Poland has retained its proposed €123 billion allocation from the European Union’s next seven-year budget, despite a new plan to cut overall EU spending by approximately €141 billion. The revised proposal, presented by Ireland on Saturday, 10 October, leaves Poland’s national funding unchanged and preserves its position as the largest proposed recipient of nationally allocated EU funds.
The development comes as EU governments negotiate how much the bloc should spend between 2028 and 2034, with disagreements over the costs of supporting agriculture, regional development, defence and economic competitiveness.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister responsible for European affairs, Ignacy Niemczycki, confirmed that the country’s proposed allocation had survived the latest round of reductions.
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Speaking to RMF FM about the revised EU budget, Niemczycki said Poland would retain the largest national allocation and that its funding had not changed compared with the European Commission’s original proposal.
He welcomed the outcome while warning that reducing the EU’s overall budget could weaken its ability to meet its wider ambitions.
EU proposes €141 billion reduction
Ireland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, has presented a revised proposal for the bloc’s next long-term budget, formally known as the Multiannual Financial Framework.
The official negotiating document published by the Council proposes spending €1.622 trillion between 2028 and 2034, compared with €1.763 trillion in the European Commission’s original plan.
That represents a reduction of approximately €141 billion, or 8%.
Both figures are calculated using constant 2025 prices, which exclude the effects of projected inflation. In current prices, the revised budget would amount to approximately €1.826 trillion.
The proposal is intended to bridge disagreements between member states seeking tighter spending limits and those wanting to protect established EU programmes while financing new priorities.
Despite the reductions, the proposed budget would still be substantially larger than the current seven-year framework.
What could Poland’s €123 billion pay for?
For Poland, EU funding has played a major role in transforming infrastructure and supporting regional development since the country joined the bloc in 2004.
European money has helped finance roads, railways, public transport, environmental projects and investment in less-developed regions.
According to figures published by Poland’s European Funds portal, EU support has contributed to the construction or modernisation of nearly 20,000 kilometres of roads and more than 6,000 kilometres of railway lines over the past two decades.
The proposed €123 billion allocation would help shape the next phase of Poland’s development.
However, it is not a single fund intended exclusively for infrastructure or business investment.
Under the EU’s proposed new arrangements, Poland’s national allocation would bring together several funding areas, including regional development, agricultural support, fisheries, climate-related programmes, migration, border management and certain security priorities.
The Polish Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy has already begun preparing a National and Regional Partnership Plan to determine how the country would use the money.
The government has identified healthcare, housing, energy, innovation and regional development among its priorities.
Polish regional authorities are also expected to retain a significant role in managing future investment programmes, although the final arrangements remain under negotiation.
Agriculture and regional funding largely protected
One reason Poland has welcomed the Irish proposal is that traditional EU funding areas have been comparatively protected from the largest reductions.
The budget heading covering agriculture, regional development and related policies would fall by approximately 3.4%, considerably less than some other spending areas.
Key funding lines supporting farmers and economic development in less prosperous regions remain largely protected under the proposal.
That matters particularly for Poland, where agricultural support and regional investment have historically accounted for substantial parts of EU funding.
However, keeping Poland’s proposed national allocation unchanged does not mean that every European programme would escape reductions.
EU-wide funding for research, innovation, industrial competitiveness and infrastructure faces larger proposed cuts.
Those reductions could still affect Polish companies, universities and organisations seeking support through programmes open to applicants across the European Union.
A more detailed examination by Poland 24 Business of the proposed reductions to research, transport, energy and investment funding explains why Poland’s unchanged national allocation would not necessarily protect every source of European financial support available to the country.
Poland still has concerns about the proposed budget
Despite welcoming the preservation of its national allocation, Warsaw has not endorsed every part of the Irish proposal.
The Polish government remains concerned about plans to change how the EU raises money to finance its spending.
One disputed proposal involves directing part of the revenue from the EU Emissions Trading System, which charges certain industries for carbon emissions, towards the common EU budget.
The Irish proposal includes transitional arrangements for countries such as Poland, which benefit from the EU’s Modernisation Fund.
Niemczycki told RMF FM that these changes would be more financially favourable to Poland than earlier proposals, but said the government’s concerns had not been fully resolved.
Other European governments have also questioned the overall spending plans.
Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are among the countries pressing for a smaller EU budget, while the European Parliament has raised concerns about the proposed scale of reductions.
Poland’s €123 billion is not guaranteed yet
Although Poland’s proposed allocation remains unchanged, the money has not yet been finally approved.
The Irish document is a negotiating proposal rather than an adopted EU budget. Member states can still seek changes to the spending totals, national allocations and rules governing individual programmes.
The next major discussion is scheduled for the European Council summit in Brussels on 15–16 October.
The European Council’s published agenda confirms that leaders will discuss the 2028–2034 budget as they seek to move negotiations towards an agreement.
Under EU rules, the long-term budget requires unanimous agreement among member states in the Council and the consent of the European Parliament.
The EU hopes to settle the main political disagreements before the end of 2026, allowing the necessary legislation to be completed in 2027 before the new funding period begins in January 2028.
For Poland, the latest proposal preserves the prospect of another substantial seven-year package of European funding, potentially supporting investment across the country well into the next decade.
How much money Poland ultimately receives, and exactly how it will be spent, will depend on the negotiations still to come.
