The European Commission has proposed a €200 billion EU budget for 2027, increasing provisions for migration, border management, security and defence as the EU continues shifting its spending priorities towards border control, military preparedness and economic and energy independence.
The draft budget, published yesterday by the European Commission, is the last annual budget under the current 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. It still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council before the end of the year. You can find the draft budget here and here.
Under the proposal, migration and border management would receive €5.79 billion in commitments, up from €5.02 billion in the 2026 budget. This represents an increase of around 15%.
Security and defence would receive €3.07 billion, up from €2.81 billion in 2026, an increase of around 9%.
The increase comes as the EU prepares for the first full year of implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, with additional funding being made available through the mid-term revision of the current long-term budget. The Commission said an extra €1.2 billion will be made available in 2027 for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument.
The 2027 draft budget allocates €3.4 billion for border protection, including €2 billion for the Integrated Border Management Fund and €1.1 billion for Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. A further €2.4 billion is allocated for migration-related spending.
The budget therefore continues the EU’s long-running shift towards stronger external border control, expanded border agency funding and a more centralised migration-management system.
The defence increase is also part of the EU’s shift to increase security and defence independence. The Commission said the 2027 budget reflects the EU’s growing role in strengthening security and defence preparedness, including defence research, industrial capacity, military mobility and strategic resilience. The proposal also complements the EU’s ReArm Europe Plan and the SAFE instrument, which is intended to support joint defence procurement and investment by member states.
The budget includes continued support for Ukraine through the Ukraine Facility and the new Ukraine Support Loan. The Commission has allocated €1.15 billion under the Ukraine Support Loan in the 2027 draft budget, while broader support for Ukraine will continue through separate EU instruments. This is separate to the €90 billion loan facility.
The largest part of the proposed budget remains cohesion, resilience and values, which would receive €75.76 billion. Natural resources and the environment would receive €57.24 billion, while the single market, innovation and digital policy area would receive €21.9 billion.
Neighbourhood and external policy would receive €15.47 billion, while European public administration would receive €13.66 billion.
The Commission said member states will also be encouraged to use cohesion policy resources towards new priorities such as competitiveness, defence, affordable housing, water resilience and energy transition, through one-off pre-financing and higher EU co-financing.
Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said the proposal was intended to make Europe “safer, stronger and more competitive”.
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