressed the need to discuss new genuine, fair, simple and non-regressive own resources, as well as to explore possible options to create additional fiscal space, including a more gradual repayment of NextGenerationEU as well as limited and targeted European debt instruments, in the form of loans, to support clearly identified strategic priorities. They also reiterated that the current system of rebates should have no place in the next MFF.
Participants thanked Spain for its timely initiative, aimed at advancing the MFF negotiations in a constructive manner towards achieving an ambitious, modern and responsive budget that is commensurate with the Union's objectives and the diverse needs of Member States and regions.