António Costa visits Malta to discuss EU long-term budget

European Council President António Costa arrived in Malta on Thursday as part of his ‘Tour des Capitales,’ a series of bilateral meetings with national leaders to discuss EU priorities. A primary focus of the tour is the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the European Union’s long-term budget.

During a meeting in Valletta with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, Abela indicated that Malta holds a different perspective regarding the upcoming budget compared to Germany. Malta has been increasing its EU contribution payments and seeks to protect cohesion policy to ensure smaller member states are not disadvantaged in the next budget cycle.

President Costa has emphasized that an agreement on the MFF must be reached by the end of 2026 to prevent funding interruptions for farmers, businesses, students, and researchers. He has advocated for a budget that prioritizes defense readiness, competitiveness, innovation, and strategic resilience, while potentially utilizing new own resources to keep national contributions within reasonable limits.