Global Europe
PURPOSE: to establish the Global Europe Instrument for the period 2028-2034.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: on 16 July 2025, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, a EUR 2 trillion budget designed to strengthen Europe's sovereignty, competitiveness, and resilience. This new MFF will significantly enhance the EU's capacity to deliver on core policies while addressing new and emerging priorities.
More specifically, the new MFF foresees reinforced external action to match a more strategic, values-driven and impactful approach to enlargement, partnerships and diplomacy, in alignment with the EU’s strategic interests.
This proposal is made in the context of the external heading of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2028-2034. It sets the main priorities and principles of EU external action under the EU budget, which aims to be simpler, more focused and more flexible.
CONTENT: the proposed regulation establishes Global Europe (the Instrument). It lays down the objectives of the Instrument, the budget for the period from 2028 to 2034, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.
The objective of the proposed Instrument, Global Europe, is to uphold and promote the Union’s values, principles and interests worldwide to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action. It will contribute to the objectives of the EU’s external action, by promoting mutually beneficial partnerships with third countries, contributing simultaneously to the sustainable development of third countries and to the Union’s strategic interests. Global Europe will also allow the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges.
The proposed Instrument is based on four main guiding principles:
1) Simplification of the architecture of the external heading, through one main instrument for EU external action and with a horizontal Performance Regulation for the entire MFF, covering monitoring, reporting, evaluation and communication.
2) Coherence of action, with increased geographisation, more focus on coherence, consistency and complementarity between internal and external programmes, as well as a stronger Team Europe approach.
3) Flexibility of the instrument, preserving some of the flexibilities of NDICI-Global Europe including its general reserve (the cushion), financial flexibilities and the possibility to adopt delegated acts, and increasing them through the reduction of targets and easier budgetary transfers between and within pillars, as well as budgetary flexibilities among MFFs.
4) Impact of EU action, with a strengthened toolbox allowing to build comprehensive packages; with a streamlined and more efficient guarantee and blending framework, and a stronger promotion of European interests.
The proposed instrument will provide increased economic and trade opportunities to the mutual benefit of the Union and partner countries, support sustainable development, promote human rights, gender equality and the EU's multilateral engagement, address the root causes of irregular migration, forced displacement, instability, climate change and protect the environment.
In addition, the Global Europe instrument will provide a coherent set of support measures to candidate countries to accelerate their alignment with EU values, laws, rules, standards, policies and practices – the acquis – through the adoption and implementation of performance-based plans.
Budget
The financial envelope for the implementation of the Instrument for the period from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034 shall be EUR 200.3 billion. It will be composed of the following pillars and amounts:
- Europe: EUR 43 174 000 000;
- Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf: EUR 42 934 000 000;
- Sub-Saharan Africa: EUR 60 531 000 000;
- Asia and the Pacific: EUR 17 050 000 000;
- Americas and the Caribbean: EUR 9 144 000 000;
- Global: EUR 12 668 000 000.
Additionally, financial resources for Ukraine will be made available through the Instrument. This support in the form of loans will be available through the Instrument for an amount of up to EUR 100 billion.
Lastly, the proposal seeks to advance a new European economic foreign policy and strengthen the alignment and coherence with EU internal priorities, such as economic security and competitiveness, energy security, migration, climate, connectivity, and access to critical raw materials.