Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday that Cyprus’ submission of a proposal for the European Union’s next multiannual financial framework marked a significant milestone in negotiations on the bloc’s 2028-2034 budget. He said the proposal introduces concrete figures for the first time in the deliberations.
Government statements
Christodoulides said the proposal, known as a negotiating box, reflects compromise, ambition and flexibility in strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, security, resilience, and strategic autonomy.
He said the submission marks the beginning of a substantive phase in the negotiations, with the shared objective of reaching an agreement by the end of 2026.
European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna, who presented the proposal on Thursday, later described it as mature and balanced, and called it a decisive and necessary step toward reaching a timely agreement.
Raouna said the proposal was the result of months of intensive work, transparency, and continuous engagement with all member states as honest brokers.
Budget figures
Cyprus’ proposal foresees a budget that is more than €32 billion smaller than the one proposed by the European Commission last year.
The largest share of the budget would go to heading one, which covers cohesion, agriculture and fisheries, social policy, and migration policy. Cyprus allocated €942.1 billion to that area, compared with the €946 billion foreseen by the commission.
Policy priorities
Within that allocation, Cyprus proposed that the EU’s cohesion budget be largely ringfenced and also protected areas including regional development and agriculture from major cuts.
The approach was seen as a gain for southern and eastern net recipient member states and a setback for northern and western member states, which have sought to shift more funding toward areas such as defence and competitiveness instead of cohesion.
