Honourable Members, Madame Minister;

A week before the publication of the Commissions proposal on the next MFF, I want to focus on what unites us. We agree that the EU budget needs modernization. The world around us is changing rapidly, and new challenges require smarter responses.

A smarter MFF means, first and foremost, a more flexible MFF. The current situation, where 90% of our budgetary resources are locked in from the outset, is unsustainable. There is growing consensus that this must change. We need to create room for the unforeseen - to respond quickly to new priorities and crises.

However, in our search for flexibility, we must also maintain some predictability. Our regions, researchers, and companies need stability to plan and deliver long-term investments. Our investors must know where to direct their funds in line with European priorities.

I believe we can strike the right balance - and national and regional partnership plans can help us in that. They can ensure that local people have a say in how funds are used while also giving them the necessary certainty to plan their investments. And those investments should also stimulate reforms at both national and regional levels. Investments and reforms are essential to support convergence among our regions and Member States.

Secondly, smarter also means simpler. That is the recurring theme I have heard while traveling around Europe: deliver a simpler budget. If we want to be truly competitive, we must also simplify the EU budget - its that simple!

Now, I would like to share some conclusions regarding specific topics that have attracted attention in recent months.

I start by mentioning that the war at our eastern border has reminded us: we must do more on security and defense.

It would be naive to think that the Union budget alone can tackle this massive task. It is primarily the responsibility of Member States. But defense is an area where the Union budget can help Member States invest better and achieve more results with fewer resources.

We must nevertheless be prudent. Increased defense spending must not come at the expense of our European social model. That would create unnecessary division. We must ensure that we invest in both security and our people.

My second point is that we must not forget another foundational policy of the Union: the Common Agricultural Policy.

It is undergoing reforms and simplification - and rightly so. But it must provide farmers with the necessary predictability and means: food security is an important dimension of Europes independence.

Finally, Europe must rise to the competitiveness challenge we face. And we are united in that belief. We need to address the competitiveness gap. For that purpose, we will propose the European Competitiveness Fund - a clear EU framework for investments throughout the entire innovation cycle from applied research through manufacturing and deployment. And the Competitiveness Fund will extensively use financial instruments to enhance financial capacity.

So far, I have spoken about how we will spend. But now comes the part on how to finance it.

You know this well - Honourable Members - the debate over new own resources has never been easy. But this time, we cannot avoid it.

Why? Because financial needs are higher while national budgets are under growing pressure. And from 2028 onwards, around 25 billion euros in our budget will be committed to repaying loans from the NextGenerationEU instrument.

The Parliament has long championed the reform of the revenue side. I count on your continued support to move this forward.

As I am sure the esteemed Minister will agree, Member States are reluctant to increase national contributions. Therefore, we must identify a balanced mix of new revenues that neither overburden national budgets nor create extensive financial obligations and which align with our policies and objectives.

Honourable Members, the post-2027 MFF will be the fourth I have worked on in various capacities. And Ive learned one thing:

Despite the difficult and sometimes divisive negotiations, there is always goodwill among participants. Because the MFF - like the EU itself - is a win-win concept.

The EU has shown that it can act decisively and ambitiously - during the pandemic, during the war in Ukraine.

Let us continue on that path. Let us prove, once again, that Europe delivers - Let us prove it together. And the next great challenge for our Union in the next decade is to build a true Independent Europe. Honourable Members, you can count on my full commitment in that respect.

Thank you.