New EU Budget proposal (August 2025)

European Commission unveils budget proposal for 2028–2034

The European Commission has set out its plans for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), covering 2028 to 2034 and totalling almost €2 trillion, or 1.26 per cent of EU GNI. The MFF acts as the EU’s overarching budget strategy, guiding investment and setting limits across all policy areas for the agreed timeframe.

The proposal would see the EU4Health Programme come to an end, with its activities absorbed into a new cross-disciplinary European Competitiveness Fund. This new fund will include a Health, Biotech, Agriculture and Bioeconomy window, but its emphasis will be firmly on competitiveness.

Horizon Europe would continue as a standalone programme with a greatly increased budget of €175 billion, working closely alongside the Competitiveness Fund. However, health will no longer be treated as a separate priority, instead being grouped with other sectors. For nuclear medicine, this raises concerns over visibility and the level of dedicated investment in medical research and innovation.

EANM welcomes the commitment to higher overall research spending, but believes more discussion is needed to ensure that health care is firmly anchored in the EU budget. This is essential to secure progress in diagnostics and therapies and to meet the growing healthcare needs of Europe’s citizens. The proposal enters the negotiation phase between Member States and the European Parliament, and agreement is not expected for many months, possibly years.

Read the full proposal

Published online: August 5, 2025.