On 16 July, the European Commission presented its proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, outlining the EU’s long-term budget priorities. The proposal aims to make the EU more competitive and better prepared for climate and security challenges, featuring a simplified structure with 16 programmes instead of 52. It includes €865 billion in National and Partnership Plans for cohesion, agriculture, and migration, an approach contested by the European Parliament. A new €409 billion European Competitiveness Fund will support innovation, defence, and decarbonisation.

The Erasmus+ programme, as one of the flagship programmes, will be under the umbrella of the Competitiveness Fund and is proposed to be expanded in scope by the activities of the European Solidarity Corps. This comes with a significant budget increase, from €26.5 billion to €40.8 billion, reinforcing support for lifelong learning, inclusion, and EU values, however, no allocation to sport specifically is available yet. Additionally, the Commission’s proposal also merges current programmes like CERV and Creative Europe into a broader AgoraEU fund to support culture, media, and civil society. Negotiations are expected to last two years, with major debates anticipated after summer. 

This proposal marks the beginning of the concrete negotiations. Given the bumpy process of the presentation that left the European Parliament in the dark until the very last minute, we expect tough negotiations. At this stage, it is not possible to assess the potential impact for the sport sector.