Background

The Commission presented its proposals for the 2028–2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF) on 16 July 2025, with a proposed budget totalling almost €1.8 trillion in commitments over the seven-year period. This framework encompasses a range of programmes designed to advance key EU priorities. Among these, the single market and customs programme (SMCP) aims to enhance the single market and strengthen the customs union, as well as to support broader taxation and anti-fraud objectives.

Commission proposal

The Commission adopted its SMCP proposal on 3°September°2025. The proposal merges, either wholly or in part, five individual funding programmes from the 2021-2027 MFF into one new, streamlined initiative. In addition to EU Member States, the SMCP would be open to EEA members, acceding countries, candidate and potential candidate countries and countries covered by the European neighbourhood policy. Participation would also be open to additional third countries, subject to certain conditions. The indicative financial envelope for the SMCP is €6 238 million in current prices, which equates to €5 538 million in 2025 prices.

Council mandate

On 19°December°2025, the Council adopted a partial negotiating mandate, which maintains the Commission's proposed approach of combining existing programmes into a single programme. However, to ensure greater involvement of Member States, it provides that the work programmes implementing the SMCP are to be subject to formal control by a committee of Member State experts. In the negotiating box presented by the Cyprus Presidency in June 2026, the indicative financial envelope for the SMCP is reduced to €5 312 million in 2025 prices, i.e. by 4 % compared to the Commission proposal, but the Council has yet to reach a formal position on the SMCP's budget figures.

Parliament position

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) adopted its report on 14°July°2026 with 34 votes in favour, three against and 13 abstentions. The report reduces the flexibility proposed by the Commission to reallocate funds between the different policy areas covered by the SMCP. It sets out the objectives of the programme in greater detail and assigns specific budgetary allocations to those objectives. This is closer to the approach of the current single market programme, which would be partly incorporated into the proposed SMCP. Furthermore, on the basis of the budgetary assessment made by the Committee on Budgets (BUDG), the report increases the financial envelope for the SMCP as a whole to €6 871 million in current prices, or €6 100 million in 2025 prices, i.e. by 10 % compared to the Commission proposal.

First-reading report: 2025/0590(COD); Committee responsible: IMCO; Rapporteur: Adnan Dibrani (S&D, Sweden). For further information see our 'EU Legislation in Progress' briefing.