Europarliamentarian Victor Negrescu warns of reduced EU funds for Romania over next seven years

Europarliamentarian Victor Negrescu warned that the EU's new 2028-2034 budget, presented by the Irish Presidency, reduces the total package by roughly 8%, raising concerns for Romania's access to European money. He pointed out that sectors like infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and digital innovation face notable cuts, including a drop in the per-hectare farm aid ceiling from 130 to 90 euros and a loss of billions for Erasmus+.

Funding for health programmes, digitalisation and AI is also set to fall by several billion euros, while civil-protection and disaster-solidarity allocations could shrink by about 35% and 55% respectively. Negrescu stressed that the 80% protection mechanism does not guarantee current levels for Romania, risking lower overall allocations. He called for a stable, majority-backed government to safeguard Romanian interests in the upcoming EU negotiations.