European political parties and foundations – 2026 report on the application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2025/2445 and on the activities funded
The European Parliament adopted by 426 votes to 140, with 107 abstentions, a resolution entitled ‘European political parties and foundations – 2026 report on the application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2025/2445 and on the activities funded’.
General assessment of the recast Regulation
Members reiterated that strong political parties and foundations at EU level are essential for the development of a truly European public sphere. The recast regulation entered into force on 28 December 2025 and introduced several significant changes, including clearer rules on joint European political activities, strengthened transparency and reporting obligations, enhanced due diligence requirements for donations, and the explicit recognition of self-generated resources as a category of revenue.
Parliament welcomed the adoption of the recast regulation, as it represents an important step towards modernising the legal framework for European political parties and European political foundations. The regulation improves legal clarity in several areas, particularly regarding joint European political activities, transparency requirements, and safeguards against foreign interference. However, Members stressed that, to date, experience and data on the implementation of the recast regulation remain limited and that a more in-depth and horizontal evaluation can only be conducted out at a later stage.
The issue raised by the foundations regarding the disproportionate regulatory burden will be examined as part of the upcoming systematic review.
Members stressed that the intensification of security tensions and foreign interference in democratic processes has reinforced the importance of long-term political planning, democratic education and cross-border dialogue, to which European political foundations make a special contribution.
Proposals for improvements
The resolution emphasised the following points:
- the need to ensure that European political foundations benefit from a sound legal framework and good financial security; Parliament commits to reviewing how foundations are financially supported by their member organisations;
- European political foundations should take full advantage of the financial opportunities offered by the current framework: European political parties and foundations are invited to conclude cooperation agreements under which the foundations would be compensated by parties for their contribution to any joint work, taking into account their distinct respective roles under the Treaties;
- the current regulation could be clarified to explicitly confirm that participation fees can be charged to member organisations for their participation in activities organised by a European political foundation;
- a sustainable funding framework is essential to preserve the independence of European political foundations and prevent any undue private influence;
- the ceiling for donations from natural or legal persons (EUR 18 000 per year per donor) could be raised in order to give more flexibility to European political foundations;
- the establishment of a single online reporting and disclosure system for EU funding, donations and contributions to European political foundations in order to ensure adequate transparency for citizens, improve compliance monitoring and reduce reporting entities’ administrative and compliance burden.
Final considerations
The Commission is invited to:
- carry out a targeted review of the funding provisions applicable to European political foundations under the Regulation;
- review whether any national regulatory or policy framework prohibits or hinders the payment of contributions by national entities, including political foundations, to European political foundations and to follow up with the necessary action;
- present a recast legislative proposal revising the funding rules for European political foundations, including an amendment to the Regulation to increase the cap on financial contributions or grants from the EU’s general budget to 100 % of the eligible costs incurred by a European political foundation;
Parliament is committed to increasing the overall level of EU funding for political foundations under the forthcoming multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034, to take account of the absence of budgetary indexation in recent years.