The Economic and Social Council adopted the opinion on “The ESC’s Proposals on the European Union’s New Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034” during its Plenary session on June 17, 2026. 

The Council welcomes the fact that the European Union’s future Multiannual Financial Framework is becoming simpler and more flexible and sets out a series of strategic recommendations for the architecture of the future European budget.

The ESC’s main recommendations:

-    The new MFF must become the European Union’s primary strategic tool for strengthening economic competitiveness, social cohesion, and the ability to adapt to profound changes in the labor market. It must be supported by adequate funding capable of generating concrete and sustainable results.

-    Investments in human capital, skills, social dialogue, innovation, and labor productivity must be treated as strategic European investments, essential to the Union’s competitiveness and resilience.

-    The involvement of representative social partners and civil society representatives must go beyond a formal and consultative level and become an integral part of European economic governance, both in the planning phase and in the implementation and monitoring stages.

-    Based on the principle of partnership, the ESC calls for at least 50% of the members and/or voting rights in monitoring committees to be held by representative social dialogue partners and civil society representatives.

These proposals underscore the importance of upholding the principles of representativeness and fairness in the process of monitoring European and national investments. At the same time, the ESC considers it necessary to introduce clear European mechanisms for monitoring compliance with the principle of partnership. 

This document is part of the ESC’s series of positions on the future multiannual budget of the European Union, being the third opinion adopted on this topic. It follows the opinions on Public policies for the socio-economic strengthening of the Black Sea region and the European Union’s border regions, and on the Role of economic and social partners in the implementation of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy. 

For more information visit ESC page: https://www.ces.ro/en/esc-points-of-view.