Background

The European Commission proposed DAB 1/2026 on 10 April 2026. In accordance with Article 18(3) of the Financial Regulation, the proposal deals solely with the budget surplus from the year 2025. The budget implementation for 2025 showed a surplus of almost €2.1 billion as compared with €1.3 billion in 2024.

The surplus from the 2025 EU budget is the result of additional revenue of €1 994 million, and an under-implementation of expenditure amounting to almost €101 million. On the revenue side, the 2025 surplus is driven mainly by higher than expected revenue from custom duties (€860 million) and from competition fines and default interest (€840 million).

Budget implementation by the Commission reached 99.96 % of authorised payment appropriations in 2025, with €55.3 million in approved appropriations not implemented. Under-implementation by other EU institutions totalled €61.5 million. The Council adopted its position on DAB 1/2026 on 16 June 2026, approving the Commission's proposal.

European Parliament position

Parliament's Committee on Budgets (BUDG) adopted its report on 23 June 2026. The report welcomes that the 2025 surplus is driven primarily by additional own resources, in particular custom duties, and by 'financial revenue, default interest and fines', while the surplus from expenditure remains very low, at €101 million. The report regrets that the surplus reduces Member States' total contribution to the financing of the 2026 budget 'at a time when financing needs remain high, in particular for the EURI debt service costs'. The report stresses that the Union budget's flexibility is one of the key issues to address in the negotiations for the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF). It recalls Parliament's long-standing position that fines and fees should be used as supplementary revenue for the Union budget and should not lead to a corresponding decrease in GNI-based contributions.

The report takes note of the calculation of the adjusted annual GNI lump-sum reductions for five Member States, amounting to €5.8 billion net. It highlights that these rebates are inflation-linked and have therefore increased at a higher rate than the MFF ceilings, which are adjusted annually based on the 2 % deflator. The report stresses that this anomaly increases the burden on the other Member States.

Moreover, the report emphasises the need for sustainable, predictable and resilient revenue for the Union budget. It underlines that the introduction of genuine new revenue streams of at least €60 billion per year is an essential condition for an ambitious MFF for the years 2028 to 2034.

Parliament is expected to vote on the BUDG committee report and endorse the Council's position on DAB 1/2026 during its July part-session.

Budgetary procedure: 2026/0090(BUD); Committee reponsible: BUDG; Rapporteur Andrzej Halicki (EPP, Poland)