Donald Tusk on 9 September will present to Antoni Costa the conditions on which Poland can accept EU finances for the period 2028–2034. Warsaw has been allocated EUR 123.3 billion in the project, the highest amount in the EU, but six countries are pushing for hundreds of billion in spending. The consequence of the negotiations will hit investments, agriculture and wallets of Poles.
EUR 123.3 billion is simply a proposal, not a guarantee
President of the European Council Antonio Costa talks on Wednesday with Prime Minister Donald Tuski about the Polish limits of the compromise on the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2028–2034. According to the current proposal, Poland would receive EUR 123.3 billion and stay the largest beneficiary of the common budget. That number looks impressive, but it's not a right or a signed check yet.
The amount of EUR 123.3 billion appears besides in the papers of the parliamentary committees. Out of this pool EUR 24.6 billion is expected to be the minimum budget of the mandatory instruments of the common agricultural policy. However, for Polish farmers, local governments and entrepreneurs, it is crucial not to allocate money, access rules and the freedom to decide how to usage them.
The European Commission's July 2025 draft, modified during the Cypriot Presidency, amounts to almost EUR 2 trillion. The Polish envelope can change due to the fact that the net contributor countries request a crucial simplification in full expenditure. Negotiations are just entering a decisive phase.
Germany joins the cutting camp
The conventional budget dispute divides the Union into countries defending cohesion policy and countries insisting on austerity. The second group includes the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden. In late August, German, Danish, Austrian, Finnish, Dutch and Swedish leaders demanded in Berlin cuts of hundreds of billions of euros. Cohesion policy was lacking among the priorities identified by them.
It's an crucial change. For years Germany has presented itself as an intermediary between the 2 camps, present they stand openly on the side of supporters of budget cuts. Berlin has abolished debt constraints for its own policy, and at the same time wants to discipline common spending. The Polish delegation cannot respond to this contradiction with polite generalities.
Our country belongs to the Friends of Cohesion Group of 17 countries. The common front can reduce the scale of cuts, but only if Warsaw clearly defines priorities and builds a coalition before the final summit. Costa has already spoken to the leaders of 13 countries, and the European Council has seen the nonsubjective of ending negotiations by the end of 2026. A rush cannot mean agreeing to an adverse division.
Funds are a tool, not a charity.
In the debate on money from Brussels, the fundamental fact is frequently lost: the EU budget creates contributions and resources generated by associate States and their citizens. Poland participates in its financing, has opened its marketplace and adopted common rules. Balance of Polish contributions and transfers from the EU budget requires looking at both sides of the account, alternatively than presenting funds as a gift to the European headquarters.
That is why the government should defend 3 things: the appropriate scale of cohesion policy, the strong financing of agriculture and the right of the state to choose investment in line with citizens' needs. The mechanics in which money is simply a political leash weakens sovereignty. A transparent mechanism, based on agreed principles and controlled by States, can service to develop.
Cohesion measures finance roads, railways, waterworks, wellness protection and modernisation of regions. Over PLN 2 billion EU support for 44.5 km S19 road shows how the budget translates into circumstantial infrastructure. Cutting the Polish envelope would mean little of specified projects or more force on national taxes and debt.
Donald Tusk should so present the Poles with red lines before the negotiations are concluded, not only after the European compromise. EUR 123.3 billion is the starting point. The measurement of success will be how many resources will truly go to Poland, under what conditions and whether they will strengthen our economy, agriculture and independence.
Source: Money., Sejm Office
Source: Money.
