Warsaw talks on the 2028-2034 budget

European Council President António Costa met Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on 9 September 2026 to discuss the European Union budget for the 2028-2034 period. The two-hour bilateral meeting addressed financial priorities ahead of the autumn European Council summits. Costa arrived in Warsaw having already completed consultations with leaders from 13 member states, spending between 90 minutes and two hours with each head of government. European officials noted that all 13 leaders agreed on the necessity of concluding negotiations before the end of 2026. This target stems from the fact that the next Multiannual Financial Framework features a structure distinct from the current framework, demanding additional time for administrative preparation and operational rollout.

Security intelligence and eastern flank risks

During the meeting, Tusk shared Poland's assessment of security conditions east of the European Union border, focusing on the war in Ukraine and anticipated risks in the upcoming months. The prime minister also briefed Costa on intelligence received from partners across the Atlantic, including the United States. Tusk argued that mounting global instability, disruptions across fuel markets, and political shifts within member states require collective action. He stated that European institutions and national governments must strengthen resilience against multi-domain threats.

“A shared duty of the whole European Union and our Polish duty is to be well prepared for various scenarios and this requires effort, also financial.”

Funding dispute over cohesion and agriculture

The Warsaw talks addressed competing visions for the overall size and allocation of the multiannual budget. The current baseline is a July 2025 European Commission proposal modified by the Cypriot presidency, which envisions total spending of nearly 2 trillion euros. Under this draft framework, Poland would serve as the largest single recipient with an allocation of 123.3 billion euros. Tusk endorsed efforts to enhance European competitiveness and expand funding for defence cooperation and military capabilities. However, he insisted that new security commitments must not dismantle traditional cohesion policy and agricultural aid, describing regional funding as an essential foundation of stability for Central and Eastern Europe.

“We will look for various ways to find new funds. A larger European budget is in the interest of every member state, certainly Poland.”

Frugal bloc demands deep spending reductions

The negotiations reflect a division between net contributor countries and cohesion beneficiaries across the bloc. In late August 2026, leaders from Germany, Denmark, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden met in Berlin, with several attending remotely, to demand spending reductions amounting to several hundred billion euros. This frugal coalition excluded cohesion policy from its listed priorities, directing cost-saving targets toward regional development funds. Conversely, the 17-member Friends of Cohesion group, comprising Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, and Portugal, is mobilising to protect cohesion financing, demanding simplified rules and sufficient resource guarantees. Negotiators in Warsaw expect the final compromise on national allocations to occur late in the bargaining timeline.